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Five Martha and Spencer Love School of Business students virtually presented a financial analysis and investment recommendations during the 2021 CFA Institute Research Challenge N.C. finals hosted by the CFA Society North Carolina on Feb. 20.

Molly Chapin ’21, Connor Fioretti ’21, Shawn O’Malley ’21, Andrew Veilleux ’21 and Thea Vunk ’21 assumed the role of research analysts and tested their analytical, valuation, report writing, and presentation skills. Under the mentorship of Professor of Finance Raj Gupta, the team researched and analyzed Albemarle Corp. (NYSE: ALB), wrote an initiation-of-coverage report, and presented investment recommendations to a panel of industry professionals.

“The CFA IRC was one of the coolest and most engaging experiences I’ve had at Elon,” said Chapin, a Business Fellow and finance major. “The blend between classroom learning and real-world application was so beneficial to understanding the world of finance and furthering my analytical skills. The overall experience, including the mentorship from Professor Gupta, has given me an immense amount of confidence and I feel prepared to tackle my next professional challenge!”

Fioretti also noted the experience helped him feel prepared for his job after graduation. “I learned what it takes to thoroughly analyze a stock,” the finance major said. “We started back in October and didn’t fully finish until February. It was very valuable because it taught me how important attention to detail is. We were constantly changing, adding, deleting, and fixing information by the day and got several different opinions to put our best recommendation in front of the judges.”

The Elon team placed second in the regional round, competing against teams from Appalachian State University, UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University and UNC-Wilmington.

“Being part of the CFA Institute Research Challenge team was one of the most rewarding experiences in my Elon career,” Veilleux, a Business Fellow and finance and business analytics double major said. “I was able to sharpen the valuation skills I’ve learned in my classes, and really dig deeper into a company’s financials to better understand the direction they are headed. Then to present to such a profound panel of judges and compete with the best teams in the state, was beneficial hands-on experience I couldn’t have gotten elsewhere. All in all, I am just very proud of my team’s efforts, and I walk away feeling more prepared to take the CFA Level 1 Exam and ultimately enter the finance industry.”

“Our efforts made me proud to represent 51������,” finance major O’Malley said. “I had a tremendous opportunity to dive deeply on a unique segment of financial markets through practicing various qualitative and quantitative research methods. And unsurprisingly, it’s been an incredibly helpful experience to reference in job interviews.”