Oakwood
Who Are We?
Oakwood Fund Management is a student-led investment initiative driving research, capital markets training, and professional development for ambitious UEA students.
We operate as a fund, not a society. Sector teams research, debate and defend real recommendations, and every member is expected to produce work that would stand up in a professional setting.
Leadership
The fund is run by a student management team, supported by operational directors and an advisory committee who partner closely with each incoming cohort.
Oakwood Fund 23/24 Cohort
Key Deliverables
Stock Pitches
These occur twice per year and are structured presentations where sector teams argue a specific recommendation on a company's equity. A typical pitch includes but is not limited to: Company Overview (what the firm does, its industry position), Investment Thesis (2-3 core reasons why the stock is under/overvalued), Valuations (DCF, comparables, multiples, precedent transactions), Catalysts (key events causing deviation in the current price), Risks and Mitigants (what could go wrong, and why the thesis still stands), and Recommendation (a clear buy/sell/hold, position sizing, stop-loss conditions).
What Will You Gain?
- Analytical Thinking
- Distil large volumes of information into a few key, concise arguments.
- Technical Skills
- Learn valuation techniques, practice financial modelling and interpret financial statements.
- Communication
- Structuring an argument, storytelling with data, and defending recommendations.
- Teamwork & Leadership
- Analysts practice collaboration by splitting research tasks, quality assurance and alignment on a final viewpoint.
Ultimately, stock pitches are a bridge between theory and practice, allowing students to begin thinking like an investor. These skills are transferable to other professional industries like law, insurance and professional services.
Industry Report
An industry report is a structured analysis of a sector rather than an individual company. Teams are expected to produce a full industry report per year. The purpose is to understand trends, risks, and opportunities that affect all players in the space, and to position the portfolio accordingly. A typical industry report includes but is not limited to: sector overview and methodology, thematic analysis, risks and opportunities, and valuation and investment implications (sensitivity analysis, portfolio recommendations).
What Will You Gain?
- Research & Data Handling
- Gathering and synthesising information from reports, databases, and news.
- Macro-to-Micro Thinking
- Learn how industry-level forces cascade into company-level valuations.
- Professional Output
- Produces a tangible report that mirrors sell-side equity research or consulting deliverables, which are useful for CVs and interviews.
Sector Coverage
Our analyst teams are organised by sector. Each team owns its coverage end to end - screening names, building the models, and defending the call.
Illustrative allocation - update with live weightings.
Graduate Destinations
Where Oakwood members have gone on to build their careers - across investment banking, asset management, consulting, law and the public sector.
Family Office
Digital Markets
Quantitative Risk
Banking Analyst
OperationsAudit, Tax & Accounting
- Actuarial Associate
- M&A Tax
- International Tax Assistant
- Financial Services Audit
Equity Research & Markets
- Equity Research Analyst
- Economist
- Agricultural Trader
- Quantitative Risk
Asset & Wealth Management
- Senior Portfolio Manager
- Private Markets / Real Assets
- Venture Capital
- Wealth Management
Commercial & Client
- Senior Account Executive
- Business Development
- Real Estate Account Handler
- Client Services
Operations & Delivery
- Project Manager
- Product Manager
- Procurement & Strategy
- Branch Operations Analyst
Consulting & Strategy
- Strategy Consultant
- Management Consulting
- Consulting Analyst
- Operational Consulting
Banking & Lending
- Investment Banking Analyst
- M&A Associate
- Infrastructure Debt
- Consumer Lending
Law & Compliance
- Trainee Solicitor
- Antitrust & Competition
- Vulnerable Persons Paralegal
- Claims
Founders & Leadership
- Founder / Co-founder
- COO
- General Manager
- Partner
Data & Analysis
- Data & Analytics
- Business Analyst
- Software Engineering
- Support Technician
Why Oakwood Fund?
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CV Credibility
Members have gone on to 42 firms and institutions - across investment banking, asset management, consulting, law and the public sector.
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Access to Alumni
Every Oakwood alumnus, now across investment banking, asset management, consulting and law. They partner with each incoming cohort.
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Professional Development
Seventy-nine reports, valuation models and pitches published since 2020 - every one of them work you can point an interviewer at.
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Like-Minded Individuals
People who take the work seriously. Your sector team researches together, argues the call, and defends it in front of the fund.
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Intellectual Growth
A full industry report runs to twenty pages of original sector analysis, with the financial model built underneath it.
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Training Pipeline
Progression runs from Junior Analyst to Senior Analyst to Director, with training and more responsibility at each stage.
Our Values
Ownership
We take accountability and pride in our deliverables, shown through our insatiable desire to improve. We also own our mistakes, viewing them as opportunities for growth, and remain receptive to constructive feedback as a cornerstone of our continuous development.
Ambition
We pride ourselves in excellence - operationally, strategically and intellectually - striving to set new standards each academic year through incremental improvements. Our management team and advisory committee actively seek breakthroughs to turn our student fund into a credible launchpad for careers in investment.
Knowledge Transfer
We are altruistic in nature and aim to make finance education and professional insights accessible for all whilst preserving meritocracy. This is reinforced through our strong continuity of leadership, achieved through our operational directors closely partnering with the current management team.
Shaping our culture,
Driving our impact
How To Join
Recruitment runs once at the start of each academic year. No prior finance experience is required - we train you.
Applications Open
Submit a short written application and your CV. We read every one.
7 SeptemberInterview
A conversational interview on motivation, a market you follow, and how you think.
OctoberOnboarding
Sector allocation plus training on valuation, modelling and research methodology.
October - NovemberFirst Deliverable
You contribute to your team's stock pitch and present to the fund.
Semester 1Frequently Asked
No. We don't expect you to be an investment banker before you apply, but we do expect the motivation and drive to become one to be on par. Onboarding covers valuation, financial modelling and research methodology from first principles, and your sector team supports you through your first deliverable.
Any. We have members from economics, finance and accounting, but also from law, computing, mathematics and engineering. Different academic backgrounds make for better research discussions.
Expect a few hours per week during term, weighted towards the run-up to pitch nights and the industry report deadline. Sector teams set their own working rhythm around timetables and exams.
All undergraduate years and postgraduates. Joining early gives you more time to progress into a senior or management position, but we take strong applicants at any stage.
Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram, or join the mailing list at the bottom of this page. We announce the cycle in September and run sessions during the Societies Fair.
Recent Activity
Research Library
Every industry report and stock pitch the fund has published, organised by sector and academic year.
Get In Touch
Recruitment opens each academic year. If you're a UEA student who wants to think like an investor, we'd like to hear from you.
Contact Us