The Marquette AIM Blue Team Advances in the CFA Research Challenge
Five AIM students to compete next in the regional round in March
February 17,
2022 – The CFA Society of Madison hosted the local round of the CFA Institute’s
Investment Research Challenge. Marquette
University’s Applied Investment Management (AIM) “Blue” team won the
competition and will move to the CFA’s regional competition as the
representative of the CFA Society of Madison. The CFA Institute is the global
association of investment professionals made up of portfolio managers,
investment advisors, educators and other financial professionals.
During the
local CFA Investment Research Challenge, which again was forced to be held virtually
via Zoom, the Marquette team competed against three other groups of students
from UW-Green Bay, UW-Eau Claire, and the Marquette AIM “Gold” team. If the Marquette
team is successful in the regional round then will advance to the America’s
level of the Challenge, which will be held in April, which could then lead to
the Global round against the winning schools from Europe and Asia.
The students
on Marquette’s advancing team were: Dominic Brisson, Madi Daleiden, Natalie
Frey, Rishi Kumar, and Christian Wilber. Members of the AIM gold team were:
Ciara Jones, Ben L’Empereur, Brett Selke, Ryan Witt, and George Wong. All of the students are members of the Applied
Investment Management program and they will be graduating in May 2022.
Dr. David Krause,
director of the AIM program at Marquette University, said: “This year’s
competition was a very challenging event for the students taking part. The
subject company was Kohl’s, the Wisconsin-based department store chain. As you
might be aware, the company recently received an unsolicited $9 billion bid to
go private from a group backed by an activist hedge fund investor.”
The global competition, which runs until April 2022, this year has attracted nearly 7,000 students and over 1,100 universities in more than 60 countries. The CFA Institute Research Challenge comprises:
• Analysis of a publicly-traded company
Teams
research a publicly traded company. The company’s management presents
information to the student teams and is available to answer student questions.
• Mentoring by a professional research
analyst
Each team
works with a CFA charterholder who mentors the team during the research process
and reviews and critiques its report.
• Writing a research report
Each team
produces an Initiation of Coverage report on its chosen company. The report is
reviewed and scored by a group of judges.
• Presentation of research to a panel of
experts
The teams'
final presentations are locally evaluated by panels of experts from top
financial institutions. Panelists include heads of research, portfolio
managers, and chief investment officers from the world’s top firms. The team
with the highest combined written report and presentation score is the winner
and advances to the regional level of the Research Challenge.
• Advancement to the CFA Institute
Research Challenge Global Finale
Regional
winners then progress to compete at the global finale. At the regional and
global stages of the Research Challenge, teams are evaluated solely on their
presentations.
For more information visit the CFA InstituteResearch Challenge website.
Local CFA societies host and launch an Investment Research Challenge in conjunction with the participating universities. The universities assemble teams of three-five 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.
CFA Institute is the global association for investment professionals. It administers the CFA and CIPM curriculum and exam programs worldwide; publishes research; conducts professional development programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and performance-reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA Institute has more than 170,000 members More information may be found at www.cfainstitute.org
About the
AIM Program
The AIM
Program at Marquette University began in 2005. Since then over 120
undergraduate students have participated in the program. Our alumni can be
found in leading investment companies throughout the country - and the world.
As the first undergraduate partner with the CFA Institute, we take pride in our
students' successful placements and CFA exam pass rates. Please feel free to
contact us at: aim@marquette.edu
Marquette’s AIM Team Wins 2012 CFA Society of Madison’s
Investment Research Challenge
Students to compete in
America's regional finals in New York in April
February 24, 2012– The CFA Society of Madison hosted the local round of the CFA
Institute’s Investment Research Challenge. Marquette University’s
Applied Investment Management (AIM) team won the competition and will move
to the CFA America’s regional competition as the representative of the CFA
Society of Madison. The CFA Institute is the global association of investment
professionals made up of portfolio managers, investment advisors, educators and
other financial professionals.
