Press Release

Background:
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual equity research competition organized by CFA Society Hong Kong for university students to gain hands-on mentoring and financial analysis training. Each team was assigned a professional industry mentor from the CFA Society as well as a faculty advisor from their respective university. Students gained real-world experience by acting as research analysts and being judged on their ability to value a stock, write a research report, and present their recommendations.

Competing against peers from the universities around the world, the top 6 teams with the highest written report scores advanced to give an in-person presentation to a panel of judges. The top 2 teams of the Hong Kong Final advanced to the virtual Sub-Regional competition and competed against top 5 to 6 teams in the sub-regional round of the Asia Pacific Regional Final of the Challenge. Throughout the competition, teams are evaluated based on the thoroughness of their financial analysis, presentation skills, and ability to respond to questions.

Faculty advisor: Mr. Jimmy Woo

Website / Image URL:
https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/societies/challenge
https://cfasocietyhongkong.org/cfa-institute-research-challenge-hong-kong-local-final-2022-23/

Award(s):
2^nd Runner-up

Awards and awardees:
Mr. Ho Tsz Chiu, BSc(QFin), Year 5
Ms. Lu Tingyi, BEcon&Fin, Year 4
Ms. Huang Yanchen, BEcon&Fin, Year 4

From left to right: Mr. Richard Mak (President of CFA Society Hong Kong), Ms. Lu Tingyi, Ms. Huang Yanchen and Mr. Ho Tsz Chiu

Students Sharing:

“The CFA Institute Research Challenge was a rewarding experience for me to assess my fundamental research skills. Being offered the chance to formally analyze a listed company and present our ideas in both report and in-person presentation formats, I learnt to think practically as a research analyst and formulate a true investment thesis. The challenging questions asked by the judges also allowed us to review what we had missed to arrive at a comprehensive analysis. The overall competition is a precious opportunity that hones my abilities to generate tenable investment ideas.

Lastly, I would like to thank our industry mentor Anne Kao and faculty advisor Jimmy Woo for their support and advice, as well as my teammates for their efforts throughout the tough period of preparation.”

(By HO Tsz Chiu)

“The Challenge was a rewarding journey for me to go deep into an industry and a company’s fundamentals/valuation. The charm of research is that: it needs a combination of inspiration and accumulation of knowledge, which motivates us to gain insights from multiple channels and stay “active learning”.

Again, I want to thank our mentor Anne, who always gave us detailed and structured feedback; our faculty advisor Jimmy who considerately underlined points to focus on; my supportive teammates: without you, I could not have proceeded to the final stage and achieved this. Finally, it is great to have CFA Society HK provide such an opportunity to meet outstanding peers and experienced judges. Q&A sessions and deep face-to-face conversations are inspiring!”

(By LU Tingyi)

“The CFA Research Challenge has been a truly enriching experience, where we practiced thinking critically on the real-world situation, honed our research and analytical skills, and collaborated as a team in both report drafting and presenting. While many obstacles and challenges developed during the process, I would like to thank our faculty advisor Jimmy Woo and industry advisor Anne Kao for assisting us to tackle them all during the process. Lastly, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the organizers and sponsors of the competition, the professionals who volunteered their time and expertise to mentor us, and my fellow teammates who worked hard to achieve this impressive result as a second runner-up.”

(By Yanchen Huang)