Beedie teams earn top two spots in CFA Institute Research Challenge

The winning Beedie School of Business team. From left to right: Aaron Kelly, Tiananqi Feng, Arjun Sandhu, and Pranit Chowhan.

Two teams of students from the Beedie School of Business took home the gold and silver medals in the regional stage of the CFA Institute Research Challenge.

The two Beedie teams finished first and second in the local stage, emerging victorious from a field of seven teams from across Western Canada. The winning team will now go on to compete against approximately 40 teams from across the Americas at the regional stage, to be held in Chicago, Illinois on April 11.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis.

Students work in teams to research and analyze a publicly traded company. Each team writes a research report on their assigned company with a buy, sell, or hold recommendation, and may be asked to present and defend their analysis to a panel of industry professionals.

Each Beedie team comprised two undergraduate students and two graduate students currently participating in the School’s student investment funds BEAM and SIAS.

The winning team, coached by Beedie visiting lecturer Glenn Powers, consisted of MSc in Finance students Pranit Chowhan and Tiananqi Feng, and BBA students Aaron Kelly and Arjun Sandhu.

Competitions like the CFA Institute Research Challenge bridge the gap between academics and real-life work,” says Chowhan. “The competition was a rigorous learning experience, requiring a committed effort on the part of the students and the faculty who were our mentors. I personally never thought I could do something like this before I enrolled myself in the research challenge.”

The second placed team, coached by Beedie lecturer Derek Yee, consisted of MSc in Finance students Vishal Bane and Pratik Bhandari, along with BBA students Samantha Chan and Nina Sysoeva,

For more information on the CFA Institute Research Challenge, visit cfainstitute.org/community/challenge