College of Business Team Places Third

On March 3, five students – four graduate and one undergraduate – from the University’s College of Business placed third in the regional CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Institute Research Challenge in Cleveland.

Kyle Blessing (who was unable to attend the March 3 event), another student who asked that her name not be published, Nicholas Dircksen (who served as group leader), Megan Ehora and Wesley Hyland analyzed all of the available financial data of RPM International Inc., located in Medina. Joon Young Song, Ph.D., associate professor of finance, was the group’s adviser.

For the competition, the group was asked to analyze the financial data and determine an investment opinion. A written research paper and oral presentation were graded by investment professionals.

The presentation was evaluated on the students’ ability to present an effective argument and answer questions; quality of financial, valuation and other analysis; team involvement; poise and quality of materials. The report was evaluated on several components, as well: business description, industry overview and competition positioning, investment summary, valuation, financial analysis, investment risks and other information included.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is a competition between university-sponsored teams that research a designated publicly traded company, prepare a written report on the selected company and then present their findings to a panel of judges. The competition has three levels: local, national and global.