Update:
Finance students and members of the Bowden Investment Group (BIG) are competing on a national stage, through the CFA Institute Research Challenge and Quinnipac GAME Forum.
- The CFA competition team competed in the Southeastern US Sub-Regional and was selected as a Sub-Regional Champion. As a result, the team will advance to the Americas Regional level in April 2021.
- On March 26, five students competed (for the first time in the school's history) in the Quinnipiac Global Asset Management Education (GAME) Forum and earned first place in the Small Fund category.
Related: App State finance students earn first place in Quinnipiac GAME Forum
App State business students win state CFA Institute Research Challenge
Appalachian State University's Broyhill Fellows have won the state level of the CFA Society Research Challenge, a global security analysis competition, defeating teams from Elon University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina - Wilmington and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.
The Appalachian students -- Sam Crouse, Olivia Guillebeau, Sean James, Obadja (Obi) Ludwig and Zachary (Zach) Stowell -- are members of Appalachian's Bowden Investment Group.
"I am incredibly proud of these students; they are great representatives of Appalachian State University," said Dr. Brandy Hadley, the group's faculty advisor and an assistant professor of finance in the Walker College of Business. "I would also like to extend a special thank you to our CFA Mentor, Mr. Chris Pavese, President and Chief Investment Officer of Broyhill Asset Management. Chris has been invaluable in helping prepare the students for the competition."
In March, the students will compete in the sub-regionals, representing Appalachian in the Southeast region of the U.S.
Appalachian teams have won the competition ten of the thirteen years that North Carolina has hosted it and is the only university in North Carolina to have a team in the finals in all thirteen years.
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. Learn more at finance.appstate.edu/bowden-investment-group/cfa-team.
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.
App State business students win state CFA Institute Research Challenge
From left: 2021 Broyhill Fellows and CFA state research challenge winners Zach Stowell, Sean James, Obi Ludwig, Sam Crouse and Olivia Guillebeau in Peacock Hall's Broyhill Commons.