CFA competition starts Jan 21

MANILA, Philippines - Five teams from top universities in the country will be competing in the Investment Research Challenge (IRC) finals slated in Jan. 21, 2010. The IRC, organized locally by CFA Philippines and globally by CFA Institute, is a worldwide competition that aims to educate the market in fundamental research analysis.

Eight teams from University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), De La Salle University-Manila (DLSU), De La Salle University-Dasmariñas and University of Sto. Tomas (UST) entered the elimination round of the IRC competition in September. The teams researched on the chosen subject company, Energy Development Corp. (EDC) and produced an initial equity research report.

“The IRC is part of the initiative of CFA Philippines to complement and strengthen finance education in the country. The teams who have entered were mentored by leading investment professionals, benefiting from expert training gained from other sources apart from their respective schools,” April Lee-Tan, CFA, president of CFA Philippines, said.

Mentors of this year’s IRC include investment professionals and educators from ADMU, the Union Bank of the Philippines, ATR Kim Eng Securities, CitisecOnline, CLSA Philippines, Altus Transactional Services, and Campos Lanuza.

The five teams who will present their research reports to a panel of judges on IRC’s chosen subject, EDC, are Long Island Investments, Condor, Gecko Investments, Edgeworks, and Team 4. Each team represents corresponding Universities who have joined this year’s IRC.

The winning team among the remaining 5 finalists will be called “Team CFA Philippines” and will represent the country in the IRC Regionals in March, to be held for the first time in the Philippines. The team will also receive a cash prize of P100,000, and will be given the privilege of witnessing the Global IRC in Hong Kong next April. The second and third place teams will receive P60,000 and P40,000, respectively.

CitisecOnline, Angping Securities, ATR Kim Eng Securities, SEAOIL, and the Philippine Stock Exchange are the sponsors of this year’s Investment Research Challenge.