~/conor-linkston

Open to 2027 summer internships

MINVARmy FTSE min-variance portfolio · quarterly · 2015–24£1.69

Mathematics, Statistics & Finance · University of Strathclyde

I build models to test ideas in finance, and I report what they find, not what I hoped they would.

See the work Download CV PDF LinkedIn GitHub
1stof 66 · 24h M&A challenge
top 10%CFA Institute global finalist
97%Maths & Stats Computing
>10×my P&L vs 4th place · trading sim
  • HEDGE FUND SIM 1st / 65
  • 24H M&A CHALLENGE 1st / 66
  • SALES & TRADING SIM 3rd / 67
  • CFA INSTITUTE CHALLENGE Global finalist top 10%
  • MATHS & STATS COMPUTING 97%
  • 1/N vs RESAMPLED Sharpe 0.643 / 0.636
  • NKE BUY ▲ $55 target
  • BEST STOCK PITCH AmplifyME cohort
  • LIBF LEVEL 6 DIPLOMA Distinction

01 work

Selected work

Two code projects, an equity pitch and an M&A case. Each has a full breakdown with the charts, method and what I got wrong.

Python · pandas · NumPy · SciPy · pytest 2026 Phase 1 complete

Robust Portfolio Optimisation Engine

Mean-variance optimisation is an error maximiser. It takes noisy estimates, trusts them completely, and bets heavily on whatever looked best last year. I built a walk-forward backtester to measure how much that actually costs, then tested two of the textbook fixes against each other on identical inputs. It grew out of my second-year essay on Michaud's resampled efficiency as an answer to Markowitz.

Markowitz loses to equal weight, and not narrowly.

Equal weight (1/N)
0.643
Sharpe · 2.4% turnover
Markowitz
0.483
Sharpe · 349% turnover
+ Resampling
0.636
Sharpe · best return, 8.28%
Tests
49
passing · lookahead tested

Roadmap

  1. Phase 0Foundation and clean repoDone
  2. Phase 1Walk-forward backtester, Ledoit-Wolf, Michaud resamplingDone
Full breakdown Repository
R · tidyverse · tidyquant · quadprog · SQL 2025 v2 in progress

FTSE 100 Risk & Portfolio Analysis

My first proper project, built in R to get ahead of a tidyverse module. Ten years of FTSE 100 data (2015–2025), twelve large caps, and two simple long-only portfolios measured against the index. I picked the period on purpose: it covers QE-era low rates, the COVID shock, and the 2022–24 rate hikes, because diversification that only works in calm markets isn't worth much.

Min variance
5.45%
ann. return · 9.99% vol
Equal weight
1.95%
ann. return · 11.75% vol
FTSE 100
1.95%
ann. return · 12.22% vol
Sharpe (rf = 0)
0.53
vs 0.16 index · 0.16 EW

Roadmap

  1. Stage 1Data pull and log returnsDone
  2. Stage 2Risk and correlation analysisDone
  3. Stage 3Equal-weight and minimum-variance portfoliosDone
  4. Stage 4Charts and write-upDone
  5. Stage 5SQLite database: schema and loadingIn progress
Full breakdown Repository
Equity research · valuation Aug 2026 AmplifyME Summer Analyst Programme

Nike: just buy it

Best stock pitch in the cohortsubsequent breakout team placed second

A contrarian stock pitch. I presented it to the full group and defended it under questioning, then led a breakout team that developed it further.

NKE · NYSE
BUY
prices as of 20 Aug 2026
Price
~$40
12-year low · −78% from 2021
Target
$55
~38% implied upside
Basis
21×
FY27E EPS $2.57
Full breakdown View the pitch Pitch PDF
Three-statement model · DCF · comps · sum of the parts · accretion/dilution Sep 2026

Disney: worth more in pieces?

1st of 66fastest to finish · 100% accuracy

AmplifyME's 24-hour M&A challenge. The brief was a full valuation of Disney, a test of whether a three-way break-up unlocks value, and a look at buying Electronic Arts. The question underneath it all: is Disney worth more as three businesses than as one, and if the market is discounting it, is buying EA a better use of its shares?

Share price
$106.16
12 May 2026
Blended fair value
$132.98
DCF · EV/revenue · EV/EBITDA
Break-up
−$8.35
per share, like for like
EA deal
−19.3%
EPS dilution in year one
Full breakdown

02 experience

Experience

  1. Jul 2026Glasgow

    Finance Work Experience

    Balfour Beatty plc

    A placement I scoped directly with the Scotland Finance Director.

