Prior to the Challenge: 

• The first seven MBA programs to register for the Challenge will be invited to compete in our inaugural event.
• Each team must consist of three full-time MBA students, one of whom must be a first year student.
• The theme for the Challenge will be communicated to teams on Monday, November 5th.  Teams must interpret the theme and determine the best way to invest for that theme over a twelve month investment horizon.  Teams should take into account liquidity concerns when choosing their stock. A template will be provided at this time.
• Teams may use any resources available to them for research, including Bloomberg, CapitalIQ, FactSet, equity research reports, and primary research.
• Each team must submit its presentation to webbere13@darden.virginia.edu electronically as a PDF file by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, November 14th.
• Teams will be randomly divided into two brackets, consisting of four teams each, and the presentation order will be randomly determined for each bracket.

Day of the Challenge:

• Registration for the Challenge and brunch will be held from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM on Thursday, November 15th.  Presentations will begin promptly at 11:30 AM.
• Each team will pitch one stock, either a long or a short, based on the Challenge theme. Each team will have seven minutes to pitch its stock recommendation and six minutes to field questions from the judges. Time limits will be strictly enforced.
• Detailed scoring guidelines will be provided to the judges, and each team will be evaluated on five criteria: quality of analysis, strength of thesis, strength of presentation, ability to field questions, and involvement of all members of the team in the presentation.
• Following the presentations, the judges will complete their scoring, and the winner of each bracket will be announced at 1:05 PM. 
• Final round presentations will begin promptly at 1:15 PM, and each team will have ten minutes to pitch its recommendation and fifteen minutes to field questions by the judges. The order of final presentations will be determined randomly.
• Following the presentations, the judges will communicate the winner of the Challenge to the DVIC coordinators. Students and judges will participate in the University of Virginia Investing Conference (UVIC) until Closing Comments and Recognition are completed by Dean Bob Bruner at 6:15 PM.
• The winner of the Challenge will be announced during the Darden Capital Management (DCM) club networking reception at 6:30 PM.
• A bus will leave Darden for the UVA vs. UNC football game at 7:00 PM, and all students and judges are welcome to join us for the game.
• Accommodations will be provided to students on Wednesday and Thursday night, as needed.