EADA’s team is preparing for the CFA Institute Research Challenge, an annual global competition that provides hands-on intensive training in financial analysis.
“I joined the CFA team because I wanted some first-hand experience about what actually goes into the analysis of a company, and to better understand the process of valuing a business,” says Canadian Scott Pieschel.
More than 15,000 students from over 1,000 universities around the world have participated in the Competition. “I joined the CFA team because I wanted to give something back to EADA,” says German Max Krack. “I wanted to make the financial world more aware of EADA’s talent factory. The CFA Research Challenge provides a great opportunity to represent your school and prove your skills.”
To prepare for the competition, CFA teams research and analyse publicly traded companies. “The most valuable thing I have learned so far has been the professional approaches to real business issues,” affirms Colombian Victor Alfonso Padilla Lemus, “as well as the time management and leadership skills required to manage a research project of this size.”
The teams are required to submit a written research report on their company with a buy, sell, or hold recommendation and may be required to present and defend their analysis to industry professionals. For Scott, the biggest challenge was completing a comprehensive analysis and valuation of a large corporation for the first time.”Figuring out the best way to go about the process is a challenge in itself,”he says. “Learning what is the important information to include and how much time and effort to spend on each aspect is difficult when it’s your first attempt.”
Last year, EADA’s team took third place in the regional competition held in Madrid, Spain. This year, EADA will be represented by five participants from the International Master in Finance: by Marc Eduard Gelabert Martinez (Spain), Max Krack (Germany), Siri Kurada (India), Victor Alfonso Padilla Lemus (Colombia) and Scott Pieschel (Canada).