Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines Students Named CFA Institute Research Challenge 2019 Global Champions

A team of future investment management professionals from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines was named Global Champion of the 13th Annual CFA Institute Research Challenge tonight in New York City. The Research Challenge is an annual competition which invites university students to conduct in-depth analysis of a listed company, with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis and professional ethics delivered through the CFA Institute network. Students are tested on their analytical, valuation, research, reporting, and presentation skills, and gain real-world experience as they assume the role of research analysts.

The Research Challenge Americas Regional and Global Finals took place in New York City from 23-25 April at the New York Marriott Marquis. Fifty-six teams competed in the Americas final where the teams from Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico, Mexico and Canisius College, United States emerged as winners. The two then went on to compete against Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East and Africa Regional Champions from Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines; Moscow State University, Russia; and University of Lausanne, Switzerland. In total, more than 6000 students from universities around the world participated in the CFA Institute Research Challenge throughout 2018-2019.

“Congratulations to the Global Championship team from Ateneo de Manila University, our Regional Champions, and the thousands of participants and charterholder volunteers who each pour hundreds of hours into preparing for the Research Challenge,” said Paul Smith, CFA, President and CEO at CFA Institute. “The competition not only showcases the knowledge and expertise of these investment professionals of the future, but also their commitment to ethics and principled conduct that is so critical to building a better world for investors. It’s inspiring to see the next generation of investment professionals at work and know the future of our industry is in capable hands.” 

The winning team from Ateneo de Manila University includes, Katreena Dachelle Chang, Carina Monica Chua, Gabrielle Marie Tayag, Vince Benedict Say, and Christine Abigail Yu. They were supported in their efforts by their faculty adviser, Miguel Sevidal; industry mentor Mark Canizares, Manulife Asset Management; and April Tan, COL Financial and the CFA Society of the Philippines. The team presented and defended their analysis of D&L Industries (DNL:PM) to a panel of judges drawn from the investment industry, including: 

Shuk Yee Samantha Ho, CFA – Chief Investment Officer, Altus Capital Limited.
David Greenberg, Managing Director, BlackRock
Tim Baker, CFA – Global Head of Applied Innovation, Refinative Labs
Jingyan Wang – Senior Quant Fixed Income Researcher, State Street Global Advisors

Over the past decade, the CFA Institute Research Challenge has grown from just 91 participants in 2006 to more than 6000 this year. The global winners from the past three years came from the University of Lausanne – Switzerland in 2018; Barna Management School – Dominican Republic in 2017; and University of Waterloo in 2016.