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Financial Management Association students from business and engineering excel in high-stakes competitions.

The Auburn University Financial Management Association (FMA) has distinguished itself yet again in two separate student competitions, winning first place at a University of Michigan real estate-focused case competition and finishing among the top five teams at a prestigious international stock pitch competition in London.

Hail to the victors

At the teams from across the country assumed executive leadership roles to assess a struggling publicly traded REIT and presented strategic recommendations before a panel of leading REIT industry judges.

The winning Auburn FMA team of Grady Marshall (finance), Joseph McElroy (computer engineering), Matthew Hajazin (chemical engineering), and Parker Duncan (finance), were tasked with creating a 24-month operational plan to enhance performance for Sun Communities, a leading manufactured housing REIT.

The Auburn team鈥檚 depth of analysis and boardroom-ready presentation earned them unanimous approval from the judges and $12,500 in first-place prize money.

鈥淭his case was the perfect blend of finance, strategy, and real estate,鈥� said FMA senior Marshall, who plans to pursue a career in commercial real estate. 鈥淲e had just one week to learn a new sector, build a thesis, and defend it in front of industry executives. That pressure pushed us to perform at our best鈥攁nd it鈥檚 what FMA trains us for.鈥�

The win marks another national victory for Auburn鈥檚 FMA program, highlighting the students鈥� ability to translate rigorous classroom and investment fund training into real-world success.

Competing with the world鈥檚 best investment talent

Another FMA team made the finals of a second competition in October鈥攖he , which is one of the most selective undergraduate investment competitions in the world and allows students to research, analyze and select a specific stock for investment firms.

Seventy-five teams began the competition by submitting full investment pitch decks and written analyses supporting their stock picks. From that global pool, judges ultimately selected five teams to compete in the finals for 拢3,000 pounds in prize money at the Oxford and Cambridge Club in London on Oct. 29.

Computer engineering major Joseph McElroy and his teammates Anna Spencer Lawley (finance), Hamilton Kehoe (finance) and Pete Stavros (finance) squared off against teams from Rice University, University of Singapore, University of Oxford and London School of Economics.

Their investment strategy centered on , a U.S.-based company that specializes in chemical products for refrigeration, high-performance computing and coatings.

According to McElroy, the market for refrigerants is shifting from a large commodity market with about 50 players to a duopoly between Chemours and Solstice Advanced Materials due to government regulatory changes in the refrigerant field.

鈥淐hemours has a lot more earnings potential, pricing power and market share,鈥� explained McElroy about their strategy for recommending Chemours in the Oxford finals.

McElroy and his three teammates all hold leadership positions with the Auburn Student Investment Fund, a student-managed portfolio valued at more than $950,000. The rigorous training they complete with ASIF prepared them well for the Oxford event.

鈥淲e do stock pitches through ASIF, which gave us a strong foundation for this competition,鈥� said McElroy.

According to , FMA faculty advisor and executive director of the 91看片 Investment Center, this was Auburn鈥檚 first appearance at the competition, which is hosted by Oxford Alpha Fund in partnership with the Cambridge University Finance and Investment Society.

鈥淭he competition鈥檚 format is designed to mirror professional investment management, including discretionary stock selection, fundamental analysis, and direct questioning from portfolio managers,鈥� said Richard. 鈥淢aking the finals places our Auburn team among peers from globally renowned programs such as Harvard, Oxford, the London School of Economics, Warwick, and the University of Chicago, who have made the finals in prior years.鈥�

鈥淚t was incredible to travel to London and compete on an international stage with some of the top global finance programs,鈥� said McElroy. 鈥淩epresenting Auburn in a room full of world-class talent really showed how far our training had taken us鈥攁nd how well it stacked up against anyone, anywhere.鈥�

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Learn more about: 

• Auburn (FMA).
• Auburn Student Investment Fund (ASIF).