Out of approximately 1,000 participating universities, Appalachian State University's Broyhill Fellows team has been named Americas Regional Champions in the CFA Institute Research Challenge and will compete as a Top 5 Global team on April 22.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is a global competition that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis.
The Broyhill Fellows team, consisting of five students in the Walker College of Business -- Sam Crouse, Olivia Guillebeau, Sean James, Obadja (Obi) Ludwig and Zachary (Zach) Stowell -- are members of Appalachian's Bowden Investment Group (BIG), which analyzes investment opportunities and manages a real investment portfolio. Each year, five BIG members are selected to compete as the Broyhill Fellows, a program that the Broyhill Family helped develop and still helps mentor annually throughout the CFA challenge.
The five made history earlier this week when they progressed for the first time to the Americas Regional Challenge, although the program has had a long history of success in the competition at the state, having won the state competition ten of the thirteen years that North Carolina has hosted it. Related: Finance students advance to Americas Regional, make program history
"They have done a phenomenal job and continue to excel in the competition," said Dr. Brandy Hadley, assistant professor of finance in the Walker College of Business and faculty advisor to BIG. "The team has worked incredibly hard and are excellent representatives of Appalachian."
Hadley also noted that the team's CFA Mentor, Mr. Chris Pavese, President and Chief Investment Officer of Broyhill Asset Management has been instrumental in the team's success.
Path to the global finals
Having defeated: teams from Elon University, North Carolina State University, the University of North Carolina - Wilmington and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill in the state finals; teams from the University of British Columbia, the University of Pittsburgh, and Utah State University in the regional finals; and teams from Canisius College (New York), FUCAPE Business School (Brazil), and Stetson University (Florida) in the national finals, the fellows will now face off against student teams from the University of Sydney (Asia Pacific Champion), BI Norwegian Business School (EMEA Champion), WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management (EMEA Champion) and the University of Waterloo (fellow Americas Champion).
Watch the team compete
The Broyhill Fellows will compete at 8:00 a.m. on April 22 in the Global Final. The competition will be livestreamed: https://global.cfainstituteevents.org/Nxnzxy.
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.
App State finance students take continental title, advance to global finals round of CFA Institute Research Challenge
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