A five-student team representing the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri-Kansas City won the local CFA Institute Research Challenge sponsored by the Kansas City chapter of the CFA Institute, an organization of investment professionals.
Team members included Ryan Moazamian, MBA candidate; Hannah Gambrell, MBA candidate; Kyle Harris, MBA candidate; Matthew Hanson, Master of Science in Finance candidate; and Charlotte Gilman, MBA candidate.
“The CFA Institute Research Challenge is by far the best extra-curricular activity I have participated in during my time at UMKC,” Moazamian said. “It’s a tremendous undertaking that provides an extensive amount of both academic and experiential knowledge, both critical when considering a career in finance. The benefits from participating in the research challenge extend into professional development as well, providing opportunities to create key relationships with industry and financial experts, as well as significantly contributing to anyone’s resume.”
During the Kansas City round, six teams from Kansas State University, Missouri State University, Pittsburg State University, University of Central Missouri, University of Kansas and University of Missouri-Kansas City competed for a place in the Regional Americas final in Seattle, Washington in April. The top two teams from the Regional Americas then competed in the Global Final, held in Prague, Czechia in late April 2017.
The UMKC team advanced to the regional competition in Seattle, the third time a UMKC team made it to the regional finals. The 2014 team made it to the global final, which was held in Singapore.
The annual competition teaches best practices in public equity research. Undergraduate and graduate finance students are given the opportunity to fully analyze, present and defend their investment recommendations on a publicly traded company. Last year nearly 2,500 students from more than 546 universities in 45 countries participated in the Research Challenge. As such, making it to the Regional Finals represents the top 10% of total competing teams.
The Research Challenge gathers students, investment industry professionals, executives from publicly traded companies and corporate sponsors together locally, regionally and globally for a real world competition. Participation in the Challenge promotes best practices in equity research and company analysis, as students research, analyze and report on a company as if they are practicing analysts.
The Faculty Advisor for the Bloch School chapter of the CFA Institute is John Clark, Ph.D., associate professor of finance. Faculty mentor is Vern Cushenberry, adjunct instructor.