Huntsman Student Teams Place 1st and 2nd at 2021 CFA Institute Research Challenge

Student teams from The Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University competed in the 2021 CFA Institute Research Challenge and placed 1st and 2nd, making this the 4th year in a row a USU team has won the state-level competition and advanced to the Americas Round, which will bring together 50 teams from across North and South America.

After three months of hard work, the competing students, Ryan Voges, Jared Warnock, Jack Baldwin, and Spencer Powell (1st place team) and Parker Jenks, Justin Froerer, Taylor Acevedo, and Bracken Williams (2nd place team), presented remotely to a panel of three CFA Charterholders. Only .35 of a point, out of 100, separated the first and second place teams. “These students worked extremely hard over the past three months and did a fantastic job representing themselves, the department, the Huntsman School, and USU,” said Paul Fjeldsted, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Economics and Finance, and the faculty club advisor for the Finance & Economics Club.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis and professional ethics. Each student is 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 winning university team from each local competition advances to the sub-regional competition.

“From the mentoring side this was a dedicated and coordinated team effort from faculty members TJ Bond and Pedram Jahangiry, as well as alumnus Michael Hendricks, who volunteers his time on this project every year,” said Fjeldsted. “A big thanks to all who made this year's competition such a success and provided an amazing educational experience for our students.”