RWTH Students impress with Financial Analysis
Qualification for the next round in international competition
Thanks to an excellent financial analysis and company evaluation by Software AG, five students from RWTH Aachen University prevailed against seven competing groups of students in the Germany final of this year's CFA Institute Research Challenge. The final took place virtually on February 2, 2023. In addition to the winners, teams from WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management and the University of Tübingen were in the final three and presented their analysis to a jury of investment experts.
"The team from RWTH Aachen University convinced us with a very strong presentation of their analysis and evaluation of the target company. The appearance and performance of the entire team were extremely professional and incredibly insightful, also with regard to the Q&A session," reports jury member Christian Rasim, CFA "From my experience, I know how difficult it is to get to the heart of extensive information and complex relationships and thus successfully convince the addressee. Fascinating to see through the CFA Research Challenge that a outstanding quality of young professionals for the financial sector,” he adds.
Every year, the CFA Institute Research Challenge brings tomorrow's financial experts together with experienced mentors from the world of work. It was first held in New York in 2002. Since then, it has become a global competition: last year, over 6,400 students, more than 1,000 universities and over 4,000 industry volunteers from 90 countries took part.
In the national preliminary round of the competition, which is organized by the CFA Society Germany, a total of eight German universities and business schools took a close look at Software AG from an investor's perspective this winter. "As a leading global software company, the analysis and evaluation of Software AG was not an easy task," says Susan Spinner, CEO of the CFA Society Germany. "The Research Challenge is an excellent opportunity to give young talents the space for new approaches that can also be highly relevant for practice."
The team from RWTH Aachen University was supervised by private lecturer Dr. Astrid Salzmann and the experienced mentor Anke Richter, CFA, who supported the group with valuable advice. The winning team is now looking forward to the next sub-regional round and – if successful – to the EMEA finals and global finals. The winners of the global competition can look forward to prize money of USD 10,000 for their university.