Author: GW Investment Institute

As we wrap up the Fall 2025 semester and the calendar year, I am grateful for the continued dedication of the GW Investment Institute (GWII) community. This semester, over 35 undergraduates across two sections of Applied Financial Securities Analysis (FINA 4101) actively managed more than $3.8 million in assets under management, applying the GWII Investment Framework through weekly analysis and real-world decision-making. Students further enhanced their market knowledge through industry guest speakers, site visits, continued engagement with the BlackRock for Universities curriculum, and hands-on use of industry tools, including Bloomberg and FactSet. I would like to thank our faculty, Bill Collier and Christine Song; our staff, Bojana Jankovic, Kathleen Hinman, Willow Newcomb, and Danielle Lucero; and our teaching assistant, Kaitlyn Johnson. I am also grateful to our chairman, Russ Ramsey, our board members, and our guest speakers for their ongoing support. Finally, thank you for being an essential part of our community. We look forward to building on this momentum in the spring semester.

Recent Highlights

Get Engaged

We value your engagement with the GW Investment Institute and look forward to continuing the conversation in the year ahead.

In Episode 73 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, delivers a comprehensive overview of the nine leading U.S. AI stocks on the public market. He highlights Google’s strong 2025 performance, heavy AI investment, and strategic advantages from in-house chips and an integrated enterprise ecosystem. Lake also examines valuation and competitive dynamics across the AI landscape, including Nvidia’s GPU leadership, Apple’s longer-term AI positioning, and Tesla’s progress in autonomous driving, robotics, energy, and data centers in space. In all, Professor Lake emphasizes the transformative impact of AI and the importance of understanding these market leaders.

On December 6 and December 10, 2025, students from two sections of the Applied Financial Securities Analysis (FINA 4101) class delivered their final stock pitch presentations for the GW Phillips Student Investment Fund. Established in 2008, the fund now manages over $3.8 million in assets (as of December 10, 2025). 36 students presented their buy and sell recommendations using the GW Investment Institute Investment Framework, applying rigorous financial modeling, competitive analysis, and valuation methods. After each pitch, classmates, acting as the investment committee, voted on the recommendation, requiring an 80% approval for adoption into the portfolio.

To explore the fund’s performance in detail, be sure to check out the latest GWII Quarterly Report, which reflects data as of September 30, 2025.

In Episode 72 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, covers the equity markets, interest rates, energy trends, and market headlines. He reviews strong year-to-date performance for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, discussing the market’s stabilization after tariff-related volatility. Likewise, Lake examines how the current yield curve and anticipated Federal Reserve rate cuts may influence both valuations and mortgage costs. In market headlines, he spotlights Michael and Susan Dell’s historic $6.25 billion contribution to the Invest America initiative, which will fund investment accounts for 25 million children. Lake concludes by analyzing key energy and inflation dynamics—from lower oil prices to rising electricity costs and the accelerating global transition toward electric vehicles, particularly in the U.S. and China. 

In Episode 71 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, reevaluates Alphabet (Google) through the BMPB framework, highlighting the company’s dominance in search, advertising, and cloud services and Gemini’s competitive AI position. He reviews Google’s consistent revenue growth, exceptional margins, and robust free cash flow of $73 billion. Leadership under Sundar Pichai has driven bold innovation efforts, such as Project Sun Catcher and TPU chips, and has emphasized the company’s efforts to strengthen regulatory clarity and competitive positioning. With a reasonable 26x forward PE and an exceptional balance sheet, Professor Lake reflects that Alphabet remains well-positioned for long-term investment success in the AI era.

In Episode 70 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, delivers a comprehensive market update, highlighting Microsoft, Nvidia, and Anthropic’s major AI partnership, rising investment pressures across the sector, and comments from Google’s Sundar Pichai on a potential AI bubble. He also notes Jeff Bezos’s Prometheus venture, an upcoming Saudi Arabia state visit tied to a possible F-35 deal, expectations for Nvidia’s earnings, and the continued outsized influence of the Mag Seven. Lake reviews the strong one-, three-, and ten-year returns of the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, examines the stubbornly high 10-year Treasury yield and its impact on mortgages and homebuilding, and mentions Bitcoin’s recent pullback, ultimately encouraging investors to stay focused on long-term fundamentals, earnings growth, inflation trends, and key AI developments as markets continue to deliver exceptional multi-year performance.

In Episode 69 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, examines earnings from Alphabet, Microsoft, and Berkshire Hathaway. He highlights Alphabet’s standout quarter, backed by strong advertising, rapid Google Cloud growth, and significant AI investment. Microsoft also reports impressive results with Azure’s continued momentum, substantial AI-driven CapEx, and a notable 27% stake in OpenAI under Satya Nadella’s strong leadership. Berkshire Hathaway, positioned as a “contra-AI trade,” spotlights their $380B cash pile, steady operating businesses, and the upcoming leadership transition from Warren Buffett to Greg Abel. This week, Professor Lake emphasizes valuation context, balance-sheet health, and why these companies matter for investors.

