Recently, Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University students competed in the CFA Institute Research Challenge, which is a competition between university-sponsored teams that produce a written and an oral report based on a business case study. Alexander Slawinski \u201920, Samantha Irizarry \u201921 and Leandis Cedeno \u201921 formed the Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University team that competed at the local level. The competition promotes ethics and best practices in equity research through mentoring and training and applies what is learned in the class room to real life situations.<\/p>\n
This year, 39 teams that represented 34 schools competed. The Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s students were mentored by Enzo DiCostanzo, M.B.A., assistant clinical professor of economics and finance at Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s University, chief economist at Pramana Capital and CFA Institute Research Challenge faculty advisor, and Ryan Sterling, CFA, industry mentor. The teams can be up to five students and all teams have a faculty advisor and an industry mentor. The teams conducted a deep dive research project on Cognizant, which is a technology company that helps companies innovate and update the way that they use technology. Ultimately, each team was responsible for analyzing management and legal risks of the company and they made suggestions on the value of stock. The teams presented their research in front of a panel of judges.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are teaching what the students need to learn and also listening to the student\u2019s interests,\u201d said DiCostanzo.<\/p>\n
The competition allows students to become familiar with the CFA program. It gives them the opportunity to practice thinking on their feet; it teaches teamwork and gives the students practical experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Challenge is really good hands-on and practical training,\u201d said Mario Caria, CFA, managing director of content and member services, CFA Society New York. \u201cIt is admirable to see the amount of work the students put into the project,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Irizarry, a member of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ\u2019s team, is a double major in finance and marketing with a minor in economics and management. She discussed the amount of work that went into this project. The written and verbal reports were in addition to her coursework and they developed the presentation for five months before presenting it at the Challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe CFA Institute Research Challenge taught me a lot about time management skills and how to meet deadlines,\u201d Irizarry said. \u201cIn addition, it taught me leadership, networking, presentation skills and analytics.\u201d<\/p>\n
She explained that they used Excel a lot and as a team they looked for facts to back up their arguments. The 10 minute presentation was followed by 10 minutes of questioning from the judges and the teams had to be prepared because they did not know what would be asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI recommend this project to other students because it is a hands-on experience and improved my real-world skills,\u201d said Irizarray. \u201cThe project used the content I was learning in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t