Marquette's AIM teams are competing in the CFA Institute Research Challenge for the opportunity to advance to the Americas Region Finals
Marquette AIM Teams will be competing locally with
the hope of advancing to the Americas CFA Research Challenge which will be held
in NYC in April
The CFA Institute Research Challenge offers students a unique opportunity to learn from leading industry experts and compete with peers from the world’s top finance programs. This annual educational initiative promotes best practices in equity research among the next generation of analysts through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills.
- Carthage College
- Marquette University (2 teams)
- UW-Eau Clare
- UW-Milwaukee
- UW-Madison
- UW-Oshkosh
- UW-Whitewater (2 teams)
Marquette's two teams from the AIM program in the 2018-2019 CFA
Institute Research Challenge included the following:
Marquette Gold Team – Industry Mentor Drew North
Nicholas Goehring
Andrew O’Neill
Alexander Penkwitz
Matthew Prinske
Mary Kate Simon
Marquette Blue Team – Mentor Joe Hodes
Edward Eisenhauer
Connor Jones
Gino Piscopo
Daniel Ptacek
Benjamin Schmidt
Objective of the Challenge: The CFA
Challenges provides a solid learning experience and exposure to the real world
of investments through an investment research “competition” managed by
investment professionals (i.e. the Milwaukee and Madison CFA Societies).
Preparation for this competition introduces the students to the multiple steps
that comprise the investment process, such as investment thesis development,
company valuation, competitive analysis, and “selling” of investment thesis to
a demanding audience.
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| AIM 2019 team |
Structure/Timeframe: The structure of the
competition is identical to that used by the New York Society of Financial
Analysts in their competitions. Teams at the local competitions will evaluate a
company selected by the local CFA society; meet with management of that company
for questions and discussion; and prepare a written analysis (initiation
report) of 10 pages maximum plus exhibits and appendix. The papers will be
evaluated and scored by a group of investment professionals as judges. The
teams will then present their analysis to another panel of judges, who will
then select the winning team at the local level. Here is the time line for this
year's challenge:
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| AIM 2018 team |
a. October 2019: Two teams of
5 students were selected. Dr. Krause is the faculty adviser and Joe Hodes and
Andrew North served as the teams' industry mentors.
b. November 2019: The kickoff
meeting was held and the subject company was introduced – Fiserv (FISV).
Then in December the CFA Society arranged for the teams met with Fiserv’s CFO,
Bob Hau. At this time he made a presentation to the students similar to a
typical “road show” for its investors.
c. December 2019: The teams
submitted the first draft of their paper to their mentor and faculty advisor
for critique.
d. January 2020: The two teams
incorporated end of year data into their analysis, continued their financial
modeling and wrote their final paper. Each team submitted their final research
paper to the local CFA society for judging.
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e. February 2020: Local competition are
held with each team making a 10 minute oral presentation to a panel of judges
followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. The panel swill select which participating
team will advance to the next level of competition (Americas level in NYC).
f. April 2020: The winning local teams
compete at the Americas (against nearly 70 North and South American teams) with
the competition being held in New York.
g. April 2020: Global Finals
will also be held in New York. The Global Finals consist of the winners of the
three regional finals from Asia-Pacific, EMEA, and the Americas.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge offers students the unique
opportunity to learn from leading industry experts and compete with peers from
the world’s top finance programs. This annual educational initiative
promotes best practices in equity research among the next generation of
analysts through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis
and presentation skills.
The first ever CFA Institute Research Challenge competition was
hosted by the New York Society of Security Analysts in 2002 and involved just
five teams from the New York area. Since then, the competition has grown to
involve thousands of students from nearly 1000 universities in more than 50
countries.
The Challenge gathers students, investment industry professionals,
executives from publicly traded companies, and corporate sponsors together
locally, regionally, and globally for a real world competition.
Participation in the Challenge promotes best practices in equity research and
company analysis, as students research, analyze, and report on a company as if
they are practicing analysts. Additionally, all participants are
introduced to and held to the standard of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and
Standards of Professional Conduct.
How the Challenge Works: Local
CFA Societies, CFA Institute, and other organizations host and launch a local
Research Challenge in conjunction with their participating universities.
The universities assemble teams of 3-5 business and finance students who work
directly with a company in researching and preparing a company analysis.
The team’s final presentations are locally evaluated by high-profile panels of
heads of research, portfolio managers, and chief investment officers from the
world’s top firms. The local champions advance to regional competitions
in the Americas, Asia, and Europe and then to the Global Finale.
Dr. David Krause, who serves as the faculty advisor of the two Marquette CFA teams stated, "I'm very proud of all the students who are participating in the CFA Challenge. Like past teams, both of our teams worked hard and delivered a quality product. This experience and the friendships established will stay with them throughout their careers. I can't say enough good things about the CFA Challenge - it is one of the very best experiential programs in academia. Best of luck to all of the teams in the Challenge."
