Four students in the LSBE Financial Markets program participated in the CFA Institute Research Challenge in early February in Minneapolis. Grace Menk, Adam Swinney, Tyler Nowicki, and Isaac Beckel represented UMD well, taking home second place out of ten universities in the competition. The team from LSBE advanced to the "Final Four" presentation round along with teams from University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, University of St. Thomas, and Moorhead State University.
"Out of the four years we have been competing, this was one of our best finishes," said Joe Artim, Director of LSBE's Financial Markets Program.
The competing teams researched a CFA Institute-designated publically traded company, which was Stratasys Limited, a leading 3D printing company based in Eden Prairie, MN. After preparing a written report on Stratasys, the four best teams were selected to present their findings to a panel of CFA charter holding industry judges. Teams actually worked with Stratays executives to gather information.
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Carlson School of Management won the local challenge based on an aggregated score of their written research report and oral presentation, progressing to the national competition with the opportunity to advance to the Global Competition in Bangkok, Thailand.
The CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Institute is the association of investment professionals that sets the standard for excellence in the global financial community.