Luke’s investment insight takes him to the top in international competition
Tonbridge Second Year student Luke Coll has won the international section of The Young Investor Society (YIS) Global Stock Pitch Competition.
Luke (OH2) took part in a two-day event, staged in Salt Lake City, having put together a written analyst report, PowerPoint presentation and 10-minute YouTube video on his selected stock idea.
His impressive entry led to him being invited to attend the event in the USA. The final shortlist was selected from more than 400 students globally who had entered the competition.
Submissions are judged by a panel of university professors and industry experts, who give marks for candidates’ investment ideas, presentations and verbal pitches.
Many of the participants were older than Luke, which makes his achievement all the greater. This was Luke’s first entry in the competition and follows on from his founding of a Young Investor Society at Tonbridge when he was still a First Year.
The Global Stock Pitch Competition is the annual flagship event for Young Investor Societies globally: there are approximately 10,000 students from 2,000 schools, across 70 countries, who participate in these programmes.
Speakers and sponsors for the event in Salt Lake City included Goldman Sachs, Bloomberg, the University of Utah and various asset managers.
Luke, who received a medal, certificate and merchandise, said: “I really enjoyed meeting fellow YIS students from around the world. Everyone was friendly and keen to share knowledge and experiences, despite it being a competition.
“By taking part I’ve realised that there is much more to the success of a business than just its stock price or financial performance. A company’s focus on environmental, governance and social factors, plus the strength of the brand and its competitors, are all equally important factors which drive business success.”
On founding the YIS at Tonbridge, he added: “The club is a useful taster for anyone thinking about taking Business or Economics at A-level, or who has an interest in the financial markets, and our membership is growing.”
