The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition that provides university students with training in financial analysis and professional ethics. Student teams are assessed on analytical ability, valuation, report writing and presentation skills.
Each year, the competition brings together more than 6,000 students from over 1,150 universities across 100 countries. Participants prepare equity research reports and present investment recommendations before panels of CFA charterholders.
The competition is conducted in multiple stages. At the national level, universities compete for advancement to the next rounds. In this stage, a team from Karachi School of Business and Leadership (KSBL) competed against teams from the National University of Sciences and Technology, Lahore University of Management Sciences, and the Institute of Business Administration Karachi.
In the Southern Asia sub-regional round, the KSBL team finished as co-champion alongside the University of Kelaniya. According to organisers, this marked the first time in 18 years that a Pakistani university reached this position at this stage.
Other participating institutions included Management Development Institute Gurgaon, XLRI Xavier School of Management, Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli, FAST National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Bangladesh University of Professionals and University of Colombo.
At the Asia-Pacific Regional Semi-Final stage, the KSBL undergraduate Accounting and Finance team competed in a breakout round alongside Nagoya University, Griffith University, Assumption University Thailand and the University of Kelaniya.
Other institutions participating at the regional semi-final level included the National University of Singapore, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Peking University, VinUniversity, Auckland University of Technology, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
With this result, KSBL recorded its eighth appearance at the national level of the competition and progressed through multiple regional stages this year.
The team comprised Daniyal Lohana, Anusha Jauhar, Iliyan Suleman, Manal Adil and Sheikh M. Salman. They were mentored by Talha Ameer Khan as an industry mentor and Dr. Tariq Basheer as a faculty mentor.
Teams in the competition are evaluated on financial valuation, research quality, professional ethics and presentation before panels of judges at each stage.
Commenting on the outcome, KSBL Rector Dr. Asghar Zaidi said the result reflected the efforts of participating students and faculty. KSBL Founder and Chairman Hussain Dawood also acknowledged the team’s participation in the competition.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge requires participating teams to prepare equity research reports and present their recommendations across national, sub-regional and regional rounds before advancing further in the competition structure.
