Continuing to outperform their competitors, UNB’s Student Investment Fund program will represent Atlantic Canada at the 2008 Global Investment Challenge, held for the first time last year in New York City. The team of four SIF students claimed first place at the Atlantic Canada Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society Valuation competition held at Saint Mary’s University on the weekend beating out contenders Acadia, Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s universities.
The Atlantic Canada CFA Society (ACFA) held its first valuation competition at Saint Mary’s University’s Sobey School of Business on November 2 and 3. Teams of students representing participating universities were given 20 minutes each to deliver a convincing argument in favour of buying the stock of a Canadian publicly-traded company. The presentation was followed by ten minutes of grueling questioning by the judges, a group of three senior industry professionals. The students’ skill was further put to the test by the requirement to submit a brief report summarizing the reasons for their recommendation.
In the end, the judges would decide which team presented the most persuasive argument and would represent ACFA at the 2008 Global Investment Challenge.
Fourth year business students Brian Bagnell, Dustin Besaw, and Guofeng (Jack) Ma along with Jason Misener, a second year master of business administration student, formed the UNB team. They came away the winners of the regional investment competition with their persuasive “buy” recommendation on TD Bank Financial Group (TSX:TD). Besides earning the opportunity to challenge for the global title they earned $1,000 in prize money. The team will be awarded $2,000 by the CFA Institute to offset their travel costs to the global competition.
"Given the amount of time and effort everyone contributed to the competition I was very pleased with the results. I look forward to competing at the international competition this spring," said Jason Misener.
Glenn Cleland, SIF professor in the faculty of business administration and the team’s coach, commented that “the SIF team put in countless hours to prepare for the challenge. They went there to win.” Mission accomplished.
According to the judges, it was a split decision with UNB narrowly beating out the Saint Mary’s team. The judges were Moncton’s Marc Lalonde, President, Lalonde Investment Consulting; Tom Robinson PhD CFA, head of educational content for the Charlottesville, Virginia based CFA Institute; and Toronto-based John Smolinski CFA, managing director, portfolio management and research, TD Asset Management.
Cleland remarked that UNB’s win “reflected the level of thoroughness that went into their analysis. They knew their stuff. Our students showed that they know how to value a company based on their comprehensive industry and company analysis.”
“And when they were asked tough questions by the judges the students retained their composure under duress.”
The SIF program and its students continue to break new ground. UNB will be the first Canadian university to compete in the CFA Institute’s Global Investment Challenge. As the winner of the Atlantic CFA Society’s competition, UNB will represent ACFA at the international investment contest.
The inaugural Global Investment Challenge was held in New York City in April 2007. Having won their regional CFA Society’s competition, last year’s contenders were Boston-based Babson College, Stillman School of Business at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University in Texas. Babson emerged the victor of the first global competition.
“Consistent with the mission of the CFS, building investment expertise in the Atlantic region, our students continue to make a mark,” Cleland remarks. Last weekend’s victory at the valuation competition marks the fifth business competition won by SIF students in the same number of years ---- three wins at the prestigious, international Redefining Investment Strategy Education symposium in Dayton, Ohio, USA and a first-place outcome at Dalhousie University’s inaugural Credit Risk Competition.
UNB’s Student Investment Fund program is the flagship program of the Centre for Financial Studies in the faculty of business administration. The SIF is a student-managed fund which began with $1 million in 1998 and, through thoughtful decision-making, now surpasses $2 million. The initial funds for students to invest came from SIF program partner, New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation.
