Illinois Institute of Technology wins 2018 CFA Institute Research Challenge Local Level Competition

CHICAGO - Feb. 28, 2018 - PRLog -- The Illinois Institute of Technology Stuart School of Business (IIT) team was selected as the winner of this year's CFA Institute Research Challenge local level competition, hosted by CFA Society Chicago on February 23, 2018. The IIT team had the highest overall score, defeating 15 other teams comprised of undergraduate and graduate students from local universities.

The IIT team will advance and compete in the CFA Institute Americas regional competition held March 19 - 20 in Boston, MA. The winner of the regional competition will then vie for the global title on April 27 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

IIT team members Hani Elgamal, Shruti Khetan, Juan Palacios Godoy, Sai Harini Narayanan, and Raina Shah worked with IIT faculty advisor Michael Rybak, CFA, and industry mentor Steve Schwartz, CFA, on their winning project.

Teams were judged on a written equity research report with the final eleven teams presenting their summarized research and recommendation of CDW, a leading technology solutions provider to organizations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. A Fortune 500 company, CDW was founded in 1984 and now employs more than 8,000 people.

This year's presentations were held at Morningstar's headquarters in Chicago, IL. A CFA charterholder and CFA Society Chicago member mentored each participating team, and all participants were introduced and held to the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. The teams' research and conclusions were based on interactions with senior executives at CDW, investment thesis and risks analysis, financial modeling, valuation, comparable benchmarking and scenario creation.

All three teams received various prizes sponsored by CFA Society Chicago. Benedictine University finished second and Northern Illinois University finished third.

CFA Institute Research Challenge
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis. Additional information on the Research Challenge and its participants can be found on the CFA Institute website (https://www.cfainstitute.org/community/challenge/about/Pa...) and CFA Society Chicago website (https://www.cfachicago.org/research-challenge/).

CFA Society Chicago
CFA Society Chicago aims to lead the investment profession by promoting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence; to shape an investment industry that serves the greater good; and to serve as the premier local resource for Chartered Financial Analyst designees, candidates, and other investment professionals. Founded in 1925, CFA Society Chicago has more than 4,700 members and is the world's oldest investment analysts' society.