Next Generation of Investment Gurus to Compete in CFA Institute Investment Research Challenge

Date: Thursday, March 11, 2010
Author: CFA Institute

University students from across the United States, Canada, and Latin America – all of whom are studying business, finance, and accounting –are gearing up to  compete in the CFA Institute Investment Research Challenge (Americas).  This next generation of investment professionals from schools such as MIT, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Denver, Fordham, University of North Carolina, and Université Laval will match wits and analytical, presentation, and research skill for the chance to travel to Hong Kong and compete globally.

The CFA Institute Investment Research Challenge offers students the unique opportunity to learn from leading industry experts and their peers from the world’s top business schools. This annual educational initiative is designed to promote best practices in equity research among the next generation of analysts through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills. This year, more than 75 CFA Institute member societies hosted local competitions with more than 1,500 students from more than 425 universities worldwide participating.

Twenty-nine universities from across the U.S., Canada, and Latin America have won their local competitions and will convene in New York on March 17-18, 2010.  The students, typically in teams of four or five, will present their analysis and buy/sell/hold recommendations on public companies such as Staples, Chipotle, International Paper, Tim Horton’s and Dolby Laboratories.  Their presentation at the Americas regional competition is the culmination of six months of research, interviews with company management, competitors, and clients, presentation training, and evaluation.

The Challenge consists of the following components:

· Analysis of a public company – Teams research a publicly traded company, and company management presents to the team and participants in a question-and-answer session.

· Mentoring by a professional research analyst – Each team works with an investment professional who mentors the team on the research process and reviews their report.

· Writing a research report – Students produce an initiation of coverage report on the chosen company. The report is reviewed and scored by a group of judges.

· Presentation of research to a high-profile panel of industry professionals – The team with the highest presentation score is the winner.

· Advancement to the CFA Institute Global Investment Research Challenge – The winners of the four regional challenges advance to compete in the global finale on April 17, 2010 in Hong Kong.

Thomson Reuters is the worldwide sponsor of the regional and global challenges.  They provided the student teams with access to Thomson One Analytics, a real-time, integrated research and analytical application.  In addition, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. will donate a set of CFA Institute Investment Series to the winning team from the Americas, European, and Asia Pacific regional challenges.