CFA SOCIETY TORONTO
Waterloo Students Demonstrate Financial Savviness at CFA Institute Research Challenge Local Competition

Students from the University of Waterloo's School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) won their fourth consecutive CFA Institute Research Challenge Local Competition. Student team members, Katherine Chan, Team Captain, Hammad Shams, Uday Sandhu, Justin Lee and Kevin Li, each will receive a thousand dollar prize and will be advancing to the Americas regional competition of the CFA Instititue Research Challenge in Boston, Massachusettson 19 - 20 March 2018. Winner of each regional level will then advance to the Global Finals in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 27 April 2018. 

"The School of Accounting and Finance at the University of Waterloo is extremely proud of Katherine, Hammad, Uday, Justin and Kevin for winning the Local level competition of the CFA Institute Research Challenge. The students' commitment to extensive preparation was evident, not only in their flawless presentation, but also during the intense question and answer period where they answered each question competently, displaying a high level of mastery. We would like to thank our team's Industry Mentor, Jeannine Li Chong, whose guidance and support was instrumental to the team's success." said Steve Balaban, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, Mink Capital, University of Waterloo Adjunct Professor and CFA Institute Research Challenge Faculty Advisor volunteer and CFA Society Toronto volunteer.

This is University of Waterloo's fourth consecutive local win and the sixth overall since the Society started this initiative in 2010. In 2016 SAF students competed against stiff competition from universities around the globe and were the second Canadian team to win the Americas regionals level of the challenge, and the first Canadian team to be global champions of the competition.

"Participating in the CFA Institute Research Challenge taught us how to think critically beyond just our classroom knowledge, by providing us with the opportunity to analyze a diverse and complex company such as SNC-Lavalin. We gained the ability to look through large amounts of information and discern what really mattered to an investor. We learned how to concretely deliver a message of value and we believe this skill is just as crucial as knowing the numbers. Above all else, the competition allowed each of us to develop as each member shared a unique skillset with the team," said SAF Team Captain, Katherine Chan.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis. Students work in teams to research and analyze a publicly traded company, and each team writes a research report on its assigned company with a buy, sell, or hold recommendation. Teams that progress to local, regional and global finals must present and defend their analysis to a panel of industry professionals. Students learn from experienced industry experts and peers from the world's top business schools.

For more information visit CFA Institute Research Challenge