Appalachian State University's Broyhill Fellows have won the local competition of the CFA Institute Research Challenge and now advance to the Americas Regional where the team will compete against universities from North and South America.
The team members are Neil Agnew, Andrew Crumpler, Madeline Hamiter and Joshua Lee; they are all finance and banking seniors at Appalachian and members of Appalachian's Walker College of Business' Bowden Investment Group (BIG). BIG has managed the Elbert V. Bowden Student Managed Investment Fund since it was established in 2000 as a means for students to earn hands-on, real-world investment experience.
The students presented their analysis and buy/sell/hold recommendations on LendingTree, Inc.. Their presentation was the culmination of months of research; interviews with company management, competitors, and clients; and presentation training.
Andrew Crumpler, Madeline Hamiter, Neil Agnew and Joshua Lee earned first place at the 2019 North Carolina CFA Institute Research Challenge
Appalachian bested Elon University, the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and the SKEMA Business School.
Each university sent a team of three to five students to participate in the local challenge. The CFA Society North Carolina Research Challenge was the first step of two for a local team to advance toward the global final in New York City. The students from Appalachian will now travel to the “super regional” where they will match their wits, analytical skills and presentation abilities against student teams from around the world. This year, the Americas Regional will be in New York City on April 23-24, 2019 and the Global Finals on April 25, 2019.
This year’s CFA Institute Research Challenge hosted by CFA Society North Carolina was sponsored by Wiley and Kaplan Schweser.
About Appalachian's Broyhill Fellows
Selected from the membership of the Bowden Investment Group, four to five finance and banking students from Appalachian State University students participate annually in the CFA Institute Research Challenge. Named the Broyhill Fellows in honor of the Walker College of Business' long-standing relationship with the Broyhill Family, the students are mentored by employees of Broyhill Asset Management. As of 2019, Appalachian teams have won the competition eight of the ten years that North Carolina has hosted it and is the only university in North Carolina to have a team in the finals in all ten years at big.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian's Bowden Investment Group
The Elbert V. Bowden Investment Group provides an opportunity for students to gain hands-on investment experience as part of an investment management course. The Elbert V. Bowden Student Managed Investment Fund was established in January 2000 in the Department of Finance, Banking and Insurance at Appalachian State University and financial donations from alumni, faculty, businesses and other supporters have added to the fund's total net assets. Students analyze investment opportunities and manage a real investment portfolio, with the goal of a return on invested funds that exceeds the return on the S&P 500 Index. Learn more at big.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian's Department of Finance
The primary objective of the Department of Finance, Banking and Insurance is to develop leaders for the business, government, and educational communities and to assist them in making contributions to society. The primary objective of the Department of Finance, Banking and Insurance is to develop leaders for the business, government, and educational communities and to assist them in making contributions to society. Learn more at finance.appstate.edu.
About the CFA Institute Research Challenge
The CFA Institute Research Challenge gathers students, investment industry professionals, publicly traded companies, and corporate sponsors together locally, regionally, and globally for an annual competition. In order to promote best practices in equity research and company analysis, students research, analyze, and report on a company as if they are practicing analysts. Local CFA member societies and other affiliated groups host local level competitions of the Research Challenge in conjunction with the participating universities. The universities assemble teams of three to five business and finance students who work directly with a company in researching and preparing a company analysis. The team’s final presentations are locally evaluated by high-profile panels of heads of research, portfolio managers, and chief investment officers from the world’s top firms. The local champions advance to regional competitions for the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and then to the Global Final, which will all take place in the same location this year. Additional information on the Research Challenge is available on the CFA Institute website, www.cfainstitute.org/researchchallenge.
About CFA Society North Carolina
CFA Society North Carolina (CFANC) was established in 1971 to provide education and support to the area’s investment professionals. The CFA NC membership consists of portfolio managers, security analysts, investment advisors, and other financial professionals.
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 113,000 members in 140 countries and territories, including more than 100,000 CFA charterholders, and 144 member societies. For more information, visit www.cfainstitute.org. (Bloomberg users can find CFA Institute at 497458Z.)
Neil Agnew, Madeline Hamiter, Joshua Lee and Andrew Crumpler earned first place at the 2019 North Carolina CFA Institute Research Challenge
2018-19 Broyhill Fellows