Global Investment Research Challenge

Politecnico di Milano wins 1st place at Global Investment Research Challenge

The team from Master of Science in Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, is the winner of the CFA Global Investment Research Challenge with a research report on Gruppo Piaggio.


The team: (from left to right) Giacomo Saibene, Anna Belli, Nicolò Rolando, Francesca Claudio, Stefano Viganò

The team representend the EMEA Region in the final stage of the competition and confronted with University of Southern California (Los Angeles), Rutgers University (New Jersey), Thammasat University (Bangkok, Thailandia), which were selected out of more than 500 university teams coming from the best colleges worldwide.
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Members of the team with John D. Rogers, CFA, President & Chief Executive Officer of CFA Institute, (left) and with Andrea Dal Santo, CFA, Industry Mentor (right)

The team had previously won the first and second stages of the challenge, achieving the 1st place at Italian Investment Research Challenge after a competition against five university teams coming from Libera Università di Bolzano, Università Commerciale L. Bocconi, Università Cattolica di Milano, Università degli Studi di Padova and Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia and achieving the 1st place at the EMEA Region Investment Research Challenge after a competition against 20 university teams coming from EMEA region.

Prof. Marco Giorgino, Full Professor of Finance at Politecnico di Milano and Ing. Marco Jean Aboav were the Faculty Advisors for the winning team.

For more information about the event read the press coverage from:
Il Sole 24 Ore.com
CFA Institute - 14 April 2011
Il Sole 24 Ore - 20 April 2011
eFinancialCareers.it
La Mia Finanza
Corriere della Sera.it
Investire
CFA Magazine

Commenting on the event, Nitin Mehta, CFA, Managing Director, CFA Institute (EMEA) said: “I warmly congratulate the winning team, they achieved their success through teamwork, vigorous analysis, and a great deal of effort. Their presentation was outstanding, with a display of preparedness, poise, and confidence. Now in its fifth year, the Global IRC has brought together a record number of 506 universities from 43 countries worldwide, making this competition more exciting than ever before.”

Barbara Valbuzzi, CFA, President, Italian CFA Society, added: “My warmest congratulations go to the students from Politecnico di Milano, they will carry the hopes of the diverse EMEA region as they enter the global finale. Their dedication to the competition, alongside their studies, is an achievement in itself and I hope that they will continue their learning upon graduation. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Giuseppe Quarto di Palo, CFA, as the coordinator of the Italian IRC, his efforts have been instrumental in making this competition such a success.”

Nicolò Rolando, on behalf of the winning team, affirmed: "It has been a special opportunity both to have hands on experience of the financial analyst job and to do this as students, bridging the gap between academic and job world. This is also the reason why we consider the Investment Research Challenge a great educational experience, which we strongly suggest to all the students who are going to approach a profession in finance. The challenge has been our top priority for the past five months, but the result has been well worth it. We have learnt a lot and have also realised that there is still much more to be learned."

Andrea Dal Santo, CFA, Industry Mentor for the team, commented: "I am very happy. With the support of Italian CFA Society and Politecnico di Milano, the students put enormous effort into the Challenge and achieved this outstanding result. The success of the team, led by Nicolò Rolando, shows both the strategic importance of the exchange between
academia and the private sector, as well as the determination of young Italians to emerge on the world stage. I invite us all to become mentors of these new generations, and to pass on to them the best of our professional and human experience, while at the same time spurring in them their own capacity to innovate and succeed."

Giuseppe Quarto di Palo, CFA, Italian CFA Society University Outreach Chair and project leader of the Challenge, added: "This achievement is a great reward for us. The Italian CFA Society has really been committed in the promotion of the Investment Research Challenge in Italy and in keeping high standards for this event. I wish to thank all contributors for their dedication and their professionalism. The team from Politecnico di Milano has been fantastic. Students have been able to put into practice all the suggestions received and used them in high value presentations. Their skills and performance have been outstanding and the global victory well deserved."

3rd Italian Investment Research Challenge

Reports and Presentations

Politecnico di Milano
Report
Presentation

Università Commerciale L. Bocconi
Report
Presentation

Università degli Studi di Padova
Report
Presentation

Università Ca' Foscari Venezia
Report
Presentation

Libera Università di Bolzano
Report

Università Cattolica di Milano
Report

The Global Investment Research Challenge

Where else but in our colleges and universities can you find the best and brightest minds of the next generation in the investment profession?

What is the purpose of the Global Investment Research Challenge?

The CFA Institute Global Investment Research Challenge offers students the unique opportunity to learn from leading industry experts and compete with peers from the world’s top business schools. This annual educational initiative is designed to promote best practices in equity research among the next generation of analysts through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills.

How does it work?

CFA Institute member societies together with local universities assemble university teams of 3-5 students each. Teams are mentored by industry professionals in writing an equity research report on a publicly traded company. The teams then present their findings to a distinguished panel of experts.

What's involved?

The Challenge consists of the following components:

Analysis of a Public Company: Teams research a publicly traded company. Company management presents to the teams and participates in a question and answer session.

Mentoring By a Professional Research Analyst: Each team works with an investment professional, who mentors the team on research process and reviews and critiques their report.

Writing a Research Report: Students produce an initiation of coverage report on the chosen company. The report is reviewed and scored by a group of judges.

Presentation of Research to a High-Profile Panel of Experts: Teams present their research to a panel of experts from top financial institutions. The team with the highest combined report and presentation score is the winner.

Advancement to CFA Institute’s Global Challenge: The winners of the local competitions will advance to compete against teams within their geographic region, culminating in a global finale..

Benefits of Participation

Universities: Showcase your business school on a global scale; Provide students with practical training and exposure to top industry professionals

Mentors and Panelists: Promote best practices in research to the next generation; Give back to the investment profession in a high-impact, time compressed manner.

Students: Gain real industry experience and access to professionals and experts in the investment industry;

Opportunity to compete against 300+ students from over 140 universities in Asia, Europe, and North America will compete, including students from these schools ranked among the Financial Times top MBA programs.

Societies: Showcase your society to local and regional universities and students; Provide an opportunity for your members to give back to the industry; Connect with and engage senior professionals.

Download Italian Investment Research Challenge Presentation