The Wharton Competition is an investment challenge for juniors and seniors across the world. Between Sept. 26 to Dec 3, a group of Pleasant Valley students were challenged to invest and try to grow money via this competition. $100,000 was given towards this group of upperclassmen in hopes to win over a client. Teams were given $100,000 to manage with the overarching goal of winning over a client.
The Wharton Challenge gives students 10 weeks to develop an investment strategy to analyze industries and companies. The winner is determined by the articulation of a team’s strategy rather than the end result of growth, strength and articulation of their team strategies in a portfolio rather than the actual growth.
Senior Atharv Neema, a second year team member, shared his thoughts on this competition and the opportunities that rose from it. “The Wharton Investment Competition is an exciting opportunity for teams to develop cutting-edge stock algorithms. Unlike traditional stock portfolio competitions, teams are challenged to craft a process for selecting stocks that is tailored to meet the unique needs and desires of their clients,” Neema continued. “Rather than simply striving for the highest monetary portfolio value at the end of the competition, teams are tasked with the important goal of creating a bespoke stock-picking strategy to meet the specific investment goals of their clients.”
Out of 1300 teams, the PVHS team was named global semi finalists, which is the top 55 of participating teams. These students made a 10 minute video presentation as the next step, which would lead to potentially being named finalists in the top 10 globally. This would also provide the team the opportunity to experience the Global Final held at Wharton Business School in Philadelphia.
Senior Pranav Suresh feels that the opportunity to compete in this competition helped him grow as a student. “The competition has helped me learn a lot about the field of finance and it really helped open my eyes to an entire industry that I didn’t know much about. Going into it with no expectations and just trying to learn, it was really cool to see our progress and advancing to the global semifinals,” said Suresh.
Neema believes that the team’s dynamic was the primary factor that led to the team’s success. “The team comprises seven members, consisting of three seniors and four talented juniors. Each member brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the fields of investing and business, acquired through a combination of formal education and personal endeavors,” Neema stated.
The challenge is hosted by one of the leading business education schools in the world, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. It gives students from all over the opportunity to work as a team, and develop hands-on experience in real-world business concepts such as risk, company analysis and diversification.
Although the teams consist of high school students, a teacher from the school is required to advise the students through the process. Mrs. Brown, the advisor for the PV team, has contributed greatly to the team’s success. “Our advisor, Mrs. Brown, has been an invaluable asset in helping us grasp fundamental business practices and accounting concepts. With her guidance and expertise, we have gained a deeper understanding of these essential principles, enabling us to make informed decisions and develop effective strategies for success,” Neema said.
Seniors Hayden Evans, Atharv Neema and Pranav Suresh and juniors Kyle Almgren, Achchinteya Jayaram, Nathan Musal and Johnny Zeigelbein all have worked hard to get to this point, and hopefully they will all get the chance to represent PV on the international stage.
