Dr. David
Krause, AIM program director announced that Marquette will again be sponsoring
two team in the CFA Investment Research Challenge. The kickoff
meeting for the CFA Challenge is scheduled for November 8th. The
Milwaukee and Madison CFA Societies again will be hosting the CFA Investment
Research Challenge.
Participating
universities and colleges in the local Wisconsin
CFA Research Challenge include:
Carthage
College
Milwaukee
School of Engineering
UW-Eau
Claire
UW-Madison
UW-Milwaukee
UW-Oshkosh
UW-Whitewater
(2 teams)
According
to Dr. Krause, “This marks the 11th year of AIM’s participation in the CFA
Investment Research Challenge. Our past teams have enjoyed great success, and
each former team member echoes the value of their experience. We are pleased to
be hosting two teams again and are thankful for the Madison and Milwaukee CFA
Societies for organizing the event.” More information about the CFA
Challenge can be found at this web site: http://www.cfainstitute.org/community/challenge/.
Marquette will again be sponsoring two teams from the AIM program in the 2018-2019 CFA Institute Research Challenge. The members
of this year’s teams include:
Marquette Gold Team – Industry
Mentor Joe Hodes
Will
McMahon
Jack
Senft
Louisa
Steinhafel
Matt
Tully
Elizabeth
Wolfe
Marquette Blue Team –
Mentor Drew North
Andrea
Blomquist
Tommy
Borin
Gregory
Glaab
Michael
Healy
Stephen
Lane
Objective of the Challenge: Provide
a solid learning experience and exposure to the real world of investments
through an investment research “competition” managed by investment
professionals (Milwaukee and Madison CFA Societies). Preparation for this competition
will introduce 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.
Structure/Timeframe: The
structure of the competition will be similar 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. The
proposed time line is as follows:
a.
October 2018: Two teams of 5 students are selected. Dr. Krause is the faculty
adviser and Joe Hodes and Andrew North will serve as the teams' industry mentors.
b.
November 2018: Kickoff meeting when the teams meet with the company’s
executives. In mid-November the students visit the company where management
makes a presentation similar to a typical “road show” for its investors.
c.
December 2018: Teams submit a first draft of their paper to their mentor and
faculty advisor for critique.
d.
January 2019: Teams incorporate end of year data into their analysis, continue
their financial modeling and write their final paper. Each team submits their
final research paper to the local CFA society for judging.
e.
February, 2019: Local competitions 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 selects the winning team, who represents the
local CFA society at the next level of competition.
f.
April 2019: The winning local teams compete at the Americas
(North and South American teams) competition in New York.
g.
April 2019: Global Finals will 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 over 800 universities in more than 55 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 the students who are participating in the CFA Challenge. Like past teams, I know they will work hard and deliver 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."