    • Built a counterparty credit assessment of five prospective subcontractors. I pulled data from their published accounts, calculated liquidity, leverage and profitability ratios (acid test, cash interest cover, gearing, ROCE, operating margin, net worth), combined them with Dun & Bradstreet data, and turned it all into scored comparative profiles for non-finance stakeholders. It fed into the final contractor selection.
    • Worked through the firm's IRR-based lease-versus-buy analysis, including staggering vehicle lease start dates to spread maintenance costs and smooth the P&L.
    • Covered infrastructure investment modelling at Balfour Beatty Investments, and how divisional reporting consolidates to group and eventually reaches the market.

    The bit I learned the hard way

    I'd colour-coded the Dun & Bradstreet ratings in my output before I understood that the code combines two separate measures, company size and credit risk, on a non-linear scale. A finance manager pointed out that my presentation made a large, riskier supplier look safer than a small, sound one.

    Since then I state what a metric measures before I present it, and I only use visual emphasis where the comparison is genuinely like-for-like.

  2. Aug – Sep 2026London

    Summer Analyst Training Course

    AmplifyME

    • Hedge fund sim R1 1st / 65
    • Hedge fund sim R2 2nd / 65
    • Sales & trading 3rd / 67
    • 24h M&A challenge 1st / 66
    • Stock pitch best in cohort
    • Placed 1st and 2nd across two hedge fund simulation rounds. In the sales and trading simulation, run as a market-making hedge fund, I came 3rd with a P&L more than ten times that of 4th place.
    • Came 1st for my valuation model in the 24-hour M&A challenge: fastest to finish, with 100% accuracy.
    • My Nike pitch (above) was picked as the strongest in the cohort.
  3. Oct 2023 – presentGlasgow

    Sales Assistant, Stock Processing and Deliveries

    TK Maxx

    • Key holder running weekend deliveries: opening the store at 06:00 and getting incoming stock onto the shop floor.
    • Reconciled delivery paperwork with drivers, checking £50,000–£100,000 of inbound stock against manifests and documenting equipment returns.
    • Trained new staff and supervised charity work experience placements. Three years of continuous work alongside full-time study, exam periods included.

03 education

Education

Sep 2024 – Jun 2028Glasgow

University of Strathclyde

BSc (Hons) Mathematics, Statistics and Finance

  • Mathematical and Statistical Computing 97%
  • Economics and Business Analysis 74%
  • Essential Statistics 73%

Year 3

  • Advanced Corporate Finance & Financial Markets
  • Treasury Management & Derivatives
  • Numerical Analysis
  • Applied Linear Algebra
2018 – 2024West Lothian

The James Young High School

  • Advanced Higher Mathematics B
  • Higher Mathematics A
  • Highers: Business Management, English, Physics, Biology B
  • National 5s 6 at A–B

Why I pick side projects the way I do

I build projects ahead of the modules they relate to. The FTSE project got me ahead of a tidyverse module, and the portfolio engine is built so statistical inference, stochastic processes and numerical analysis each have something to attach to this year.

04 beyond the degree

Beyond the degree

Societies
  • Strathclyde Trading SocietyAssociate
  • Strathclyde Finance & Accounting SocietyAssociate
Volunteering £260

Raised on the Alzheimer's Society 26.2-mile hike.

Volunteering £500+

Raised playing in the Team Jak charity football match.

Edinburgh Marathon · May 2026 42.2 km

Trained for alongside full-time study, through semester and exams.

Chess 1600

Taught by my dad and still play regularly. I beat a 1600-rated engine, eventually, after a lot of attempts.

05 record

Awards & certifications

Hover over or tap an award to see the certificate.

AmplifyME and CFA Institute certificate of completion and global finalist, Investing Simulator Challenge, awarded to Conor Linkston, December 2025
AmplifyME and CFA Institute certificate of completion, Investing Simulator Challenge, awarded to Conor Linkston, November 2025
AmplifyME certificate: Conor Linkston has achieved the grade Distinction, Level 6 Diploma in Applied Finance, September 2026, LIBF accredited learning programme
Goldman Sachs Operations Job Simulation certificate of completion via Forage, awarded to Conor Linkston, 3 September 2026
Financial Edge playlist certificate, Getting Started with Power BI, awarded to Conor Linkston, 3 September 2026

01 / 04

Toolkit

Languages
Python (pandas, NumPy, SciPy, pytest) · R (tidyverse, tidyquant) · SQL · MATLAB
Finance
Ratio & credit analysis · DCF / multiples · IRR lease-vs-buy · portfolio construction · backtesting
Tools
Excel (Power Query) · Power BI · Git / GitHub · AI-assisted workflows

06 contact

Conor Linkston in a dark suit on a rooftop terrace in London at sunset
London · September 2026

Get in touch

I'm looking for 2027 summer internships in finance. If something here is relevant to what your team does, I'd be glad to talk it through.

conorlinkston@icloud.com

Download CV PDF LinkedIn GitHub