Competitions

BIG Investment Banking Competition

The BIG Investment Banking Competition (‘the IB Competition’) aims to prepare students for the final stages of the intensive recruitment process in many investment banks. The IB Competition aims to specifically prepare students for the group assessment component of this recruitment process. During this stage, groups of applicants are often given a ‘problem document’ which contains financial and strategic information on a large listed company as well as some smaller listed companies that present potential acquisition targets. Groups of applicants will be given a limited time to develop a pitch which they must then present to the board of directors of the large listed company; this pitch should contain recommendations in relation to which company the larger company should seek to acquire and why.

The concept behind the IB Competition is very similar – contestants will be given a problem document that contains information on both a large listed Australian company and several smaller listed Australian companies which present potential acquisition targets. Each group will have to present both strategic and fundamental arguments to a panel of judges (which represent the board of directors of the large listed Australian company) to demonstrate why the larger firm should seek to acquire one of the smaller firms.

Teams will comprise of three students and teams will be given their problem documents two hours before they are due to present. Each team is permitted to use laptop computers to perform calculations and create a PowerPoint presentation. Each team will be given 10 minutes to pitch their case to the panel of judges. This will be followed by 5 minutes of question time in which the panel of judges will have an opportunity to assess how well teams are able to justify their opinions. Finally, there will be a 5 minute de-brief in which judges can provide students with feedback from which they can then learn and improve.

Do not stress if you feel that you have little or no experience concerning company valuation or acquisitions. BIG will be running a bridging course that will explain the basic aspects of valuation, including ‘comparable analysis’ and ‘comparable valuation’. The judging panel will also take into consideration that students have limited knowledge concerning company valuation and will therefore judge students accordingly.

BIG Equity Research Competition

The BIG Equity Research Competition asks students to imagine that they are working within the Research Department of an Investment Bank. Students are asked to prepare a research report (often referred to as a broker’s report) for a listed Australian company. Students must arrive at a specific recommendation – buy, sell or hold – for equity investors.

The Competition is divided into two divisions – a Junior Division and a Senior Division. Students in the Junior Division must complete a strategic analysis of the company as well as an analysis of basic comparables. Students in the Senior Division are expected to go one step further and must also perform a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) valuation for the company (explaining the valuation methodology and any assumptions that they have made).

One winner is selected from each the Junior and Senior Division. Winning students will be eligible for a cash prize (or cash equivalent – such as a gift voucher) as well as the opportunity to undertake some work experience with an industry sponsor.