Dubai - MENA Herald: CFA Society Emirates, the local UAE member society of CFA Institute, hosted its annual research challenge in Dubai for the seventh consecutive year.
Over the next few months, twenty students will compete in five teams from five universities, and business schools including: American University in Dubai, BITS Pilani Dubai Campus, Institute of Management Technology Dubai , Middlesex University Dubai and New York University Abu Dhabi. During the kick off session, students, university professors, and society members were familiarised with the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
The teams will analyse Aramex. Each team will be mentored by a professional research analyst and at the end of the process they will write a research report which they will then present to a team of judges.The winning team will then secure a place in the regional final in Chicago, Illinois, USA the week of 11 April 2016 where they will meet other teams from around the world. The successful team will then compete in the Global Final in the same location, Illinois, USA.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge offers students the unique opportunity to develop and present an equity research report and compete on a global basis. Students will learn from leading industry experts and their mentors and peers from the world’s top business schools. This annual educational initiative is designed to promote best practices in equity research among the next generation of analysts through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills.
Amer Khansaheb, President of CFA Society Emirates, said: “Participation in the research challenge is an invaluable opportunity for the future generation of analysts to learn from leading industry experts and to compete with peers from the world’s top schools. This local CFA Institute Research Challenge provides access to a pool of highly qualified students when it comes to hiring interns or entry level specialists.
This competition is further evidence of the continued educational work CFA Institute and CFA Society Emirates are doing to promote the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence for the ultimate benefit of society and to help support the investment professionals of tomorrow. I wish them all the best of luck and we are pleased to have more universities participating each year.”
The CFA Institute Research Challenge comprises:
- Analysis of a publicly-traded company
Teams research a publicly traded company. The company’s management presents information to the student teams and is available to answer student questions. - Mentoring by a professional research analyst
Each team works with a CFA charterholder who mentors the team during the research process and reviews and critiques its report. - Writing a research report
Each team produces an Initiation of Coverage report on its chosen company. The report is reviewed and scored by a group of judges.
- Presentation of research to a panel of experts
The teams' final presentations are locally evaluated by panels of experts from top financial institutions. Panelists include heads of research, portfolio managers, and chief investment officers from the world’s top firms. The team with the highest combined written report and presentation score is the winner and advances to the regional level of the Research Challenge.
- Advancement to the CFA Institute Research Challenge Global Finale
Regional winners then progress to compete at the global finale. At the regional and global stages of the Research Challenge, teams are evaluated solely on their presentations.
