CFA Financial Analyst Competition 2011 launched

Monday, 4 July 2011 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

CFA Sri Lanka Challenge 2011 got under way on 1 July with the handing over of reference material to the leaders of the competing teams.

Seven leading universities and business schools will be compete with each other in this rigorous competition. The Colombo Stock Exchange has come on board as a key sponsor while the Securities and Exchange Commission, as in previous years, will play an important role of facilitator.

The competition requires the contesting teams to extensively research a given company with the aim of making an investment recommendation on this target company’s shares.

Tokyo Cement Company Plc, a long-standing producer of cement in the country, has been picked as the company that the contestants will study for the 2011 CFA Financial Analyst competition. Over the next three months Tokyo Cement Company and the industry it operates in will be extensively researched by the contestants, before presenting their findings by end September. The written reports will be followed by a presentation and a question and answer session to a panel of judges.

As in previous years the winner of CFA Sri Lanka Challenge will be eligible to participate in the CFA Regional Financial Analyst Competition to be held in February 2012 on an all-expenses paid basis. Last year’s winner of the local competition, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, made a mark for itself and Sri Lanka by being ranked amongst the top six of the regional competition held in Bali, Indonesia.

The contesting universities will each be represented by five member teams comprising of students enrolled in the current semester at their university. They will research the selected company and the sector it operates in using tools of investment analysis, including field research over a period of three months and write an equity research report similar to what is done by sector analyst in the investment and brokering industry. Senior management of the target company, Tokyo Cement, will make a detailed presentation to the contestants.

A notable feature about this Financial Analyst Competition is the extent of interaction by industry practitioners, members of CFA Sri Lanka. They coach and update the participants in the tools and techniques of industry/company analysis and valuation that is required in a real world environment. The early days of the contest is often viewed as an intense crash course in industry and company analysis. Most previous contestants have found this invaluable.

This is the fifth year running that CFA Sri Lanka has organised the competition.

A stated objective of CFA Sri Lanka in conducting this competition is to develop an interest in securities analysis and the investment profession at top universities and business schools in the country and impart best practice in investment research to upcoming generation of analysts.