University of Nevada, Las Vegas Wins Seventh Annual CFA Institute Research Challenge Americas Final

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A team of future investment professionals from University of Nevada, Las Vegas has been named the winner of the seventh annual CFA Institute Research Challenge Americas Final— an annual competition of 350 universities from across North, Central and South America. Hosted by CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals that sets the standard for professional excellence and credentials, and CFA Society Toronto, the competition is designed to promote ethics and best practices in equity research among the next generation of financial professionals.

“Congratulations to University of Nevada, Las Vegas for capturing the CFA Institute Research Challenge Americas Finals title”

Kicking off in May of last year, local competitions were held across the Americas region to determine the 45 finalist teams who traveled to Toronto, Canada this week for the final. The winning team was announced late Thursday evening after beating out strong competition in the final round from University of Nevada, Las Vegas; University of Hawaii at Manoa; Colorado State University; and Virginia Commonwealth University. The winning team, Elias Shliyan, Jeffery Zemp, Sean Skinner, and Warren Stender, is now headed to the CFA Institute Research Challenge Global Final in London, England that will be held on April 12, where they will face-off against winning teams from Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. The 2012-13 competition saw more than 3,500 students from 775 universities in more than 55 countries take part.

“Congratulations to University of Nevada, Las Vegas for capturing the CFA Institute Research Challenge Americas Finals title,” said Stephen Horan, CFA, CIPM, head, University Relations and Private Wealth at CFA Institute. “As one of the most rigorous and competitive financial competitions in the world, University of Nevada, Las Vegas has risen to the challenge of representing the high standards in equity research training and professional standards that CFA Institute upholds. Rebuilding the integrity of financial markets starts with these future stars of the industry who, through their experience in this competition, have made a commitment to technical and ethical excellence to foster positive change in the profession.”

The CFA Institute Research Challenge offers students the unique opportunity to learn applicable professional skills from leading industry experts. Through the course of the competition, which requires hundreds of hours of preparation, participants receive mentoring from a professional research analyst as they analyze a publicly traded company, write a professional research report, and present their research results and recommendations to a high-profile panel of experts. Points are awarded to teams on the basis of their investment case, their poise, and their ability to answer the judges’ questions.

“The students from University of Nevada, Las Vegas worked extremely hard and through their efforts demonstrated the in-depth, forward-thinking that will be required to succeed in the financial industry of the future,” said Margaret E. Franklin, CFA, CFA Institute Research Challenge judge, immediate past chair, CFA Institute Board of Governors, and President, Marret Private Wealth. “We are all very proud of their accomplishments today and wish them luck at the global final in London next month.”

This year, the timing of the CFA Institute Research Challenge Americas Final coincided with the global launch of the CFA Institute Future of Finance project, an initiative focused on the need for strengthened integrity and standards among all financial professionals. The Future of Finance reflects the organization’s long-term efforts to build a more trustworthy financial industry that better serves investors and, and in turn, society. For more information about the project, visit www.cfainstitute.org/FutureFinance.

The winning University of Nevada, Las Vegas team presented and defended a report on Kona Grill to a panel of investment industry experts that included:

Margaret E. Franklin, CFA, Immediate Past Chair, CFA Institute Board of Governors, and President, Marret Private Wealth
D. Jerry Paul, CFA, President of Belle River Wealth Mgt.
Harry S. Marmer, CFA, Executive Vice President, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.
Quentin Broad, Managing Director, Head of Equity Research, CIBC World Markets Inc.
Sharon Ranson, President, The Ranson Group Inc.

For more information about the CFA Institute Research Challenge on Twitter, use the hashtag: #CFAchallenge.

About CFA Institute

CFA Institute is the global association of investment professionals that sets the standard for professional excellence and credentials. The organization is a champion for ethical behavior in investment markets and a respected source of knowledge in the global financial community. The end goal: to create an environment where investors’ interests come first, markets function at their best, and economies grow. CFA Institute has more than 114,500 members in 137 countries and territories, including 106,500 CFA charterholders, and 138 member societies. For more information, visit www.cfainstitute.org.