Waterloo student team heads to Atlanta for the CFA Americas Regional Competition
by Patty Mah, Associate Director Admissions and Communications
This year marks the sixth consecutive year where an SAF student team has advanced to the CFA Local (provincial) round and the third student team chosen by the Toronto CFA Society Toronto to advance to the CFA Americas Regional round of the CFA Investment Research Challenge an annual global competition.
The Waterloo team consisting of David Chan (AFM), Oliver Chan (AFM), Jeffrey Wong (MAcc), and June Wang (AFM) were among four Ontario universities that competed for the coveted spot to represent Ontario. Teams from North and South American universities will compete to represent the Americas at the Global level in April.
Waterloo's team demonstrated a level of confidence and knowledge in their research that surpassed their competitors in a number of areas. Their depth of analysis and their preparedness during the question period impressed the judges enough to select Waterloo's team to advance to the CFA Institute Research Challenge Americas Regional competition being held in Atlanta, Georgia on April 15-16, 2015.
The team's dedication further proves that the School of Accounting and Finance at the University of Waterloo is one of the top programs for developing creative minds that will be at the forefront of the financial industry for years to come."
- Steve Balaban, CFA, Mink Capital Inc.
The competition, which spans one academic year, involves analysing a public company and presenting the research. Each team has a faculty advisor and a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charterholder who mentors the team during the research process.
"Congratulations to the University of Waterloo Team on winning the 2015 CFA Research Challenge Regional Competition and on qualifying for the Americas Competition held in Atlanta," states Steve Balaban, the team's CFA industry mentor. "It has been a pleasure to work with such a talented group of students who created an immaculate presentation that combined comprehensive analysis and innovative ideas with a confident and passionate delivery."
"By participating in the CFA Institute Research Challenge students gain an understanding and perspective of the 'real world' challenges involved when analysing actual companies and competing with each other to produce the best equity research report," said Sue Lemon, CFA, CEO of CFA Society Toronto. "...the CFA Institute Research Challenge helps the next generation of financial professionals develop their analytical skill sets with practical application."
