Investing | Clark Cheung

I lead the Materials & Industrials group within the CMC Student Investment Fund
During the 2025–2026 academic year, our portfolio returned 68.2%, versus 20.34% for the XLI/XLB benchmark, outperforming it by 47.9 percentage points
We run 29% annualized volatility with a Sharpe ratio of 2.18
Selected pitches below

Equities

Long Equity Pitch · September 2025 Long Hexcel (NYSE: HXL) Hexcel supplies carbon-fiber composites primarily to aerospace and defense customers. After tracking nearly every public company in the sector, we found Street had mis-modeled the business and missed a near-term engine-delivery unlock at Airbus and Boeing. We called the quarter correctly, and the stock has risen 74% since. Our Hexcel thesis was driven by defense spending, an A350 production unlock, strategic pricing, and structural margin expansion. View pitch

Long Equity Pitch · September 2024 Long Enpro (NYSE: NPO) Enpro transformed from a low-growth industrial conglomerate into a higher-quality sealing and semiconductor technology company. The market had only seen its Advanced Surface Technologies segment through a semiconductor trough, obscuring its earnings power. We believed the Street was mis-modeling operating leverage and the pace of the recovery. A chip recovery, domestic fab buildout, EUV adoption, pricing, and facility integration could push both segments above 30% EBITDA margins. The stock is up 117% since the pitch. View pitch

Credit & Restructuring

Distressed Credit Pitch · April 2026 Long Traeger 1L (NYSE: COOK) Traeger makes wood-pellet grills and smokers that burn natural hardwood instead of gas or charcoal. The brand surged during COVID, but the durability of that demand has remained in question. We were tasked with finding a credit for an opportunistic mandate. Drawing on my summer at Charlesbank, we identified Traeger’s first-lien term loan trading in the 80–90 cent range. We pitched the 2028 first-lien term loan at 86.8 cents, underwriting a 15.36% probability-weighted return across four scenarios.

Chapter 11 Restructuring Pitch · March 2026 Caesars Entertainment Modern Restructuring (NASDAQ: CZR) Caesars Entertainment is best known for its 2015–2017 Chapter 11 restructuring. We were tasked with proposing a modern restructuring without the PropCo/OpCo structure that drove much of the original value creation. Our prepackaged Chapter 11 proposal aimed to resolve litigation and reduce leverage from approximately 22.0x to 8.5x. View pitch

LBO / M&A

Sell-Side M&A Pitch · November 2025 Akamai Technologies Sell Side M&A (NASDAQ: AKAM) Akamai provides cloud computing, cybersecurity, and CDN services. We identified its edge cloud strength, AI tailwinds, and rising cybersecurity demand. Akamai shares are up 66% since the pitch. We presented a potential M&A sell-side engagement to JPMorgan’s San Francisco office and won first place in the competition. View pitch

Leveraged Buyout Pitch · April 2025 Advance Auto Parts LBO (NYSE: AAP) Advance Auto Parts is a scaled aftermarket auto-parts retailer whose 2014 acquisition left it with supply-chain complexity, depressed margins, and little public-market credibility. Management was under-executing relative to O'Reilly and AutoZone, leaving AAP at a steep discount to peers. We proposed a take-private to KKR at $51 per share, underwriting improvements across distribution, parts availability, labor productivity, and merchandising. The base case generated a 38.7% IRR and 4.3x MOIC over a five-year hold. We placed second in the KKR LBO Competition. View pitch