A team of future investment management professionals from the University of Sydney have won the Global Champion title in the 14th Annual CFA [Chartered Financial Analyst] Institute Research Challenge.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge was an annual competition where university students in teams of three to five conduct an in-depth analysis of a listed company.
Over 6000 students from 1150 universities around the world participated in the competition and were tested on their analytics, valuation, research, reporting and presentation skills.
The competition, as well as all three regional finals, were held online for the first time due to COVID-19.
University of Sydney’s winning team was comprised of Jeffrey Brown, Sahil Arora, Jassis Chen, Jessica Wu and Tom Luo, and they presented and defended their analysis of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
They were supported by Angelo Aspris, faculty adviser; Michael Toh, industry mentor; and CFA Society Sydney.
Ganesh Suntharam, president of CFA Society Sydney, said the competition was a proving ground for students.
“This year’s students faced the added challenge of analysing companies in an environment where even seasoned professionals are unsure of what lies ahead,” Suntharam said.
“Despite the current environment, these students stepped up to the challenge and showed a deep sense of professionalism, analytical skill, and insight that will serve them throughout their lives and careers.”
Judging the contest was Joelle Harb, OCTO Asset Management senior investment manager from France; Mifnaz Jawahar UZABASE chief research officer from Sri Lanka; Jaime Lázaro Ruiz, BBVA Bancomer director of asset management from Mexico; and Stephanie Greiner, Refinitiv portfolio management and analytics and senior consultant manager from the US.
