The CFA© Institute Research Challenge is sponsored by CFA Institute and locally hosted by the New York Society of Security Analysts. The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an educational initiative in which leading industry professionals teach business and finance students how to research and report on a publicly-traded company. NYSSA originated the competition eleven years ago (as the “Investment Research Challenge”) as a means to promote best practices in research among the next generation of analysts.
The Challenge spans one academic year, and consists of the following components:
- Training in Research and Report Writing: Students receive training by attending NYSSA-sponsored seminars on Insider Tools for Analysts, Presentation Skills, Report Writing, and Ethics. Seminars are taught by NYSSA members and are held on campus at participating universities or at NYSSA.
- Analysis of a Public Company: Teams research the same public company, selected by NYSSA, including a question-and-answer session with company management.
- Mentoring By a Professional Research Analyst: Each team is mentored by a professional research analyst, who reviews and critiques the team's report.
- Assessment of Written Reports: A group of volunteer graders selected from NYSSA’s membership assess the written research reports.
- First-Round Presentation to High-Profile Wall Street Experts: All teams present their research to Wall Street experts. The experts choose the “final four” who have the strongest research to present their final report.
- Final-Four Presentation to a High-Profile Wall Street Experts: The “final four” present their research to a panel of respected Wall Street experts. The winning team is selected based on the combined scores for the written report and the presentation.
The winning team advances to the CFA Institute Research Challenge Global Final to compete against teams from across the world.
2013 Final Four
Fordham University
Montclair State University
Pace University
Seton Hall University
2013 Participating Universities
- Brooklyn College
- The College of New Jersey
- Columbia University
- Fairfield University
- Fordham University
- Hofstra University
- Iona College
- Molloy College
- Montclair State University
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Pace University
- Queens College of CUNY
- Ramapo College of New Jersey
- Rutgers University
- Seton Hall University
- Saint John’s University
- Saint Peter’s University
- William Paterson University
For more information on the NYC-area competition of the CFA Institute Research Challenge, please contact Derly Zapata at dzapata@nyssa.org.