Winners of Penn State Smeal Real Estate Trust Stock Pitch Competition announced

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Three undergraduates from the Penn State Smeal College of Business claimed the top prizes in the Second Annual Real Estate Trust Stock Pitch (REIT) Competition in early March. The event, sponsored by the board of the Institute for Real Estate Studies (IRES) at Smeal, is designed to increase awareness throughout the college of the real estate industry and the opportunities it offers to students.ond annual Real Estate Trust Stock Pitch (REIT) Competition in early March. Shane Kaminski earned the top prize, a $2,000 scholarship. Kieran Ryan and Kevin Grant McClernon finished second and third, respectively, earning $1,000 and $500 scholarships for their efforts. As part of the competition, students were instructed to independently select and research an investment option focused on real estate investment trusts. They then made a three-minute pitch of their idea to a panel of industry professionals and answered questions for another 10 minutes. The competition was open to all Penn State undergraduates. The first competition was held last year, when Penn State alumnus and IRES board member Larry Raiman conceived of the idea as a way to encourage students to learn more about the real estate industry. The competition was judged by industry experts including Lawrence Raiman of LDR Capital Management, Diane Wade of CBRE Clarion Securities, Eugene Nusinzon of JP Morgan, Brad Burke of Goldman Sachs, and Todd Thomas of KeyBanc Capital Markets.