Every year, teams from universities and colleges worldwide compete in the CFA Institute Research Challenge. I contacted the winning team from the local CFA Society Toronto and CFA Society Ottawa Research Challenge and their advisor to get their thoughts on the challenge and their advice for future participants as they prepared to move on to the sub-regional semi-finals in April 2023.

This annual global equity research competition tests each team’s ability to value a stock, write an initiation-of-coverage report, and present their recommendations. The four top-scoring teams advanced to the local finals, where they presented their research on February 16, 2023.

2023 CFA Society Toronto & CFA Society Ottawa Research Challenge Winning Team — University of Waterloo 

Team L-R: Philbert Chan, Jennie Lin, Sonia Balani, Joyce Ren, Rocky Luo, and Faculty advisor: Steve Balaban, CFA
Industry mentor: Jeannine LiChong, CFA (not pictured)

The team moved on to the sub-regional competition, where teams competed to move on to the sub-regional semi-finals on April 7, 2023, the regional finals on April 14, 2023, and the global final on May 3, 2023. 

How did everyone enjoy the challenge? 

It was a fantastic experience. This research project taught us how to conduct equity research and has significantly improved our knowledge as investment professionals. It was also an enjoyable experience to see how far we have come and how much better we have become. Throughout this challenge, we learned a lot about each other personally and have gained four close friendships. 

What did you learn about yourselves during the process? 

We learned how to balance different priorities and overcome challenges as a team. One of us was on exchange in a foreign country, two of our members were pursuing master’s degrees, and some were working. We had to balance coursework, office work, and this project and overcome time zone differences. It took a lot of hard work, sacrifices, and flexibility. The challenge taught us the importance of teamwork: finding each others’ strengths and weaknesses and building upon those. As we enter the real world, we know exactly where to improve, where our strengths lie, and how to work effectively and efficiently as a team. As a team, we have each others’ backs and trust each other. 

What would you have done differently? 

We were very fortunate that we had a network of peers who helped us prepare for our presentations. We wish we had done that well in advance of the local final. We started a week or two before the local finals. If we were to do it again, we would do more mock presentations and get the practices in well in advance in order to have more time to incorporate the feedback and changes into our final presentation and make it even better! We were all nervous near the beginning of the week. The more practice we did, the more confidence we gained. The practice in the last 24 to 36 hours boosted our confidence and character. This will transfer to presentations at school or work settings. We are ready to take on the next round! 

What’s your advice for future students participating in the challenge? 

1. Constructing a team isn’t about finding individuals with the most prominent finance background. Tenacity and willingness are more important. It is about strategically creating a lineup of individuals who view this as an opportunity to learn about equity research. This came through in our challenge as our commitment was just so strong. 
2. Because environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are rightfully essential, it is worthwhile to look into these aspects of the company, how they impact the corporation, and why that’s important for equity research. 
3. Take the risk if you have done the work. If you have considered every possible angle of an investment, you should stick to what you believe is right. 

What’s the winning formula? 

From the team’s university advisor, Steve Balaban, CFA:
Dedication and hard work: there is so much information out there about public companies, and everybody has access. It takes a lot of time to go through the information. The students made it a priority to dedicate themselves to do it. I am extremely proud of how the team worked together: they try to make each other better instead of putting themselves first. That’s the mentality. They also enjoy working together as a team—this is important because we will spend so much time together. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.