This month, EADA has chosen the two teams that will participate in the CFA Research Challenge 2019. The annual event is hosted by the CFA Institute, the premier global association for investment management professionals. Each year, teams from over 1,000 top universities and business schools compete to produce a comprehensive equity research report for a publically listed company (this year: Sacyr).
The Challenge involves several steps:
- Analysis of a public company
- Mentoring by a professional research analyst or portfolio manager
- Writing an equity research report
- Presentation of research to a panel of experts
Nepalese student Aayush Agrawal is excited to have been selected. “The CFA Research Challenge is quite an exciting journey,” he says. “I will get to face situations similar to the ones in my future job, and apply the knowledge I have gained at EADA.”
EADA will send two teams of 5 to the Challenge this year. There was stiff competition among participants to participate in the event, with just 10 out of 27 students selected from the International Master in Finance and International Master in Accounting & Financial Management programmes. In addition to an in-depth analysis of each candidate’s qualifications, the Selection Committee heard individual presentations to evaluate communication and presentation skills.
Andrés Zelaya, from Guatemala, is looking forward to the challenge. “I am excited to present our best work at the final while learning and having a good time,” he says. “Each person in the team has made a unique and valuable contribution to the project.”
Throughout the preparation for the Challenge, teams work together with experienced tutors selected from EADA faculty. Adarsh Motwani was particularly impressed with the expertise of the tutors. “Our tutor is a professor that works in the valuation industry and can teach us the most advanced techniques that are used in an actual business environment,” he says. “EADA uses every resource possible to help us succeed.”
The teams have already started working, as the deadline for turning in the final equity research report is February 7, 2019. At this time, finalists are selected compete at the Madrid Stock Market at the end of February of 2019, defending an oral presentation of their report in front of a panel of experts.
According to Jaiwen Liu, the most valuable skill she has learned in preparing for the Challenge is to think outside of the box. “It is important to be familiar with the tools, but not let them be the cage of your thinking,” she says. “You must understand the reason and rationale behind each step, however simple, so that you can find the most suitable solution for the specific case.”
For Xiaolei Wang, developing the skills to manage large amounts of information was key. “I have learned how to extract different information from diverse resources, as well as how to search for data accurately and quickly,” she says. “These are very important problem-solving techniques.”
All team members participating in the CFA Research Challenge this year wholeheartedly recommend the experience. “The Challenge is emblematic of EADA’s ‘learning by doing’ methodology,” says Edward Jiménez. “It won’t be easy, but you won’t regret it!”
EADA has consistently been placed in the top three positions in the Madrid final in recent years.