Wilkes University Students Place Third In National CQA Investment Challenge

Wilkes-Barre, PA (05/29/2019) — Students in Wilkes University's Sidhu School of Business and Leadership placed third in the fifth annual Chicago Quantitative Alliance (CQA) Investment Challenge. The Wilkes team, called Wilkes Gold, competed against 50 teams, beating students from The University of Chicago, CalTech, Carnegie Mellon MBA, Duke University, Cornell University, University of Michigan, Washington University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The Wilkes team received $1,000 for their third-place finish.

The University of Colorado, Boulder team finished first and the team from Temple University finished second. The competition is an equity portfolio management competition that offers students the opportunity to learn and apply stock selection and portfolio management skills in a simulated, real-life hedge fund experience. The challenge ran from the end of October 2018 through the end of March 2019.

The Wilkes team consisted of Sidhu School senior students Kyle Gattuso, Sam Eyler, Nicole Harmer, Noah Durnin, Austin Hackenberg, Jorge Gonzalez, Brady Wing and Michael Hauck. Team leader Kyle Gattuso attended the CQA Institute's Advanced Investment Management Course. The institute, held at Wilkes in May, is a two-week course for undergraduates that is taught by the experienced professionals who are CQA members.

Each team in the competition had an assigned CQA member who acted as a mentor and guide. The Wilkes' team's CQA mentor was Dave Byrket.

"Serving as the CQA mentor for the Wilkes team, I was very impressed with the process the team developed and executed," said CQA mentor Byrket. "The team combined a sound quantitative model to identify attractive stocks with a fundamental overlay to actually select the stocks for the portfolio."

Byrket added, "The team was also very focused on managing their active risk in striving for strong risk-adjusted returns. By developing a sound process, and most importantly sticking to it during periods of volatility, they were able to deliver outstanding returns. This is a great accomplishment for Wilkes University. Competing against 50 teams from the top schools in the world, the Wilkes squad should be very proud. "

CQA is a non-profit, professional investment organization composed of quantitative investment practitioners. The organization's primary goal is to promote the interests of the quantitative investment community.

Photo Caption: Students from Wilkes University's Sidhu School of Business and Leadership finished third in the nation in the Chicago Quantitative Alliance (CQA) Investment Challenge. Pictured from left are senior students Nicole Harmer, Austin Hackenberg, Brady Wing, Jorge Gonzalez, Michael Hauck, Sam Eyler, Noah Durnin and team leader Kyle Gattuso.

For more stories about Wilkes University and its students, faculty and staff, please visit News@Wilkes.

About Wilkes University:

Wilkes University is a private, independent, non-sectarian institution of higher education dedicated to academic and intellectual excellence through mentoring in the liberal arts, sciences and professional programs. Founded in 1933, Wilkes is on a mission to create one of the nation's finest doctoral universities, offering all of the programs, activities and opportunities of a large university in the intimate, caring and mentoring environment of a small college, open to all who show promise. The Economist named Wilkes 25th in the nation for the value of its education for graduates. In addition to 46 majors, Wilkes offers 24 master's degree programs and five doctoral/terminal degree programs, including the doctor of philosophy in nursing, doctor of nursing practice, doctor of education, doctor of pharmacy, and master of fine arts in creative writing. Learn more at www.wilkes.edu.

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