Western New England University (WNE) College of Business students were among seven teams who recently competed in the 2022 Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge in Boston.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global equity research competition which provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis.
"Working in teams, students gain real-world experience as they assume the role of research analyst and are judged on their ability to value a stock, write a research report, and present recommendations," said WNE College of Business Professional Educator and Faculty Advisor Dr. Wayne Durr.
The WNE University team was brilliantly represented by Accounting and Finance majors: Team Captain, Senior Michela Kelley, Junior Michaela McCormick, Junior Thomas Hyjek, Sophomore Aditya Shah, and Junior John D'Aniello.
The challenge is for each team to analyze a publicly traded stock, this year-Akamai Technologies, and produce an initiation-of-coverage report with a buy, sell, or hold recommendation, and asked to present and defend their thesis to a panel of industry veterans. Teams are assigned a CFA mentor to generate question and discussion for the teams consideration. Mark Rye, Senior Director Investment Audit at John Hancock provided mentorship to the WNE team.
Team members learned through participation in this challenge said Finance major D'Aniello, "I'm very thankful for the opportunity to be part of the CFA Challenge team. It was a great experience learning under our faculty mentor and our CFA mentor. This experience provided me with the skills to value investments and determine whether they will perform well based on current market conditions."
Junior Finance and Accounting double major Thomas Hyjek said the following about competing in the CFA Challenge, "It was a great learning experience even though we didn't move on in the competition. It was really great to put some of the valuation analysis that I learn in class into real world use for a really unique company."
"It was great to watch each student take on leadership roles throughout the competition. I can't express enough how proud I am of the way this team represented our University," said Dr. Durr about the dedication and growth of the team. "This is the first time Western New England University has participated in the CFA Challenge but I'm certain this won't be our last."
