The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global equity research competition that provides post-secondary students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis. Students gain real-world experience as they assume the role of a research analyst and are tested on their ability to value a stock, write an initiation-of-coverage report, and present their recommendations.
How It Works
1. The Faculty Advisor assembles teams of 3-5 undergraduate or graduate students at their school.
2. Teams research and analyze a designated publicly traded company and prepare a written report that supports a buy, sell, or hold recommendation. The report is then evaluated and scored by a panel of industry professionals.
3. Each team is permitted to receive guidance, suggestions, and feedback from their Faculty Advisor and an Industry Mentor for a maximum of ten hours and six hours, respectively.
4. All teams participate in a preliminary round where they present and defend their findings to a panel of industry experts. Each team is allotted a maximum of 10 minutes for their presentation, followed by a 10 minute Q&A. The scores will be weighted 50% for the written report and 50% for the oral presentation.
5. The top 4 scoring teams from the preliminary round advance to the local final, where they present their findings to a new panel of judges. The winning team from the local final advances to the Sub-regional round, where they compete against top teams within Canada.
6. Winning teams then advance to compete in the Regional Semifinal followed by the Regional Final, before reaching the final stage at the Global Final.
To learn more, visit the CFA Institute Research Challenge Main Page