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18 November 2020 | Story Dr Nitha Ramnath | Photo Supplied
The UFS team, from the left: Monique Harcourt, Dawid Potgieter, Atalanta Watson, and Zoe Travers.

One of two teams from the University of the Free State (UFS) performed exceptionally well and made it to the top four in the extremely competitive local Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) University Challenge.

The CFA Society South Africa recently hosted the 12th annual local edition of the CFA Institute University Research Challenge. The research challenge is an annual global competition in equity research hosted by the CFA Institute, a global representative body for chartered financial analyst (CFA) charter holders. During the research challenge, teams from different universities locally and internationally compete on three levels – more than 1 000 universities compete annually.  

"Taking part in the CFA challenge was a wonderful opportunity where we learnt new skills and gained industry-specific experience, which will be invaluable to us as we graduate and embark on our journey as professionals. We are proud to have represented Kovsies in the finals and this proved to us, once again, that hard work pays off, " said the UFS team.

Two teams of four were selected to represent the UFS during the 2020 challenge. Team selection was based on students’ performance during the first semester of their BCom Honours (specialisation in Financial Economics and Investment Management) in the Department of Economics and Finance. During the challenge, students assumed the role of a (sell-side) research analyst and had to write a concise report that covered various aspects related to the company’s business activities, structure, governance, finances, etc., which was presented via Zoom to a panel of judges from the CFA Society South Africa. 

Dr Ivan van der Merwe, the team’s adviser from the Department of Economics and Finance, commented: “It was a pleasure to work with a team that showed so much dedication and was willing to go the extra mile. The experience they gained during this challenge will stand them in good stead and it was a real confidence builder for them to successfully complete a very stressful live presentation and subsequent question session. They made us proud and set the standard for aspiring Finance students at Kovsies.” 

News Archive

Waldo Staude shares his vision
2014-10-13



Waldo Staude has recently been announced as our new Vice-President of the Student Representative Council (SRC) on the Bloemfontein Campus. And one thing that becomes clear as soon as you meet him, is his passion for leadership.

As a first-year, Staude was a resident in JBM Hertzog. This experience – living on campus together with his fellow students – gave him great insight into the dynamic of human relationships.

By joining the SRC and becoming the Vice-President, Staude believes that he will bring about positive change. "We all tend to complain that 'ja, the SRC doesn't do their job,'” Staude says. But it’s an entirely different reality, he explains, when you are actually in the situation yourself and trying to make a difference.

Through voting, he continues, students not only have an opportunity to raise their concerns, but they exercise their power to become pro-active on campus. "You can take a step and guide this university where it needs to go," he says.

Staude – currently studying BSc Agric – has great faith in South Africa. His dream and vision is to ultimately uplift as many of our country's people as he possibly can.


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