Students from NDSU’s College of Business get to perform the role of Wall Street analyst this week. A five-member team has advanced to the presentation round of a global financial analysis and equity research competition.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge requires university students to research, analyze and report on a company as if they are practicing analysts. The NDSU students are slated to present their results Thursday, Feb. 12, at 4 p.m. at Thrivent Financial in Minneapolis. CFA stands for chartered financial analyst, which is a professional credential offered by the institute.
Mason Anderson, a senior finance major from Hutchinson, Minnesota, said the experience has given him and his teammates valuable experience using a variety of research methods.
“A good chunk of the senior investment professionals who are going to be hiring us are chartered financial analysts,” he said. “We are learning skills that these potential employers have deemed to be important.”
The team consists of Anderson; Norifumi Kimura, a master’s student in agribusiness and applied economics from Fukushima, Japan; Brad Cantwell, a senior majoring in finance from Roseville, Minnesota; Doug Noah, a senior majoring in finance and economics from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota; and senior Siyang Yu, a finance major from Nanchang, China.
They will be competing against three- to five-member teams from Bethel University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of St. Thomas and Minnesota State University, Mankato. All students worked directly with a company in research and preparing a company analysis.
The NDSU team was paired with Graco Inc., a Minneapolis-based provider of pumps and spray equipment for the construction and maintenance industries. The students met face-to-face with company executives and held an investor analyst briefing. Anderson said the team then wrote a report based on its analysis of the firm, reviewing its industry position, company management and conducting statistical modeling of revenue.
“At the end of the day, it read much like a report coming from a Goldman Sachs equity analyst,” Anderson said.
The teams’ final presentations will be locally evaluated by heads of research, portfolio managers and chief investment officers. The local champions advance to regional competitions.
Fariz Huseynov, assistant professor of finance and the team’s faculty adviser, said this is the fifth time NDSU has participated in the competition.
The CFA Minnesota Society, which includes North Dakota and South Dakota, is hosting the local-level competition.
The team members also are part of the Bison Fund, NDSU’s student-managed investment fund that manages more than $1.1 million of assets. Anderson is the Bison Fund’s treasurer.
“I can’t understate the value of both the Bison Fund and this research challenge,” Anderson said. “We learn so much in the classroom, but these extra components give you such a breadth of knowledge and the ability to use your own methods and try new things.”
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