Who are we looking for?

Equity Fund and Fixed Income Fund

Role Description

Our Equity Fund, started in 2011 alongside GIMG itself, manages and executes a long-only US equity strategy on a portion of the overall Emory University endowment. The Fund sources its prospective investments through a three-step process: first, our idea generation team presents an initial stock pitch to the Fund; second, our qualitative analysis team breaks down the catalysts and risks of each pitch; and third, our quantitative analysis team runs a model to determine the suitable performance benchmarks for the stock. Each step along the way, the entire Executive Board votes on whether or not to move a pitched stock along the process. Our fourth team, the education team, conducts research on a specific market trend and presents it to our Fund when we meet every week.

On the other hand, GIMG raised $100,000 in 2015 to launch its second fund: the Fixed Income Fund, focused on fixed income instruments including U.S. treasuries, agencies, municipal bonds, and corporate bonds. Each pitch consists of 3-4 analysts paired with a fund VP to conduct security selection, analysis on investment merits and risks, and cash flow modeling. A recent initiative of the Fund is the “Weekly Macro Log”, featuring coverage and commentary on recent financial, economic, and geopolitical developments. Thus, analysts are expected to demonstrate strong critical thinking skills in order to effectively and cohesively theorize on how complicated global events may affect key investment factors like interest rates, market liquidity, and credit quality.

Both GIMG’s Equity and Fixed Income Funds offer an opportunity to take part in evaluating investment opportunities and participating in discussions about companies, markets, and overarching financial trends. With these responsibilities in mind, we are looking for bright individuals who have an interest in the markets and financial analysis. As such, especially for freshmen applicants, no prior experience or background in finance is required.

We invite you to be open and candid when sharing your accomplishments, ongoing involvements, and future goals to allow us to better understand the depth of your personality and how you may blend in with our team structure—do not hesitate to take chances and have fun with this process. We highly encourage prospective analysts to get to know our Executive Board through scheduling a coffee chat, or connect with our Vice Presidents and Analysts by simply reaching out via email.

Thank you again for your interest in joining GIMG’s Equity and Fixed Income Funds—we all look forward to getting to know you more through this process.

Roles and Responsibilities:

• Contribute to investment research, valuation modeling, and idea generation as directed by the group VP

• Attend weekly fund meetings to present and pitch research ideas throughout the investment cycle

• Participate actively in investment discussions while staying updated on market news and developments

• Engage in community involvement initiatives to teach financial literacy in Atlanta high schools

• Sophomores or older members are expected to apply their experience to support our freshmen analysts

Skills and Qualifications:

• Enrolled on Main Campus

• Class of 2028 cannot apply in their fall semester but can fill out the interest form linked below for access to GIMG education sessions. Freshmen who attend will increase the likelihood of their acceptance into GIMG in the spring. 

• Class of 2027 and 2028 must all apply through the online application linked below by January 31st at 11:59 PM

  • Sophomore applicants who have prior experience in finance will be favored

• Demonstrated interest in financial markets, macroeconomic news, and evaluating businesses

• Familiarity with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint) a plus

• Exudes a highly driven, passionate, and inquisitive attitude

• Strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills

• Ability to learn quickly and adapt within a team

• Robust research, writing, and presentation skills are highly valued

Sample Pitches

As a part of our fund application, applicants are expected to make a stock/bond pitch as well as an industry pitch. While some may be intimidated by this requirement, we wanted to provide some clarity, and more importantly, direct examples to illustrate what we are looking for.

Below are three sample pitches that we have sourced from successful applicants. Please note that while these have been put forth as examples, we have accepted many more applicants who have employed different approaches—there is no “one” correct way to pitch an idea. We greately value creativity and originality; as such, please exercise discretion and use good judgement when utilizing these resources.

As one final note, it is worth noting that the bond pitch is more technical by nature—the applicant who pitched it was also fimiliar with the fixed income market. Therefore, we do not recommend a bond pitch for applicants without prior relevant exposure to the topic.

