A team of finance students from Champlain College won the inaugural CFA Institute Research Challenge in Vermont and will now compete in the Americas Regional in Seattle in early April. "We are honored for Champlain College to represent Vermont in the next stage of the CFA Institute Research Challenge," said Chris Talbert, CFA Society Vermont President and Managing Director of Teucrium Trading. 

The winning team included Zhomart Dairov, Shawn Leary, Victoria Morelli, Kyle Sherman, and Adam Vernali and was mentored by Stiller School of Business Professor Shane Moser. "This victory represents a substantial accomplishment for the finance program begun quite recently by Professor Fritz Burkhardt," Moser said. 

The event was held at the Vermont Center for Emerging Technology on Feb. 8. At the local final, the students presented their analysis and investment recommendations on Casella Waste Systems to a panel of investment professional judges. The student teams also submitted written reports in December.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge in Vermont is the local Vermont competition of the CFA Institute Research Challenge. In the competition, the student teams analyze a public company, are mentored by finance industry professionals, write an equity research report on an assigned company, and present their report to a panel of industry experts and leaders. This annual educational initiative is designed to promote best practices in research among the next generation of analysts through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis. It is intended to complement university curriculum by simulating the real world experience of an equity analyst. 

About the CFA Institute Research Challenge:  The CFA Institute Research Challenge gathers students, investment industry professionals, publicly traded companies, and corporate sponsors together locally, regionally, and globally for an annual competition. In order to promote best practices in equity research and company analysis, students research, analyze, and report on a company as if they are practicing analysts. Local CFA member societies and other affiliated groups host local level competitions of the Research Challenge in conjunction with the participating universities. The universities assemble teams of three to five business and finance students who work directly with a company in researching and preparing a company analysis. The team's final presentations are locally evaluated by high-profile panels of heads of research, portfolio managers, and chief investment officers from the world's top firms. The local champions advance to regional competitions for the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) and then to the Global Final, which will all take place in the same location this year.