Five Martha and Spencer Love School of Business students tested their ability to value a stock, write an initiation-of-coverage report, and defend their recommendation to a panel of industry professionals during CFA Institute Research Challenge N.C. finals.
An Elon undergraduate student team presented a financial analysis and investment recommendations during the 2020 CFA Institute Research Challenge hosted by CFA Society North Carolina on Feb. 22 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The team comprised of Martha and Spencer Love School of Business seniors Joseph Abrams, Gavin Cutrino, Sam Loeffler, Anthony Potenza and Charlie Trinco. Raj Gupta, associate professor of finance, mentored and accompanied the team and Autumn Hall ’20 assisted with team logistics.
The annual CFA Institute Research Challenge provides students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis. Student teams researched and analyzed Advanced Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE: AAP), wrote an initiation-of-coverage report, and presented investment recommendations to a panel of industry professionals.
“This competition allowed me to improve my presentation skills and financial analysis tools through a 40-page written report and a 10-minute presentation to industry professionals,” Loeffler said. “The competition was an especially rewarding experience for me because I was able to work competitively in a team setting with some of my close friends while also learning a great deal about how investment professionals create investment recommendations.”
Other participating teams included Appalachian State University, University of North Carolina at Wilmington and SKEMA Business School.