Monday, November 7, 2011

Marquette University’s AIM Program to Again Participate in the CFA Institute’s Research Challenge

2011-2012 CFA Research Challenge


Dr. David Krause, AIM program director, and five Marquette AIM students recently attended the CFA Institute’s Research Challenge kickoff meeting. The event was held on November 3rd at the University Club in Milwaukee and was sponsored by the CFA Societies of Milwaukee and Madison.  


Nine Wisconsin-based universities are participating in the 2011-2012 CFA Research Challenge. The organizational meeting allowed the students to learn about the subject companies for the Challenge and to meet their CFA industry mentor.

Dr. Krause said, “We appreciate the CFA Societies hosting this event for the participating students. It provided a unique opportunity for the students to network with the current CFA charterholders and to talk with students from the other universities. I especially enjoyed talking with the students from the other schools who attended the event. Thanks to the CFA Societies for providing this important networking opportunity.”  

2011-2012 Participating Wisconsin Universities (and their subject company):
·         Carroll (Marcus)
·         Marquette (Marcus)
·         Milwaukee School of Engineering (Marcus)
·         UW-La Crosse (Marcus)
·         UW-Madison (Joy Global)
·         UW-Milwaukee (Marcus)
·         UW-Oshkosh (Joy Global)
·         UW-Stevens Point (Joy Global)
·         UW-Whitewater (Joy Global) 

The November 3rd event also included the CFA Society of Milwaukee’s Charter Recognition and Volunteer Recognition ceremonies. The keynote speaker at the event was Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame Member, LeRoy Butler.  

Marquette University’s team members include:
·         Jacob Bear
·         Harrison Davis
·         Colleen Osborne
·         Bronson Wetsch
·         Alice Wycklendt 



The team’s CFA mentor is Jean Wangard, CFA, of Wangard Investment Management. Ms. Wangard holds the position of Executive Vice President with Wangard Investment Management focusing on offering retirement plan and investment management to a range of institutional and high net worth clients. In addition to managing a wide variety of client portfolios, she currently advises on over 400 small and medium size 401k and pension plans throughout the country. Jean has over 27 years of diverse investment industry experience including providing consulting and project management to some of the largest investment companies in the country. 


The CFA Institute Research Challenge 
The CFA Institute Research Challenge offers students the unique opportunity to learn from leading industry experts and compete with peers from the world’s top finance programs. This annual educational initiative promotes best practices in equity research among the next generation of analysts through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills. 

How the Challenge Works
Local CFA societies work in conjunction with participating local universities to assemble teams of 3–5 business and finance students. Each team works directly with a mentor to research and prepare an equity research report on a publicly traded company.  

Each team’s findings are locally evaluated by high-profile panels of heads of research, portfolio managers, and chief investment officers from the world’s top firms. Local champions advance to regional competitions in the Americas, Asia, and Europe, and then to the global finale.

The Research Challenge Components 

Analysis of a Public Company
Each team works directly with a publicly traded company while preparing their research. This involvement may include company management presenting to teams and participating in Q&A sessions.

Mentoring by an Experienced Professional
Each team is paired with an investment professional who mentors the team throughout the research process and reviews and critiques the report.

Writing a Research Report
Each team produces an initiation of coverage report on its chosen company. The report is reviewed and scored by a group of judges.

Research Presentation to Panel of Industry Experts and Leaders
Each team presents their research to a panel of experts from top financial institutions. The team with the highest combined report and presentation score is the winner.

Advancement to the Regional and Global Finals
The winners of the local Challenges advance to compete against teams from within their geographic region, culminating in a global finale.