Walker College of Business team wins N.C. CFA Institute Research Challenge

View larger image — A student team from the Walker College of Business won the N.C. CFA Institute Research Challenge. They are Caitlin Owings, left, Matthew Wine, Nathan Birmingham and Brett Featherstone. Photo by Sabrina Cheves.

Posted March 6, 2015 at 11:39 a.m.

BOONE—Four students from Appalachian State University’s Walker College of Business won the N.C. CFA Institute Research Challenge held in Greensboro, besting student teams from Elon University, N.C. State University and UNC Wilmington.

They are senior finance and banking major Caitlin Owings from Huntersville; finance and banking and economics double major Matthew Wine, a junior from Huntersville; finance and economics senior Nathan Birmingham from Moorseville; and finance and banking senior Brett Featherstone from Hickory.

All are members of the college’s Bowden Investment Group. The group is funded by the Elbert V. Bowden Student Managed Investment Fund, which was established in 2000 to provide students the opportunity to gain investment experience.

The students presented an analysis and their buy/sell/hold recommendations on Hanes Brands Inc. The presentation was the culmination of months of research, interviewing and presentation training. They were mentored by CFA member Chris Pavese.

“I am proud of these students. They are great representatives of Appalachian State University,” said Dr. Delbert Goff, a professor of finance in the Walker College of Business. “Their victory makes four in a row for Appalachian in the North Carolina competition. Appalachian teams have won in five of the seven years that the competition has been held in North Carolina, and Appalachian is the only university in the state to have a team in the finals in all seven years.”

Appalachian’s team, part of the business college’s Bowden Investment Group, advances to the Americas Regional competition April 15-16 in Atlanta. The students will compete against teams from the United States, Canada and Latin America. The winners of the three regional competitions (Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific) will compete in the Global Final, also in Atlanta, on April 17.

About the CFA Institute Research Challenge

The CFA Institute Research Challenge gathers students, investment industry professionals, publicly traded companies and corporate sponsors together locally, regionally and globally for an annual competition. The challenge promotes best practices in equity research and company analysis. Students research, analyze and report on a company as if they are practicing analysts.

Additional information about the research challenge is available at http://www.cfainstitute.org/researchchallenge.

About CFA Society North Carolina

CFA Society North Carolina (CFANC) was established in 1971 to provide education and support to the area’s investment professionals. The CFANC membership consists of portfolio managers, security analysts, investment advisors and other financial professionals.

About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The Appalachian Experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and to embrace diversity and difference. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System. Appalachian enrolls nearly 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.