Asset Management Case Competition - Ways to Prepare?

Hey all,

I'm not really familiar with Asset Management much (I'm an incoming S&T SA at a BB), but our university is hosting an asset management case competition in a few weeks and a couple of friends asked if I was interested in joining, so I said why not. The terms of the competition are that we have 5 days to come up with a solution once the case is released, and those solutions and respective presentations will be graded on a 100-point basis. Some questions:

1. The description of the competition seems vague. Is this intentional? What can we even expect? Would you think it would be something like a pool of assets, and we have 5 days to come up with an optimal portfolio to maximize return and minimize volatility i.e. maximize the Sharpe Ratio?
2. By that token, should I study up on the basics of portfolio theory that I've learned? Or rather, should I be more in touch with financial statements so that I can be equipped to value individual companies with more discretion/scrutiny?
3. Have any of you participated in something similar? What was your experience like? Did you enjoy it?

Thanks everyone.

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