Two HSE Teams Won a Russian Level Competition of CFA Institute Research Challenge – 2020. The Ultimate Winner is HSE-ICEF Team
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Russian CFA Institute Research Challenge final was held on February 27th in Moscow Exchange where six best teams from the Russian leading universities competed. Altogether 61 team participated in the competition. The HSE-ICEF Team that included students of ICEF’s bachelor’s and master’s programmes (team’s mentor - Dmitry Kachalov) became the ultimate winner. The second place took the HSE team (team’s mentor - Veronika Belousova) that included FES, ICEF and Banking Institute’s students. Both teams now prepare for the regional final of CFA Institute Research Challenge that will take place on April 1-2 in Jordan and will represent Russia there.
CFA Institute Research Challenge is considered the main investment competition for students in economics and finance all over the world and allows demonstrating the level of applied knowledge in the area of financial analysis.
CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) — is a post-graduate professional qualification offered internationally by the American-based CFA Institute to investment and financial professionals. It has the highest level of international legal and regulatory recognition of finance-related qualifications. There are around 167 000 charter holders around the world, including 600 – from Russia.
Our congratulations to the winners!
Fedor Pavlovich
fourth-year bachelor’s student, ICEF
We had three months to prepare the competition task, and this year’s involved the Alrosa diamond mining company. The most difficult thing for us was preparing the oral presentation—our academic experience here wasn’t sufficient. We spent a lot of time and effort preparing the report and presentation, and came to better understand just how important soft skills are.
For the task, we did research using the financial reports of large banks, our knowledge gained during our studies at the ICEF, and the support of our teachers. The jury liked that we focused on trends and the demands of the industry and consumers. They also liked that we analyzed the possibilities of a real market environment.
The teams are not allowed to attend each other’s presentations, so when you’re standing backstage and see the satisfied faces of other teams' members who have just presented, you start to doubt how well you did. It was stressful, but the jury ultimately selected us.
Now we have a month to go. On April 1, we go to Jordan, where the competition will be between 43 teams, each of whom won in their respective countries in the EMEA region of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The selection process is a lot like that of the UEFA Champions League in football. Preparing for the upcoming oral presentation will be even more intense and demanding, but the CFA will provide guidance. In the Russian finale, we were able to stand out from the pack thanks to our presentation—although it was technical, we also played with images from popular culture and elicited an emotional response from the jury.
While preparing for the CFA IRC, we were assisted by our mentor, Kirill Chuiko, the analytical department head of BCS Global Markets. The CFA IRC regulations allowed us to visit him at certain hours. Kirill helped us a lot, and he really cheered us on, because he himself is an ICEF alumnus. This in itself really made us feel supported. We are also grateful to Dmitry Kachalov, our financial intermediation professor and our official mentor from the ICEF.
