Van Berkom JMSB Case Competition
March 23, 2024

This event, a premier case competition focused on small-cap investment, will provide undergraduate and graduate-level business students with an opportunity to showcase their ability to analyze financial business cases, develop strategic recommendations, and apply the academic skills they have gained in the classroom.

Description
Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business and Van Berkom and Associates Inc.
are thrilled to announce the 13th annual Van Berkom John Molson Small-Cap Case Competition, which will take
place on March 22nd & 23th, 2024.

This event, a premier case competition focused on small-cap investment, will provide undergraduate and graduate-level business students with an opportunity to showcase their ability to analyze financial business
cases, develop strategic recommendations and apply the academic skills they have gained in the classroom.

Teams should be made up of 3 - 4 students each, with the option for one alternate member.

A qualifying round will be carried out in January of each year. Teams will be given a week to complete their analysis of a case and submit their written applications. The top nine teams selected by our qualifying round judges will be invited to travel to Montreal in March to compete in the Van Berkom JMSB Case Competition. The final competition will involve two days of intense case solving. Teams will be paired up to compete against each other based on a random draw and awarded points by the judges. The cumulative total for the two cases will determine the top three winning schools.

HOW TO PREPARE
Teams participating in the competition are encouraged to prepare themselves by reviewing a case from a previous year. This will allow the teams to become familiar with the support materials they will receive at the competition. Remember: at the competition teams need to value a small cap company and provide a recommendation based on specific investment criteria.

INVESTMENT CRITERIA
Does the company represent a high-quality, well managed, but mispriced small-cap company that can be part of a well-diversified small cap portfolio for the long term? Specifically, does the company have:
· Outstanding management
· Sustainable competitive advantages
· Free Cash Flows
· High returns on capital
· Trading below intrinsic value

Organizer
Concordia -- John Molson School Of Business
Eligible Schools
Babson College - Olin Graduate School Of Business
Carleton University - Sprott School Of Business
HEC-Montreal
Tulane University Freeman School Of Business
UC Berkeley - Haas School Of Business
University of New Brunswick
University Of Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaSmith School of Business - Queen's University, UB School of Management - University at Buffalo
Prize
All nine teams will compete for $6,000 in cash prizes, with first place walking away with a cheque for $3,000.