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University of Missouri - Kansas City Wins Eighth Annual CFA Institute Research Challenge Americas RegionalDENVER --(Business Wire)-- A team of future investment professionals from University of Missouri - Kansas City has been named the winner of the eighth annual CFA Institute Research Challenge Americas Regional. The Research Challenge, which encompasses values from the CFA Institute Future of Finance initiative to rebuild trust in the investment profession, is an annual educational initiative that promotes best practices in equity research through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills. The annual competition, considered 'the investment Olympics' for university students, comprised 350 universities from across North, Central and South America, which competed in local competitions for a place in the Americas Regional. 
Jacob Boan, Derek Bembry, and Jared Stricklin (team members) and John Clark, CFA (faculty adviser) celebrate their win. (Photo: Business Wire) Jointly hosted in Denver, CO, by CFA Institute, the global association of investment professionals that sets the standard for professional excellence and credentials, and CFA Society Colorado, the Americas regional was made up of 49 teams from leading universities and business schools across the region. Finalists were welcomed with remarks from the president of CFA Society Colorado, Brian Goodstadt; Deputy Mayor and CFO of the City of Denver, Cary Kennedy; and halid Ghayur, CFA, Managing Partner and CEO of Westpeak Global Advisors LLC. The winning team was announced late Wednesday evening after beating out strong competition in the final round from Brandeis University (News - Alert), Boston, MA.; Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) - Santa Fé, Mexico; and University of Alberta, Canada. "Congratulations to University of Missouri - Kansas City for winning the 2014 CFA Institute Research Challenge Americas Regional," said John Bowman, CFA, managing director and co-lead of Education, CFA Institute. "This challenge is one of the most rigorous and competitive financial competitions globally, and the team went above and beyond to meet the high professional standards upheld by CFA Institute. I am happy to see that students like these, and all those who participated in this competition, will lead us into the next era of finance - one of integrity, stewardship and ethical excellence." The CFA Institute Research Challenge offers students the unique opportunity to learn applicable professional skills from leading industry experts and gain real-world experience as they assume the role of a research analyst. Through the course of the competition, which requires hundreds of hours of preparation, participants receive mentoring from an industry professional as they analyze a publicly traded company, write a professional research report, and present their research results and recommendations to a high-profile panel of experts. Ethics and professional standards are at the core and all participants are held to the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. Points are awarded to teams on the basis of their investment case, their poise, and their ability to answer the judges' questions. The winning team, Derek Bembry, Jacob Boan, and Jared Stricklin, is now headed to the CFA Institute Research Challenge Global Final in Singapore that will be held on April 25, where they will face-off against winning teams from Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. Globally, more than 3,700 students from more than 825 universities are participating in some stage of the challenge. "We feel absolutely fantastic," said Derek Bembry, one member of the winning team. "We have put a great deal of time into the competition - our evenings and weekends have been filled with preparing for this moment. We can't wait to go to Singapore." "The students from University of Missouri - Kansas City showed a strong commitment to the best practices in equity research and demonstrated the type of forward-thinking that will help them succeed as they move on to careers in finance," said Tom Robinson, Managing Director of the Americas at CFA Institute. "We wish them luck as they go on to represent our region in the global final next month." The winning University of Missouri - Kansas City team presented and defended a report on Kansas City Southern to a panel of investment industry experts that included:
About CFA Institute CFA Institute is the global association of investment professionals that sets the standard for professional excellence and credentials. The organization is a champion for ethical behaviour in investment markets and a respected source of knowledge in the global financial community. The end goal: to create an environment where investors' interests come first, markets function at their best, and economies grow. CFA Institute has more than 120,700 members in 145 countries and territories, including 113,400 CFA charterholders, and 142 member societies. For more information, visit www.cfainstitute.org.
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