A team of five students, comprising Yosa Li (Finance, Year 4), Tiffany Fan (Accounting, Year 4), Jeffery Zhang (Statistics and Operations Research, Year 4), Daisy Shang (Accounting, Year 4) and Edward Liu (Applied Economics, Year 3), recently triumphed over 10 teams and won the championship for their brilliant financial analytical skills in the Hong Kong local final of the CFA Institute Research Challenge 2016-17 organised by the Hong Kong Society of Financial Analysts. The winning team will advance to compete against other champion teams in Asia at the regional level in Bangkok in mid-March.

This year, teams of participants from 11 local universities were required to conduct research and prepare a report on Nine Dragons Paper (Holdings) Limited. The HKBU team which was one of the five participating teams with the highest scores in the written report was shortlisted to enter the final round to present their investment research to the panel of judges to compete for the champion title.
    
The HKBU team adopted various primary research studies in stock valuation in order to get first-hand information for their analysis. They approached the subject company’s competitor, customers and regulators from the Government and learnt about the market impression about the stock and thus made corresponding recommendations. In addition, the team applied statistical tools to find the relationship between paper industries in the US and the Chinese mainland so as to strengthen their argument.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is world-class educational competition that offers a simulated setting with hands-on experience for participants to act as real-world research analysts. Contestants are required to conduct research and prepare a report on a designated publicly traded company and present their findings to the panel of judges. During the competition, advisers with professional investment experience provide guidance to the contestants on their research and presentation skills.