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Learn to evaluate a publicly traded company and produce an investment recommendation.
Detailed analyses and accurate predictions based on fundamental understanding of a company are key to becoming a successful public equity investing professional. In this Build Project, you will wear the hat of a fundamental analyst and develop investment recommendations about a publicly traded company’s stock. Under the supervision of an experienced industry expert, you will dive deep into understanding the company’s business model, evaluating its business strategies and competitive landscapes, analyzing its financial data, and predicting its future growth potential. You will also become familiar with tools such as Python to conduct statistical analysis on macroeconomic data and apply various valuation methods in Excel to support your investment theses. The analytical and modeling skills gained from this project will help you become more competitive in the recruiting process for a junior equity investment role.
Get to know the Fellow and each other! After learning about each other, let’s learn more about public market investing, including various asset classes and the role of an investment analyst.
Learn more about business models of various companies and how they separate businesses into different segments. Then, explore what are fundamental drivers for a company and why investors care about these.
Dig deep into the industry dynamics that companies operate in. Use Porter’s Five Forces analysis to determine a company’s challenges and competitive advantages.
Why do investors care about macroeconomic data? How does different data correlate with company performance over time? We will try to gather and analyze data to find out using quantitative tools such as Python or R.
From various sources, learn more about the company’s key to success. What is a key product of the company? What is a unique business strategy that puts the company at a competitive advantage? How can a company turn these into financial success?
Transform what we learned so far into quantitative models to value the equity. Explore the advantages and disadvantages of different valuation methods and create a DCF valuation model from scratch.
What are different types of business risks that a company needs to deal with in daily operations? What are some of the strategies that companies are using to mitigate them? Learn to quantify these risks and incorporate them into valuation through scenario analysis.
Present your findings throughout the course and provide a final investment recommendation. Then, explore ways to condense the core investment theses into a short, effective investment pitch that can be used in job interviews.
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We'll notify you when projects reopen. In the meantime, you can explore our resources and learn more about our Fellows.
Bill Cui is a Finance Build Fellow at Open Avenues Foundation, where he works with students leading projects in financial analysis. Bill is a fundamental analyst at Citadel Securities, where he focuses on conducting financial analysis on companies and commodities. Bill has over three years of experience in the finance field. He has covered assets in Industrials, Materials, and Energy sectors. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and Quantitative Social Science from Dartmouth College. A fun fact about Bill is that he loves hiking and playing soccer.