Financial whizzes impress Chicago
AUCKLAND PARK – UJ financial science pupils answer hard hitting financial questions in a global competition.
Five University of Johannesburg (UJ) pupils recently jumped on a plane to Chicago, USA, to compete with peers in the CFA Institute Research Challenge.
The UJ pupils, Ashley Pedlar from Greenside, Linden resident David Oberholzer, Abrie Grobler from Pretoria, Diepkloof resident Tshegofatso Tshukudu and Phemelo Tau from Rustenburg, from the Faculty of Economic and Financial Sciences (FEFS) competed in the challenge recently. The team returned home shortly afterwards, and on 22 April discussed their experience of the challenge.
Now doing her masters in investment management, Ashley Pedlar, the only woman in the team, said that the challenge was extremely enriching. “We learned a lot from the other teams. It was interesting to see what other countries deem important in equity valuation. UJ put up a strong fight and received many compliments from various judges and teams, who thought we were strong competitors in the competition. Many conveyed that they were excited to see what future UJ teams have to offer.”
The UJ team, who defeated six universities during the South African leg in October, competed against 106 university teams and 500 students from the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East. They were placed among the world’s top 21, after they were overcome by the Italian team representing Politecnico di Milano in the regional finals of the challenge.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge offers students the unique opportunity to learn from leading industry experts and compete with peers from around the world. This annual educational initiative promotes the best practices in equity research among the next generation of analysts through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills.
“Developing a culture of presenting at competitions is important to the Faculty of Economic and Financial Sciences. The students should be extremely proud of themselves for participation in this prestigious and challenging competition. Our students’ performance was exceptional, as the level of competition was incredibly high. Our team competed against teams representing top universities around the world,” said Niel Oberholzer, programme manager for Honours Investment Management.
Details: University of Johannesburg, 011 559 4555.
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