Student Team from University of Lausanne, Switzerland, wins CFA Institute Research Challenge

A student team of future investment management professionals from University of Lausanne, Switzerland, has been named the global champions of the CFA Institute Research Challenge 2018. The Research Challenge is an annual competition which invites university students from around the world to conduct in-depth analysis of a listed company, with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis delivered through the CFA Institute network.

This year, the Global Final was held today in Kuala Lumpur in front of an audience of international investment professionals and academics. Now in its 12th year, the final welcomed the regional champions for the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, each presenting their stock analysis to a panel of investment industry experts. In total, five student teams participated from universities in the United States, Norway, Switzerland and Malaysia.

Paul Smith, CFA, President and CEO at CFA Institute commented: “Congratulations to the team from University of Lausanne on their phenomenal achievement and the nearly 6,000 students who went the extra mile to take part in this year’s Research Challenge. CFA Institute is committed to helping develop individuals who are trained and ready to contribute to the investment management industry by raising standards of professionalism in their daily work. While the Research Challenge is a tough competition, those who get involved enjoy expert training from an investment professional in their location and opportunities to greatly expand their peer and professional network. I commend each of the competitors on their professionalism, rigorous preparation and effective collaboration with team members.”

The winning team from University of Lausanne are Natalia Grudina, Jonathan Pavillard, Mark Temnikov, Sam Wagner and Jeroen Zandbergen. Their faculty adviser was Prof. Dr. Norman Schürhoff. Their industry mentor was Matthias Teig, CFA. The team presented and defended their analysis of VAT Group AG to a panel of judges drawn from the investment industry who were Sean Heberling, CFA, Jennifer Henry, CFA, and Soek Ching Kum, CFA.

In total, more than 5,700 students from universities around the world participated in the CFA Institute Research Challenge 2018. The Global Final runners-up—already Champions in their respective regions— are teams from: Sunway University, Malaysia; BI Norwegian Business School, Norway; Jacksonville University, U.S; and University of Minnesota Duluth, U.S.