Appalachian State University's 2020 Broyhill Fellows have won the North Carolina CFA Institute Research Challenge, besting student teams from Elon University, North Carolina State University, SKEMA Business School and the University of North Carolina - Wilmington.
The students -- David Franco, Nathan Hughes, Ana Melone and Jacob Wiley -- competed on Saturday, February 22, 2020 on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The CFA Challenge promotes best practices in research among the next generation of equity analysts while offering a 'real world' experience.
"I am proud of these students," said faculty co-advisor, Dr. Delbert Goff. "They are great representatives of Appalachian State University!"
Appalachian teams have won in nine of the 12 years that the competition has been held in North Carolina, and Appalachian is the only university in the state to have a team in the finals in all twelve years, Goff said.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is a global security analysis competition that begins at the local level.
"I would like to extend a special thank you to our CFA Mentor, Mr. Chris Pavese, President and Chief Investment Officer at Broyhill Asset Management," added Goff. "Chris has been invaluable in helping prepare the students for the competition."
The Appalachian students will now advance to compete in the North America Investment Research Challenge in New York City on April 20-22, 2020.
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. As of 2020, Appalachian teams have won the competition nine of the twelve years that North Carolina has hosted it and is the only university in North Carolina to have a team in the finals in all ten years.
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.
