Our path to first place in the SAF Investment Research Challenge (IRC)
Spring 2022 has been quite an interesting term. For a lot of us, it’s the first time we’ve been on campus in a few years, wandering the halls of Hagey Hall (which is where our classes are), and for others, it's the first time being on campus altogether. With this, there’s an inherent challenge in acclimating to campus life, meeting friends and maybe a rejuvenated keenness for taking part in opportunities such as the School of Accounting and Finance’s Investment Research Challenge (IRC). The IRC is an opportunity for students to apply course, co-op, and co-curricular learnings in a fun competition setting.
Our team, Yahya (left), Waleed (middle left), Chiranjeev (middle right), and Ryan (right), was fortunate, we’ve all had the chance to work together before on a student club - Waterloo Private Capital (WPC). Through WPC, we learned how to work hard, how to work together and how to have fun through that process and learn along the way. The IRC presented a challenge where we could put some of those learnings to the test. Navigating exams, campus life and co-op recruiting made the IRC a bit more challenging, but we were ready for it.
Going into the competition we were all excited to put together a presentation we were proud of but more importantly, we wanted to learn along the way. Most notably, we did this by taking a contrarian view of the company we were given. Taking this view and approach, we pushed and challenged each other, sometimes beyond our comfort zones which in the end was very beneficial.
Overall, the IRC was a fun experience where we learned, competed alongside solid competition and all-in-all had a good time with each other while finishing first place! For future students, we encourage you to take part in these opportunities and dream. Go on and make the most of what's on the table - you never know what may come out of it.