CFA Institute Research Challenge

An educational initiative that promotes best practices in equity research among the next generation of analysts

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition which provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis and professional ethics. Each student participant will be tested on their analytic, valuation, report writing and presentation skills and gain real-world experience as they assume the role of a research analyst.

More than 6,100 students from over 1,150 universities, 117 CFA Local Level Challenges, and 160 local hosts in 95 countries and territories with more than 4,000 dedicated member volunteers participated in the 2018-2019 CFA Institute Research Challenge.

Click here for details on how the Research Challenge works.

CFA Society Chicago is proud to host the local level of the CFA Institute Research Challenge in Chicago.

Schedule of Events

Research Challenge spans October 2020 through April 2021 and consists of the following components:

CFA Society Chicago Research Challenge Kick-Off Webinar (October 2, 2020)

Financial Valuation Models

Introduction to Company Analysis

Industry & Company Analysis

Financial Analysis Review Grid

Teams registered with CFA Society Chicago and CFA Institute (October 30, 2020)
CFA Society Chicago to assign each team an industry mentor (no later than November 5, 2020)
Company Presentation (November 6, 2020 – online webinar via WebEx)
Finalized Equity Research Report due to CFA Society Chicago (January 22, 2021)
Advancing Teams Announced (February 10, 2021)
CFA Society Chicago Local Level Competition (February 28, 2020)
CFA Institute Sub-Regionals (Virtual March 2021)
Americas Regional Semifinals (Virtual April 15-16, 2021)
Americas Regional Finals (Virtual April 21, 2021)
Global Final (Virtual April 22, 2021)

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2019 - 2020 Program

Participating Universities

Augustana College
DePaul University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Loyola University Chicago (2 Teams)
Northern Illinois University
Northwestern University
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign (2 Teams)