Politecnico di Milano Wins Eighth Annual CFA Institute Research Challenge in EMEA
A team of future investment professionals from Politecnico di Milano has been named the winner of the eighth annual CFA Institute Research Challenge EMEA Regional competition. The annual contest, considered ‘the investment Olympics’ for university students, requires each team to analyse a publicly traded company and present their research results and recommendations to a high-profile judging panel of experts.
The Research Challenge is an annual educational initiative that promotes best practices in equity research through mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills. It offers students a unique opportunity to learn from leading industry experts and gain real-world experience as they assume the role of a research analyst. Through the course of the competition, participants receive mentoring from an industry professional as they analyse a publicly-traded company, write a professional research report, and present their research results and recommendations to a panel of experts. Ethics and professional standards are at the core and all participants are held to the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. Points are awarded to teams on the basis of their investment case, their poise, and their ability to answer questions from the judges.
The EMEA regional final was hosted by CFA Society Italy in Milan, in partnership with CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals that sets the standard for professional excellence and credentials. Over 200 students made up 32 teams, each representing leading universities and business schools across the EMEA region. The Politecnico di Milano team were mentored by Barbara Monda and Marco Giorgino (faculty advisers) and Alberto Chiandretti (industry adviser), and they presented their report, analysis and recommendations on YOOX S.p.A., the global lifestyle e-store for multi-brand fashion, design and art. The judging panel of investment industry experts comprised:
- Qutaiba Hawamdeh, CFA, MENA Asset Management (Head) and Vice President of CFA Society Jordan
- Harald P. Holzer, CFA, Deputy CEO, Kathrein Privatbank and President of CFA Society Austria
- Philippe Maupas, CFA, Partner, Quantalys, and President of CFA Society France
- Paolo Perrella, CFA, Executive of Investor Relations and Financial Investments at De Agostini S.p.A., member of CFA Society Italy
The winning team faced strong competition in the final round from Corvinus University of Budapest, representing CFA Society Hungary; the University of Cape Town, representing CFA Society South Africa; Kyiv School of Economics, representing CFA Society Ukraine; and the University of Lausanne, representing CFA Society Switzerland.
Nitin Mehta, CFA, managing director of CFA Institute in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, commented: “The EMEA regional final provided an evening of outstanding performances and high quality presentations. The winning team made a compelling investment case with poise and persuasiveness. They dealt with tough questions from the judging panel, relying on considerable knowledge and good professional judgement. The team will be worthy regional representatives at the global finale in Singapore."
Matteo Cassiani, CFA, president of CFA Society Italy, added: “We are delighted to have hosted the regional finals in Milan once again. We witnessed at first hand the enthusiastic approach of some of the brightest students, and their positive attitude towards the investment profession. This bodes well for the future of our industry, which will need strong leadership, knowledge and ethics from the next generation in order to restore investor trust. We firmly believe that the promotion of close cooperation between professionals and academia is essential in preparing future professionals, and the Research Challenge truly contributes to and enables the accomplishment of this goal.”
The Politecnico team - Lidia Palladino, Samuele Gaboli, Luca Professione, Riccardo Musetti, and Fabio Palumbo - will head to the CFA Institute Research Challenge Global Finale in Singapore, to be held on 25 April 2014, where they will compete against the winning teams from the Americas and Asia Pacific. Globally, more than 3,700 students from more than 825 universities are participating in the challenge.
CFA Institute is the global association of investment professionals that sets the standard for professional excellence and credentials. The organization is a champion for ethical behavior in investment markets and a respected source of knowledge in the global financial community. The end goal: to create an environment where investors’ interests come first, markets function at their best, and economies grow.