Research Challenge

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in equity research. Each student will be tested on their analytical, valuation, report writing, and presentation skills. They gain real-world experience as they assume the role of a research analyst.

The first round is local level competitions which are organised and judged by CFA Society members and volunteers who function as local hosts. The winning university team from each local competition advances to the sub-regional competition.

The sub-regional, regional, and global competitions are hosted by CFA Institute in the Americas; the Asia Pacific; and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions. The winning teams from each sub-regional competition advance to the regional competition. Regional winners advance to the Global Final, where one team emerges as the global champion.

2022 Melbourne Research Challenge

The CFA Institute 2022 Research Challenge CFA Society Melbourne local competition was hosted in October 2022. We had a record number of teams across all three states participate - a total of 10 teams from Victorian, South Australian, and Tasmanian universities submitted their analysis of the CSL stock. Each team also had the opportunity to make a 10-minute presentation for pitching their Buy/Hold/Sell recommendation. The preliminary rounds were brilliantly judged by Society volunteers leading to our finalists: Monash University, The University of Melbourne, and The University of Tasmania.

For the final, the teams had to present their recommendation once again via a 10-minute presentation followed by a 10 min Q&A with the judges. The event was in-person for the first time in 3 years. Hosted by KPMG, the event received extremely positive feedback, especially by the Tasmanian team whose visit was sponsored by the Society. A trio of highly regarded investment professionals were invited as judges, who crowned the team from the University of Melbourne as the winner of the local Challenge. The winning team advanced to the sub-regional competition to compete against the best from New Zealand, Sydney, Brisbane, and Perth. The winner of that competition was University of Sydney - went on to win the overall competition, 2022 Global Final Champions.

The 2022 Research Challenge was an incredible success for CFA Society Melbourne in terms of participation and the enthusiasm of the teams. The feedback from the graders and judges was impressive regarding the quality of the reports and the presentations. The feedback from the participating students was overwhelmingly positive about the opportunity that this event presents in terms of learning and development. All are compelling reasons for our continued efforts to engage with the universities and Society members to raise the bar further with next year’s event. But for now, we shine the light firmly on our local winner; the team from the University of Melbourne – Nan Xiang, Clarissa Tejalesmana, Kangni Xie, Robert Xu, Henry Yu, Andre Gygax (faculty advisor) and Patrick Collier (industry mentor). Congratulations.

And finally, a massive thank you to all Society members who volunteered as graders, judges, mentors, and organisers. The event would not be possible without their contribution.

We look forward to next year’s competition!

The 2023 Reseach Challenge local competition is underway, with AGL our targeted company and strong entries received again this year from across Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria. The winner of the local competition will proceed to the sub regional finals in the coming months, and the international grand final taking place in 2024.