JBIMS outshines teams from Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) - Chennai, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) – Kolkata, and Indian Institute of Management (IIM) - Lucknow to take the crown.Sponsored by CFA Institute, the competition is organized by its member society The India Association of Investment Professionals (IAIP).
Now in its second year, the India Challenge this year spanned eight months with 16 universities across the country participating. In the preliminary round, the competing teams were divided into groups of four under four zones – northern, western, southern, and eastern, with each zone assigned a publicly traded company to be researched upon. Over the course of the competition, students of the participating teams were mentored by analysts and portfolio managers in writing equity research reports on the assigned companies. In the preliminary round, the teams presented their research work to a panel of investment industry experts, who selected the final four. They then presented their work again to the panel at the finale (Please refer to the appendix for more details of the competition format).
The triumphant Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) - Mumbai team will represent India to compete with teams from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Taiwan at the CFA Institute Asia Pacific Regional Investment Research Challenge in Singapore on 7 March 2009. The regional winner will then move on to compete in the CFA Institute Global Investment Research Challenge on 2 April 2009 in London.
The CFA Institute Global Investment Research Challenge is a unique opportunity for university students, investment industry professionals, and publicly traded companies to jointly promote the best practices in equity research and company analysis. This year, 35 CFA Institute member societies host local competitions with more than 890 students from over 200 universities worldwide participating.
"As a fund manager myself, I read many research reports and I must say the quality of work done by the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) - Mumbai team students is very much on par with what I'm seeing in the real world," says Sunil B. Singhania, CFA, president of the India Association of Investment Professionals.
How does the Challenge work?
- Leading investment industry professionals guide business and finance students on how to research and report on a publicly traded company
- Universities assemble teams of three to five students
- High-profile panels of heads of research, portfolio managers, and chief investment officers from the world's top firms evaluate the presentations locally
- Local champions advance to regional competitions in the Americas, Asia, and Europe where qualifying rounds precede a final regional Challenge. Regional winners advance to the Global Finale being held on 2 April 2009 in London, UK
India Association of Investment Professionals (IAIP), which is established in April 2005 and located in Mumbai, is an association of local investment professionals. As one of the 136 CFA Institute member societies, IAIP connects members to a global network of investment professionals. CFA Institute is the global association for investment professionals. It administers the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and CIPM (Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement) curriculum and exam programs worldwide; publishes research; conducts professional development programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and performance-reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA Institute has more than 100,000 members, who include the world's 87,000 CFA charter holders, in 132 countries and territories, as well as 136 affiliated professional societies in 57 countries and territories.
