McIntire Investment Institute: The Power of Student Investment McIntire Investment Institute (MII) is regarded as one of the most prestigious McIntire-affiliated CIOs on grounds. Starting with an intensive training curriculum, students learn the investment knowledge needed to contribute to the club's investment fund. I had the privilege of interviewing two second-year executive team members to get a first-person perspective on the success culture MII created. Elena Cattoni is the Content Coordinator and primarily maintains club relations with various investment firms, alums, and McIntire School of Commerce. Srimaan Bekkari is the Director of Portfolio Management and oversees portfolio construction, looking at risks of positions, evaluating pitches, and entering and exiting the 20-25 positions. MII gives undergraduate students the space to learn how to properly invest in a risk-controlled environment, gain formidable experiences, and ultimately reinvest in their educational community. Intrigued by such a unique idea of having a student-run investment club, my first thought was, "How did this all start?"
The investment fund started in 1994 with an initial 100,000 dollars from John Griffin, the President of Blue Ridge Capital. John Griffin is a UVA McIntire School alum who leveraged his educational experiences to grow a hedge fund that managed over nine billion dollars in assets. His investment success and philanthropic endeavors are directly rooted in the mission of MII. John's 100,000 dollar grant for student experiences turned into one million dollars in 2019 due to many successful stock positions from MII club members over the years. After reaching this milestone, MII donated 500,000 back to the McIntire School of Commerce, significantly impacting the educational community. What started as a way to promote educational opportunities resulted in five times the capacity to help more students. The donation went towards McIntire faculty research, scholarships, and continued education for students through the seminar series. As the fund approaches one million dollars for the second time, another hefty donation to McIntire may be shortly.
Growing 100,000 dollars into over a million in return is no simple feat. The ability to yield such successful returns is a testament to the transformative power of MII's training curriculum. Once accepted to the club, you are an analyst and work alongside associates who have undergone the training process. Throughout this process, analysts are taught the basics of modeling techniques, accounting, corporate finance, evaluation analysis, business research, revenue and cost modeling, and stock pitch. Many of these educational opportunities are unique to MII and cannot be taught in a formal academic setting. Srimaan and Elena both highlight the collaborative training process and the strong community created as a result. "We have instilled a full circle culture in which everyone at one point was mentored, and as they gain experience are eager to be that mentor to others," said Srimaan.
The word family was brought up during both interviews in both a literal and metaphorical sense. Joining MII was never in question for Elena. Before she came to UVA, she was already familiar with MII because of her older brother’s involvement in the club in 2019. When she came to UVA and learned about all the various investment CIOs, she could see specifically why MII had a lasting impact on him and wanted to be a part of that. Following the completion of the training program, analysts are ready to give stock pitches and analyze companies effectively. Members will work on project teams to pitch a stock each semester to the rest of the club. After working on a team at the analyst level, members can take a leadership position as an associate leader. Upperclassmen associate leaders lead a team of 5-6 analysts to spearhead the stock analyzing process and how to pitch the stock. One of the main requirements of the club is to be a part of a stock pitch each semester. Mandatory stock pitches ensure constant new ideas and keeping up with current market trends. Current stock positions include Delta, Disney, Live Nation Entertainment, and around 20 other industry stocks. I was very intrigued to hear about the personal development of Elena and Srimaan's stock pitch experiences.
Elena shared with me a story about her first investment as an associate member working with four analysts. After her promotion from analyst to associate, her team researched Expedia and, based on their analysis, believed it was a great investment opportunity. In fact, it was too good of an investment opportunity. Expedia hit the target stock price the team had set at the start of the semester. Although MII missed out on the target price point and a chance to make a hefty return, Elena was proud of herself and her team for their spot on due diligence and start to finish collaborative effort.
Srimaan's favorite stock pitch was about a company called Rover, a service company that connects customers with those who provide dog services such as grooming, walking, and boarding. When Srimaan told me about Rover, I had never heard of the company before, which was his exact reaction when his team came across Rover during their stock research. Beyond the company's favorability number-wise, Srimaan and his team learned the importance of investing in an idea. Although Rover was not yet an extremely highly valued company, his team was impressed with Rover’s ability to capture both the day and nighttime market of pets by alleviating the old challenges of the pet services offered. In April 2023, MII bought in at around 4 dollars and nearly tripled their investment when Blackstone bought out the company.
Membership benefits of MII yield results at UVA and in the real world. Elena recently accepted an investment banking internship offer at Goldman Sachs for summer 2024, and Srimaan accepted a hedge fund internship offer from Point72 for summer 2025. Elena and Srimaan credit their success to the training program MII offers and the mentorship ingrained in the club. Srimaan "couldn't tell me one older member who hasn't been involved with younger members' recruiting processes." An extensive alumni network and a thriving group of members to look up to go a long way. After learning about MII, I encourage all students interested in investing to apply, no matter their major. The diversity of thought promoted in the club has provided a versatile way of presenting stock pitches and yielding successful positions. Whether you take a class at McIntire or join MII, you will inevitably reap the benefits of the McIntire Investment Institute.
All content is the intellectual property of the Virginia Undergraduate Business Review.
REFERENCES
[1] McIntire Investment Institute. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2024, from McIntire Investment Institute website: https://mcintireinvestmentinstitute.org/
[2] Ross, S. (2024, January 4). Who is John Griffin: Early life, education, and philanthropy. Retrieved April 11, 2024, from Investopedia website: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/031216/john-griffins-success-story-net-worth-education-top-quotes.asp
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