Demonstrating quick thinking and superior presentation skills, a team of MBA students from Mays Business School at Texas A&M University won second place in the regional Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute’s Investment Research Challenge (IRC) in March. The event, held in New York City, pitted Mays students against 15 competing teams from some of the world’s top MBA programs, including Boston University, Marquette University, and several schools from Canada and Brazil.
The Mays MBAs were highly competitive, falling behind the first place Brazilian team by less than one point.
Mays MBA students (left to right) Justin Zsiros ’10, Charlene Chang ’09, Phillip Wirtz ’10 and Karn Nopany ’10 recently placed second in the regional Chartered Financial Analyst Institute’s Global Investment Research Challenge.
Competitions such as the IRC give MBA students an opportunity to test their skills and knowledge in a realistic setting and are an important component of the students’ professional development. “The Mays IRC team competed with the best and brightest in the Western Hemisphere and proved that they have mastered important analytical and communication skills through their superb performance in this competition. They have brought great credit to themselves and the Mays MBA program,” said David Blackwell, Mays’ associate dean for graduate programs.
Securing the gold at the local level in February, the team competed against nine teams from institutions such as the University of Texas, Southern Methodist University, Texas Tech University, Texas Christian University, and Rice University.
This is the third year that Mays MBAs have participated in the IRC, which tests students’ valuation skills as each team analyzes the stock value of a publicly traded company then presents their findings to judges. Though Mays has been involved in the challenge in the past, this is the first time that an Aggie team has won first in the local competition or advanced to the next level.
Participation in this event is intense but worthwhile say the A&M students, who were handpicked by a committee of faculty and staff from the Mays MBA program. Selected students Charlene Chang ’09, Justin Zsiros ’10, Karn Nopany ’10, and Phillip Wirtz ’10 spent two months completing research for the initial competition. Their time management skills were put to the test as each maintained their studies while preparing. The group members pointed out that the workload involved with this kind of commitment is comparable to taking an extra class.
For their presentation, the Mays team researched Carbo Ceramics, a firm that markets technology to the oil industry. From talking to shareholders to documenting reports on the company’s past performance, the MBA students thoroughly examined every facet of the business. “Many groups settled for the secondary research information, but we made it our goal to learn the industry inside out. Going beyond the basic information and being able to evaluate the firm’s future performance set us apart from the other participants,” said Chang.
A significant factor contributing to the team’s success was the ability to capitalize on their individual talents and apply them to the assignment. “We each have a specific function—from writing to presentation skills, to knowledge about a specific industry,” said Chang.
Wirtz agreed that this played a huge part in the group’s success. “Our award is evidence that when you put a group of people together with different strengths, it is truly amazing what you can accomplish,” he said.
For winning the local competition, Mays team members will have the next level of their CFA exams, an amount nearing $1000 per person, paid for by the Houston chapter, which sponsored the event. At the regional level, each MBA student received a certificate recognizing their performance.
