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UFS students in top four of CFA Institute Research Challenge

12 November 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

Groepfoto (1) copy — The group that went through to the finals of the CFA Institute Research Challenge, was from the left: Jan Hendrik Grobbelaar; Frans Benecke, Dr Ivan van der Merwe, Sacha Bourquin, and Johann Schlebusch.

Due to their knowledge and skills, charter holders are in high demand in the finance industry. A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification sets extremely high standards of integrity and excellence, and these professionals are thus highly sought after in the investment management industry.

Dr Ivan van der Merwe, Lecturer in the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of the Free State (UFS), says the CFA Society South Africa recently (27 October) hosted the 13th annual local edition of the CFA Institute Research Challenge. “This research challenge is an annual global competition in equity research presented by the CFA Institute, which is the global representative body for CFA charter holders.”

Exceptional performance

In a very competitive university challenge, one of the two UFS teams that entered made it through to the regional finals, along with one team each from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB), and the University of Cape Town (UCT).

Besides having the opportunity to compete with the best, the research challenge also offered students the chance to learn from leading industry experts on how to perform in-depth company analysis and to present their findings,” says Dr Van der Merwe.

He explains that during this challenge, students had to assume the role of a sell-side research analyst and were scored by a CFA judging panel on their ability to value a specific company – Impala Platinum in this case. They had to write a concise report that covered various aspects related to the company’s business activities, structure, governance, finances, etc., after which they had to present their recommendation in terms of buying or selling the company. In addition, finalists also had to make a formal presentation via Zoom to a panel of judges from the CFA Society South Africa, where they had to justify their valuation by answering several questions posed by the judges.

“Although the team from USB won the finals, it was still an exceptional performance for the UFS to make it to the top four teams in the country,” states Dr Van der Merwe.

Mentored by the best

Selection of the two teams of four members each representing the UFS during the 2021 challenge was based on the students’ performance during the first semester of their BCom Honours (specialisation in Financial Economics and Investment Management) in the Department of Economics and Finance.

Once selected to enter the competition, the team members were coached by an industry mentor as well as a faculty adviser.

Dr Van der Merwe, who was the team’s adviser, says, “I was very impressed with the dedication that this group showed during the competition. It took many days and even some sleepless nights for them to produce an impressive final product within a short period.”

He believes the experience they gained during this challenge will stand them in good stead. “To successfully complete a very stressful live presentation and subsequent question session was a confidence builder for the teams. They made us proud and will inspire future Finance students at the UFS to follow in their footsteps.”

Winners of the regionals will proceed to participate in the international final, which is, according to Dr Van der Merwe, an extremely prestigious achievement, since more than 1 000 universities compete annually.

News Archive

UFS SIFE is the best in SA!

2004-07-09

The SIFE team celebrates their victory with Jack Shewmaker, founder of SIFE in 1975 and past-president of Walmart in the USA, and Moses Kgosana, Chairman of KPMG SA.

The Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team of the University of the Free State competed in the National SIFE championships on Thursday, June 17, 2004 at Ceasar’s Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

Strong competition was experienced from the other ten participant SA universities, e.g. the Universities of the Western Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Cape Town and RAU, but die UFS SIFE team retained the national championship for the third year running.

The team will now represent South Africa and the University of the Free State in Barcelona, Spain at die SIFE World Cup. The competition will be held from 22 to 24 September 2004.

The presentation team members for the competition were Tsholofelo Tlhomelang, Imameleng Matete, Kenneth Lefa, Kabelo Lephaka, Nadia van Staden, Tshepo Mahloko (Multi-Media), Werner Schmidt (Faculty Advisor). Supporting the presentation team were Lineo Peete, Keketso Ntene, Ruth Morienyane, Motaung Mathaba, Tshireletso Seekoe, Peter Letsoalo, Obakeng Msuthwana, Tshepiso Lebentle, JC Langeveldt and Michelle Stanley.

SIFE is a world-wide non-profit organisation with the express aim of encouraging students to spread their business knowledge - gained in the classroom - to the community, to promote and expand the principles of free enterprise.( www.sife.org )

The criteria by which SIFE-projects are measured are the following:

• How free markets work in the global economy.
• How entrepreneurs succeed by identifying a market need and then profitably producing and marketing a product or service to fill that need.
• The personal entrepreneurial, communications, technology and financial management skills needed to successfully compete.
• Practicing business in an ethical and socially responsible manner that supports the principles of a market economy.
• Measuring the results of projects, utilizing mass media and the Internet, involving non-business majors and utilizing a Business Advisory Board, communicating the program through a written report and verbal presentation.

The UFS’ SIFE-team’s presentation complied with all the above mentioned criteria. SIFE UFS’ education drive stretched from primary school learners, to adults who had been working for thirty years – this diverse group was taught about the free market system and its value in the global village. Business ethics and basic business principles were communicated in a fun and interactive way to learners. High-level business advice was given to entrepreneurs who started new projects, e.g. a brick-maker, and marketing advice were given to existing businesses in need of expansion.

If you are interested in helping SIFE UFS achieve its goals, e-mail Werner Schmidt at
schmidtw.ekw@mail.uovs.ac.za or phone him at 051 – 401 3376.

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