In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to any member of the Executive Board should you have any related questions.
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Stock Pitch

I would buy Merck & Co. [MRK] stock, a large pharmaceutical company that currently trades at $89.53 per share, because it has strong potential for growth in the next 1-3 years, and demonstrates clear market resilience. In terms of potential for growth, Merck was able to gain its 18th FDA approval for “Keytruda” to access advanced stage kidney cancer patients in early 2019. Unlike its competitors, AbbVie, Merck will likely not face competition from biosimilars for their flagship drug within the next 10 years, as R&D is still in very early development. The market for this drug was also opened to China and Europe where Merck recently gained approval. Keytruda originally reached lung cancer patients when it was launched in 2014, but continues to see growth, increasing by 62% just last year after opening to a global market. With the market opening to new patients at home and abroad in 2020, it is very likely that it will bring in even more revenue. The company also plans to push new drugs such as Lynparza (prostate cancer target) and Lenvima (complementary treatment with Keytruda) through the FDA in 2020, diversifying patients. In its last five years, Merck has demonstrated strong price performance indicating its stability of business and quality of management.

Good predictors of market resilience in the chemicals industry include acquisitions, responding to societal and regulatory expectations, investing in R&D, and digitizing. Merck meets three of these four predictors. Its recent acquisition of Peloton Therapeutics, a biopharma with novel therapeutic targets, places Merck as a leader in oncological drug discovery and development. As a reflection of its progressiveness as a company, Merk’s ESG score lands in the 94th percentile, suggesting that it is a leader in its sector. Two competitors in the industry, Eli Lilly and AbbVie, have increased their R&D spending by 8% and 80% respectively from the previous year’s quarter. Merck’s increase in investment in R&D falls in between at 55%, demonstrating that the company maintains its focus on innovation, and strives to advance its ability to outperform its competitors. All considered, I believe that Merck is a strong buy. 
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Industry Analysis

ESports will one-day challenge traditional sports (baseball, football, basketball, etc) in market value and find itself in the Olympics. The current market is valued around $3 billion but that is far, far short of the actual value says Ann Hand, CEO of Super League Inc., a publicly-traded eSports experience platform and creator of League of Legends and Minecraft. She compares the $3 billion valuation to valuing the global market for baseball by just looking at Major League Baseball, for example. I find eSports a fascinating sector because of how it seamlessly brings together technology and entertainment into one. Many teenagers and kids spend far more time watching streamers play video games than actually playing the video games themselves, nonetheless going outside to play the actual sport. I expect this phenomenon to exponentially grow as technology improves and the older demographics catch onto eSports as well. One interesting draw from the older, more traditional sports crowd could be the combination of eSports and legalized sports gambling which has massive potential.

From a financial perspective, eSports is a very attractive proposition. It is a very young sector but with strong results to date. Most investments have come through the private markets with Silicon Valley-based venture capital groups leading the way. Revenues are growing at an average annual rate of 30% with 2019 marking the first year that the industry broke $1 billion in revenue. It is projected to sustain this growth rate and surpass $2 billion in revenues by 2022. An important driver in eSports’ growth will be interest in the sector from sponsorship and media companies which represent over 70% of eSports’ revenue. Sponsorships, advertising, and media rights are growing annually at 53%, 24%, and 72% respectively. BMW, Nike, Honda, and Red Bull have all gotten into the eSports market through team and league sponsorships which I believe is one catalyst that will allow eSports compete with current professional sports leagues. To capitalize on this growing market, I would recommend investing in the Roundhill ESports and Digital Entertainment ETF (NYSE: NERD) and key eSports companies like Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts that have extensive video game franchises to license and promote to professional eSports leagues. The potential of eSports is nearly limitless over the next 5 years.
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Bond Pitch

In the Fixed Income market, I would purchase 1 month Treasury Bills. Currently, these notes are yielding around 1.52% annualized. This is the same as the 3-year rate and around 50 basis points less than the 30-year rate. While this is a rather poor return, it is quite safe and will help guard against the diminishing effects of inflation. The United States is one of the most reliable borrowers, with a AAA rating and trust of many economies across the world. In the current market, where recession is expected in the near future and a variety of variables, such as a potential war with Iran or the 2020 presidential election, seeking safer investment vehicles is favorable. This is especially true as spreads have been tightening in the corporate bond market, making the additional risk of investing in the corporate debt market much less rewarding.

Furthermore, with a duration of 1 month, this investment is heavily liquid and can be converted to cash or rolled over into another investment in a very short time. This is especially enticing since this additional liquidity comes without sacrificing much upside (only 50 Basis Points from 30 yr and no difference from 3 years). While this investment may not result in a massive profit, it is a guaranteed return that can prevent inflation from diminishing cash and is a very safe and liquid investment that insulates the investor from losing money and mitigates the risk that they miss out on potential future investment opportunities.