LATROBE, PA – Finance and Accounting Club members at Saint Vincent College won the spring 2026 session of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society Pittsburgh Collegiate Stock Picker Challenge.
The session, conducted from Feb. 15 to April 15, gave students the opportunity to pick their own portfolio of stocks and compete against their fellow peers for the best total return.
“The CFA Society Pittsburgh Collegiate Stock Picker Challenge offers students valuable experiential learning by combining investment research, portfolio strategy and real-world market competition,” said Dr. Nicholas Racculia, C’00, professor of finance and chair of the Finance and Accounting Department housed in the College’s Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government.
The students analyzed companies and built stock portfolios. During the session, they actively managed these positions, mirroring the work of professional asset managers.
Saint Vincent students finished in first place as their aggregate portfolio earned 7.15% versus the S&P 500 return of 1.98% over the same time period. The team outperformed the second-place institution by nearly two percentage points.
Bearcat students competing in the challenge included Anthony Semelka, a sophomore accounting and finance double major from Greensburg; Mariano Jimenez, a junior finance and economics & mathematics double major from Latrobe; Sydney McWreath, a sophomore accounting major from Washington; Benjamin Poole, a sophomore accounting and finance double major from Murrysville; and Lance Penar, a sophomore accounting major from Latrobe.
McWreath earned sixth place in the individual portfolio category as her investments had an 18.9% return.
The spring competition attracted 140 students across 10 postsecondary education institutions, including all three Pennsylvania Western University campuses, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Duquesne, La Roche and Penn State universities.