During the local
CFA Investment Research Challenge, which was held at the Fluno Center in
Madison, the Marquette team competed against four other teams of students from
UW-LaCrosse, UW-Milwaukee, Milwaukee School of Engineering, and Carroll
University. Marquette advances to the America’s Regional level of the
Challenge, which will be held in New York in April, where they will compete
against fifty other university teams that won their local competitions from
North and South America. The winner of the America’s Investment Research
Challenge will then compete in the international final, which is also held in
New York in April 2012.
The students on Marquette’s
team were: Jacob Bear, Harrison Davis, Colleen Osborne, Bronson Wetsch, and
Alice Wycklendt. All of the students are members of the Applied Investment
Management program. They will be graduating in May 2012 and will be sitting for
Level I of the CFA exam in June.
The CFA
Institute Research Challenge offers students the unique opportunity to
develop and present an equity research report and compete on a global basis.
Students will learn from leading industry experts and their mentors and 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.
Dr. David Krause,
director of the AIM program at Marquette University, said: “This
year’s competition was very challenging event for the students taking part. The
other teams did an excellent job presenting their recommendation. We are very
excited to represent the CFA Society of Madison and will do our best in New
York in April. We wish to thank the CFA Societies of Madison and Milwaukee for
hosting the Challenge. It gives students the chance to meet some of the finest
investment professionals in the state and to interact with students from other
schools. The Challenge supports our educational efforts and helps
groom the investment professionals of tomorrow.”
This represents the
fourth consecutive year that the Marquette team has advanced to the America’s
Challenge. Krause said, “This year’s team did an outstanding job
analyzing Marcus Corporation. They used a propriety survey, econometric
modeling, and various types of sensitivity analysis to arrive at their
recommendation on the stock. They worked well together and I am pleased that
they will have the opportunity to present their research findings in New York.”
The global
competition, which runs until April 2012, has attracted over 3,000 students and
600 universities in nearly 50 countries, including Vietnam, Kenya and Colombia
for the first time.
The CFA
Institute Research Challenge comprises:
· Analysis
of a publicly-traded company
Teams research a publicly traded company. The company’s management presents
information to the student teams and is available to answer student questions.
· Mentoring
by a professional research analyst
Each team works with a CFA charterholder who mentors the team during the
research process and reviews and critiques its report.
· Writing a
research report
Each team produces an Initiation of Coverage report on its chosen company.
The report is reviewed and scored by a group of judges.
· Presentation
of research to a panel of experts
The teams' final presentations are locally evaluated by panels of experts from
top financial institutions. Panelists include heads of research, portfolio
managers, and chief investment officers from the world’s top firms. The team
with the highest combined written report and presentation score is the winner
and advances to the regional level of the Research Challenge.
· Advancement
to the CFA Institute Research Challenge Global Finale
Regional winners then progress to compete at the global finale. At the regional
and global stages of the Research Challenge, teams are evaluated solely on
their presentations.
For more information visit the CFA Institute Research Challenge website.
About the Global
Investment Research Challenge
The challenge
gathers students, investment industry professionals, publicly traded companies
and corporate sponsors together locally, regionally, and globally for a world
competition. In order to promote best practices in equity research
and company analysis, students research, analyze, and report on a
company as if they are practicing analysts. Local CFA societies host
and launch an Investment Research Challenge in conjunction with the
participating universities. The universities assemble teams of three-five
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.
About CFA Institute
CFA Institute is
the global association for investment professionals. It administers the CFA and
CIPM curriculum and exam programs worldwide; publishes research; conducts
professional development programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based
professional and performance-reporting standards for the investment industry.
CFA Institute has more than 105,000 members, who include the world’s 97,000 CFA
charterholders, as well as 135 affiliated professional societies in 58
countries and territories. More information may be found at www.cfainstitute.org
About the AIM
Program
The AIM Program at Marquette
University began in 2005. Since then over 120 undergraduate students have
participated in the program. Our alumni can be found in leading investment
companies throughout the country - and the world. As the first undergraduate
partner with the CFA Institute, we take pride in our students' successful
placements and CFA exam pass rates. Please feel free to contact us at: aim@marquette.edu