Appalachian State University's Broyhill Fellows CFA Research Challenge team has advanced to the Americas Regional Finals round of the CFA Institute Research Challenge, defeating competitors across the state and region.
It is the first time in program history that an Appalachian team has progressed this far in the competition, although the program has 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: App State business students win state CFA Institute Research Challenge
The top five teams in South and North America will now compete Wednesday, April 21 to determine the Americas Champion teams that will advance to the Global Final round.
The Appalachian students -- Sam Crouse, Olivia Guillebeau, Sean James, Obadja (Obi) Ludwig and Zachary (Zach) Stowell -- are members of Appalachian's Bowden Investment Group.
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.
"This is a tremendous accomplishment and these students continue to impress with their analysis and presentation," said faculty advisor Dr. Brandy Hadley, an assistant professor in the college's Department of Finance, Banking and Insurance. "This would not be possible without the continued support of our CFA Mentor, Mr. Chris Pavese, President and Chief Investment Officer of Broyhill Asset Management, as well as the foundation built by [longtime faculty advisor] Dr. Delbert Goff."
Having now beat out students from the University of British Columbia, the University of Pittsburgh, and Utah State University, the Appalachian students will now compete against students from Canisius College in New York, FUCAPE Business School in Brazil, Stetson University in Florida, and the University of Waterloo in Canada.
Community members can watch the live regional final at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 21. Register.
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.
Bowden Investment Group members on App State's Campus
BIG Members