Your question is Assess Your Best and Worst Stock Picks. Take a moment with it on the right.
Talk me through your thinking if you like. When you're confident, submit your answer and I'll grade it like a real screen (7/10 or better passes).
You are interviewing for a financial analyst role and the interviewer asks you to discuss one of your best stock picks and one of your worst. You want to show that you can evaluate investment decisions with actual numbers, not just narrative. Use the same holding period for both names and assume you exited both positions after 12 months.
| Metric | Best Pick | Worst Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price per share | $40.00 | $25.00 |
| Exit price per share | $58.00 | $18.00 |
| Shares purchased | 1,000 | 1,500 |
| Dividends received per share | $1.20 | $0.60 |
| Initial investment | $40,000 | $37,500 |
| Maximum unrealized drawdown during holding period | 12% | 34% |
How would you quantify the return, explain what drove the best and worst outcomes, and what would you say about your investment process based on these two examples?