The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global equity research competition that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis. Working in teams, students gain real world experience as they assume the role of research analysts and are judged on their ability to value a stock, write a research report, and present their recommendations.
Is your university up to the challenge? Form your team and gain the opportunity to compete against peers from other schools to see who will become the local, regional, and global champions. Your participation also gives you the chance to showcase your university on a highly visible local, national, and global stage.
CFA Society Singapore will work with universities to assemble teams of three to five undergraduate and/or graduate students. Teams research and analyse a designated publicly traded company; prepare a written report on that company that supports a buy, sell, or hold recommendation; receive advice and support from a faculty advisor and an industry mentor; and present and defend their findings to a panel of industry experts.
Winners from the local competitions advance to subregional competitions, then on to regional competitions in the Americas, Asia, and Europe, culminating in a global final.
What to Expect
The majority of local level participants indicated that they spent:
- 100 – 150 hours researching their assigned company and assembling their report
- 30 or more hours practising and assembling their presentation
The majority of regional level participants indicated that they spent more than 60 hours preparing for the regional competition.
Faculty advisors to recruit students to participate and represent their respective universities
8:00 AM onwards
Each team is given 10 minutes to make their in-person presentation followed by a 10-minute Q&A session at a pre-allocated slot.
The Champion Team will be announced at the end of the challenge.
Online via Zoom
Enhance your resume and gain career opportunities
Prepare
- Read the Official Rules (PDF)
- Review the Participation Agreement (PDF)
- Commit to follow the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
- Review recommended readings and tools, including:
- Workspace Resource from Refinitiv
- CFA Institute Readings
- Learn how to develop your report, access ESG Guides, get tips for researching your company, and more:
Research and Write your Report
- Familiarise yourself with the official competition requirements for your written report (PDF)
- Read the written report essentials (PDF) to find out what you should include under each heading
- View the winning written report and presentation slides from past challenges
- Submit your report using the required, official competition cover pages (DOCX)
Network and Notify
Display your CFA Institute Research Challenge Participation (PDF) on LinkedIn
