CFA Society Jordan hosts CFA Institute Research Challenge

During the Jordan round, five teams of three to five students from the Kingdom's leading universities and business schools will compete for a place in the regional final in April 2013 in London, where they will meet other finalists from the region. The successful team will then compete in the Global Final, to be held in April 2013, in London.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge offers students the unique opportunity to develop and present an equity research report and compete on a global basis. Students will learn from leading industry experts and their mentors and peers from the world's top business schools.

This annual educational initiative is designed to promote best practices in equity research among the next generation of analysts through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills.

For this year's local challenge, Arab Potash Company (APC) has been selected to be the subject company for coverage, given the company's uniqeness on the Jordanian, Arab and global levels. APC is one of the largest on the Amman Stock Exchange in terms of profitability and market capitalisation. It is also the seventh largest producer and the fifth largest seller of potash worldwide.

Commenting on the challenge, Jameel Anz, CFA and President of the CFA Society Jordan, said, "We are delighted to host the challenge for the second year running, thereby offering a unique opportunity for university students in Jordan to gain real-life investment expertise and learn from leading industry experts. The esteemed patronage of the Amman Stock Exchange and the partnership with the Arab Potash Company, one of the three largest companies on the Amman Stock Exchange by market capitalization, to be the subject company of the challenge, is testament to the confidence these sterling institutions have in the challenge and the values of the CFA Society Jordan."

The global competition, which runs until April 2013, is expected to attract 3,300 students and 750 universities in nearly 60 countries.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge requires the student teams to conduct an analysis on and research a publicly-traded company with the help of the company's management, who will provide related information and be available to answer questions. It also includes mentoring by a professional CFA charterholder analyst who will be assigned to each team during the research process to review and critique their reports.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge also requires the teams to write a research report and produce an Initiation of Coverage report on their chosen company, to later be reviewed and scored by a group of judges.

The teams will deliver their final presentations to be evaluated by panels of experts from top financial institutions, whereby the team with the highest combined written report and presentation score will be announced as the winner and will advance to the regional level of the Research Challenge.

Panelists include heads of research, portfolio managers and chief investment officers from the world's top firms. The regional winners will then advance to compete at the CFA Institute Research Challenge Global Final.

At the regional and global stages of the Research Challenge, teams are evaluated solely on their presentations.