ACIIC Spring Conference 2017

Jeremy So

During the 2017 ACIIC Spring Conference, we met many industry professionals in finance, competed in a stock pitch competition, met finance students from all around Canada, got to explore a new city, and learned a lot more about each other.

Through a panel discussion and several social events with industry professionals, we learned about their career paths, pros and cons of their jobs, and important aspects of recruiting. We also mingled with them over dinner and drinks, which was a great opportunity to learn about networking outside of a professional setting.

As this was my first stock pitch competition, I learned a lot about value investing and how to pick out the small percentage of companies that are mispriced by the market, thus making them good investments as they can be purchased below fair value. Some of the things we learned included discounted cash flow modelling, football field analysis, comparable companies analysis, stock price modelling, how to analyze annual reports and year-end financial statements, and how to develop an investment thesis. Even if I never apply what I learned in a workplace setting, learning how to be a value investor is crucial for growing personal wealth.

We had an opportunity to meet students from nine different schools in Canada. It was a great experience competing against them as well as getting to know them in social settings. Several of us were completely new to Toronto, and it was an enriching experience exploring Canada’s largest city.

Having pulled back-to- back all-nighters with each other, with one of us going 52 hours without sleep, we got to know each other a lot better. It’s opportunities like this conference that help Sauder students step out of their comfort zones and develop relationships with their peers that will last a lifetime, and I’m glad to have shared this experience with the UBC ACIIC team.