The second GW Stock Pitch Competition, hosted by the GW Investment Institute, once again highlighted the exceptional talent and dedication of GW students. Held on November 7th, 2025, at the GW School of Business, the competition provided students with an opportunity to apply the GWII Investment Framework, sharpen their financial analysis skills using FactSet, and present compelling investment ideas before a panel of distinguished industry judges.

Throughout the competition, participants conducted extensive research, earned FactSet certification, and developed detailed investment theses for publicly traded U.S. companies with a market capitalization of at least $250 million. Their work culminated in a final presentation that tested both their analytical depth and communication skills.

After a highly competitive round featuring 10 talented finalists, the top-performing students were recognized for their outstanding pitches:

🥇 First Place Award – $550: Conor Brown, BS ‘26 – Stryker Corp. (SYK)
🥈 Second Place Award – $350: Oscar Gladysz, BS ‘27 – Planet Labs (PL)
🥉 Third Place Award – $200: Ravi Ahuja, BS ‘29 – Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
🏅 Honorable Mention – $100: Sara Parikh, BS ‘27 – ONEOK (OKE)

A special thank you to our judges — Sonya Rankin, Randy Graves, Matt Miller, and Kaitlyn Johnson — for lending their time and expertise to provide thoughtful feedback and guidance to our students.

Congratulations to all participants for their impressive research, creativity, and professionalism. The GW Investment Institute is proud to continue fostering experiential learning opportunities that prepare students to excel in the world of finance.

📽️ Check out the recap video below and stay tuned for Fall 2026 applications!

In Episode 68 of “Market News with Rodney Lake,” Professor Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute, recaps the 2025 Q3 earnings for Apple, Amazon, and Tesla, and how their business performance is reflected in the market. He highlights Apple’s strong Q3 results driven by iPhone 17 demand, record service revenue, solid margins, and a calculated approach to AI. Amazon impressed with 20% growth in AWS, rising advertising revenue, and progress on their in-house Trainium chip design, maintaining a strong balance sheet and free cash flow. Tesla reported 12% revenue growth, record cash levels, and a 50% surge in its energy business, underscoring opportunities in battery storage, autonomous driving, and robotics. The episode offers educational market insight on how these tech leaders are navigating innovation, growth, and valuation in a dynamic market environment.

Introduction

During the quarter ending September 30, 2025, the GW Investment Institute (GWII) welcomed 39 students across its two finance courses. GWII celebrated several milestones, including sending a team to the Cornell Women in Investing Conference, where the team secured the Presentation Winner award. GWII also published its annual report and launched season three of Market News with Rodney Lake. In addition, GWII co-hosted the Summer in the City networking event in New York City and participated in the GW Alumni at the Rockies event. This quarter’s market commentary is written by Kaitlyn Johnson, a GW School of Business senior majoring in Finance and International Business. Following graduation, Kaitlyn will join RBC as an investment banking analyst in NYC.

Market Commentary 

The third quarter of 2025 marked a strong period for global equity markets, with the S&P 500 advancing +8.1% and extending year-to-date gains to +14.8%. Investor sentiment improved as inflation cooled and the Federal Reserve delivered its first rate cut of the year, lowering the federal funds rate by 25 basis points amid signs of a softening labor market and moderate wage growth. Although jobless claims edged higher at the start of the quarter, they remained low by historical standards. As measured by the MSCI, emerging markets delivered double-digit returns year to date at 28.0%, supported by a weaker dollar and US-China trade talk progress towards the latter half of the quarter. Growth stocks outpaced value stocks in large-cap markets, although small-cap stocks outperformed large-cap stocks this quarter. 

The Technology sector outperformed both the broader market and most defensive sectors. As of 9/30/205, the “Magnificent 7” mega-cap tech stocks hold an approximately combined 33% weighting in the S&P 500 Index and account for approximately 50% of the year-to-date gains, supported by accelerating investment in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure. 

Ten of the eleven underlying sectors in the S&P 500 increased returns this past quarter, with Consumer Staples the only sector to lag behind, down 3.1%. Fueled by strong corporate earnings this quarter, notable outperforming sectors include Technology +14.5 %, Communication Services +13.4 %, and Financials +2.7 %.

GWII Student Investment Funds have returned 16.1% year to date, outperforming the S&P Index by 130bps. For the quarter, GW SIFs outperformed the benchmark by 90bps.

We invite you to review the full report below: