A team of four Cleveland State University students earned second place in the CFA Institute Research Challenge Regional Competition. Jaron Campbell, Romeo Metri, Dan Murray and Alexander Veltre, all Finance majors, presented on February 17th, 2018 to judges a panel of professional judges at the City Club. 

During the three-month competition, they thoroughly researched the company, Sherwin-Williams and submitted a full-fledged research report culminating in a "Sell" recommendation with a one-year target price of $380, representing a -7.8% expected capital gains yield.

Cleveland State University has not competed in the CFA Institute Research competition since 2013. The four students decided to compete after taking the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) class in Fall 2017 in which they conducted equity research and managed the $800,000+ fund.

"Participating in the competition this year was an enjoyable experience," said Romeo Metri. "Even though we didn't win, it felt great to represent CSU considering the long layoff we have had from the challenge. Hopefully this is the start of continued success for the finance program."

The CSU team was advised by Paul Danes, a veteran fund manager serving as the industry mentor and Dr. Wei Wang, associate professor of finance serving as the faculty advisor. 

Teams from eleven universities and colleges throughout Northern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania participated in the Research Challenge, with nine teams making to the final presentation stage.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual, global competition that provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis. Teams from more than 1,000 universities across the world participated in this year’s competition. 

Students interested in taking the SMIF class, should visit the Finance Department website here and download the application to apply.