91福利鈥檚 state championship CFA Institute Research Challenge team has been chosen to advance to the national competition as Sub-Regional Champions. Canisius College in New York and the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania joins 91福利 in the Eastern U.S. division. The CFA Institute is an annual global competition that offers students real-world experience as research analysts.

MaineMBA students Robert Harvey and Daniel Thomas and Maine Business School undergrad Nicole Pelletier are led by faculty mentor Dr. Pankaj Agrrawal and industry advisor Michael C. Moore from Bigelow Investment Advisors. They won the Maine State title on February 24 and will compete in the finals on April 15, 2021. 

鈥淭he success with the CFA competition is a testament to our students, their hard work, and their excellence,鈥� says Faye Gilbert, Ph.D., Executive Dean of the Maine Business School and Interim Dean of the Graduate School of Business. 鈥淭his step toward the national competition is also an indicator of the impact our faculty have on student learning. Dr. Agrrawal invests his time to provide these transformative learning experiences for students in finance and for that, I am grateful. It is also a compelling part of the Maine Business School model to welcome external advisors. We are grateful for the time invested by Michael Moore to work with these learners.鈥�

91福利 team will compete against 14 other universities across the country. There are 30 international teams that span the globe from the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. 

鈥淭he visibility that this brings to the University of Maine and our Business School is now at a national and international level,鈥� says Pankaj Agrrawal, Ph.D. 鈥淚 anticipate a bright future for Robert, Nicole, and Daniel, and great success for our MBA and business programs. The students have worked over six months at this point to get here. I am really very happy for the team and it continues to be a privilege to work with them.鈥�

91福利 brought home the CFA Institute Research Challenge state title for the second year in a row. MaineMBA students Robert Harvey and Daniel Thomas and undergraduate student Nicole Pelletier were led by MBS team advisor, Dr. Pankaj Agrrawal.

“This was an outcome of steady, consistent, and devoted work by the team captained by Robert,” Dr. Agrrawal says. “I鈥檓 glad they defended the CFA title and am privileged to be part of the many months of background work on the research.”

Two teams of Maine Business School and Graduate School of Business students are taking part in the 2021 annual . This global competition offers the students real-world experience as research analysts. Students get actual exposure to a Maine-based listed company’s finances and receive hands-on mentoring in financial analysis and professional ethics. Students are tested on their analytical, valuation, report writing, and presentation skills. 

“While this competition is a huge amount of extra work for the students, they rise to the challenge,” Dr. Agrrawal says. “The raising of the bar during the process, exploring new methods of analysis with the assigned team mentors, the industry linkages, and the exposure is all priceless.” 

This year’s teams include Nicholas Barto, Tee Soul II, and Kevin Williams on Team A. Their assigned industry mentor is Vincent Damasco from R. M. Davis. State title winners on Team B include Robert Harvey, Nicole Pelletier, and Daniel Thomas. Their industry advisor is Michael C. Moore, CFA, from Bigelow Investment Advisors. Both firms are located in Portland, Maine.

“When I received information regarding joining this year’s CFA Research Challenge, I knew immediately that I wanted to participate,” Daniel Thomas says. “I’m currently a level II CFA Candidate, so it was the perfect chance to gain some hands-on experience relevant to the CFA program.”

Students at Maine colleges and universities have been researching the financial prospects of IDEXX Labs, a global company in the area of veterinary diagnostics with an annual revenue of $2.5 billion. By design, the companies included in the competition are from Maine. The Maine state finals took place on February 24, 2021, and the national competition will be held in April. In 2020, the Maine Business School team, consisting of Samuel Varga, Nargiz Ali Zada, and Nikki Yutuc, placed first in the state competition. They subsequently presented in New York City for the national competition. 

Nicole Pelletier, the only undergraduate to take part in the CFA Institute Research Challenge this year, was encouraged to get involved by Nikki Yutuc from the 2020 winning team. “Daniel, Robert, and I put dozens of hours into our paper and presentation,” Pelletier says. “We have been working on this project since late November, and I don’t think we have taken a week off. I think I speak for all of us when I say I am so proud to represent the University of Maine, especially all of the faculty, industry professionals, and past students that have paved the way for us to be able to participate and supported us throughout the process.”

Dr. Agrrawal is elated that 91福利 retained the CFA Championship state title. “The Maine Business School is now being seen in southern Maine and beyond as having a strong finance program that produces quality students at undergraduate and MBA levels,” he says. The Maine Business School has a strong faculty, and with support from undergraduate and graduate leadership, the students are finding jobs in established finance companies. “As a direct result of our participation in this competition, two industry analysts will soon guest lecture in our classes, and one of them wants to build an internship program with the MBS.”