IAIP Challenge – 2011

CFA Institute Research Challenge in India

IAIP concluded the India finals of CFA Institute Research Challenge in Mumbai on December 13^th 2011. The four teams, which made it to the finals after the equally tough regional rounds, gave brilliant presentation of the investment thesis on the respective companies and responded well to the questions raised by the distinguished panel of judges. Bloomberg, NSE and Bloomberg UTV were the sponsors of the event. The two winning teams will represent India at the APAC finals in Hong Kong on March 2^nd, 2012.

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For the starters the process started almost 3 to 4 months ago. IAIP Challenge task force screened and finalized the companies under $4bn in market capitalization for each of the four regions of the country – North, South, East and West. It invited and shortlisted 32 business schools to participate in the competition. Then it brought on board a host of graders who evaluated the reports from each of the team and ranked them, mentors who guided the teams in preparing the reports, presentation and Q&A sessions and finally the judges for each of the regional rounds and national finals. Besides the task force arranged for venues, scheduled company presentations, managed logistics and worked to the minutest details. Needless to say they were able to convince and bring in the sponsors for this event.

Feedback from Judges

The judges for the National finals were Sunil Singhania, Ramesh Damani, Ratnesh Kumar and Alan Meder (brief given below). They provided some valuable feedback to the students which would also be applicable to practicing professionals. Firstly, due to limitation of time one has to focus on few points which will corroborate the broad conclusion consistently. A brief background of the company especially to the international audience who may not be familiar with the local companies is always helpful. It is like educating the people on an investment idea. At the same time they need not overload, or run the slides faster or yell. Likewise using the financial statements and figures in global currency like the USD and using international conventions like millions instead of crores will be helpful. Overall, the panelists were impressed by the performance of each team and quality of their presentations.

Panel discussion: India Investment Outlook…

Following the National finals, IAIP organized a short panel discussion on the investment outlook with the same set of judges and Vivek Law as an anchor from Bloomberg UTV which broadcasted it live as well as repeated the telecast twice to its TV audience. While the panelist were optimistic about the long term investment story about India, they were nervous about the government policy gridlock, corruption issues, ban on mining, lack of orders for infrastructure projects, deteriorating fiscal & current account deficit, higher inflation & interest rates, depreciating currency and slowing economy. One of the key differences pointed out between 2008 bear market and current has been the absence of the entrepreneur’s zeal & confidence in new projects. Likewise there have been negligible inflows into the mutual funds or the equity market from the investors. On the positive side prices for stocks in few of the affected sectors have dropped considerably and could be looked at.

About the Judges of National Finals & Panelists

Sunil Singhania CFA, is a Head – Equity Investments, at Reliance Capital Asset Management Ltd and President of IAIP

Ratnesh Kumar, is Managing Director and Head, at Standard Chartered Securities India (SCSI)

Alan Meder CFA, is SVP and Chief Risk Officer, at Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. and also Vice Chair, CFA Institute Board of Governors

Ramesh Damani, is seasoned investor with over two decades of experience and popular for his show on CNBC TV18 “Wizards of Dalal Street”.

About CFA Institute Research Challenge in India

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is a global competition which tests the analytic, valuation, report writing, and presentation skills of university students. Students have the unique opportunity to develop and present an equity research report and be mentored and judged by leading industry experts. Local CFA Institute member societies host and launch local competitions involving teams of three to five business and finance students from participating universities who work directly with a local company in researching and preparing a company analysis. The local winning teams will advance to the respective regional finals held in Asia Pacific; Europe, Middle East & Africa; Americas; and New York regions. The regional winners will then advance to the global final in the hopes of being crowned the global champion.

To learn more about the CFA Institute Research Challenge, follow us on website (www.researchchallenge.org); Twitter (http://twitter.com/cfachallenge); Facebook (www.facebook.com/globalirc); and YouTube (www.youtube.com/cfachallenge)

To learn more about the competitions held in India, follow us on website (www.iaipirc.org); Twitter (http://twitter.com/iaipchallenge); Facebook (www.facebook.com/iaipirc)

About IAIP

IAIP is an association of local investment professionals consisting of portfolio managers, security analysts, investment advisors, and other finance professionals. As one of 135 CFA Institute member societies, IAIP connects members to a global network of investment professionals. IAIP promotes ethical and professional standards within the investment industry, facilitates the exchange of information and opinions among people within the local investment community and works to further the public’s understanding of the CFA designation and investment industry. IAIP is headquartered in Mumbai and was established in April 2005.

(IAIP websites: www.iaip.in, www.cfasociety.org/india, www.iaipirc.org and iaip.wordpress.com).

About CFA Institute

CFA Institute is the global association for investment professionals. It administers the CFA® (Chartered Financial Analyst®) and CIPM (Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement) curriculum and exam programs worldwide; publishes research; conducts professional development programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and performance-reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA Institute currently has more than 110,000 members, who include the world’s more than 100,000 CFA charter holders, in 137 countries and territories, as well as 135 member societies in 58 countries and territories.

About Sponsors

Bloomberg

Bloomberg connects influential decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas; delivering data, news and analytics quickly and accurately through innovative technology. With over 15,000 employees in 192 locations, it delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world. Today, it is applying its extensive data, news and technology to offer new tools in the fields of government, law, energy and sports.

NSE

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) is India’s leading stock exchange covering various cities and towns across the country. It was set up by leading institutions to provide a modern, fully automated screen-based trading system with national reach. The Exchange has brought about unparalleled transparency, speed & efficiency, safety and market integrity. It has played a catalytic role in reforming the Indian securities market in terms of microstructure, market practices and trading volumes.

Bloomberg UTV

Bloomberg UTV is a 24-hour English language business and financial broadcast news outlet in India, owned and operated by UTV Software Communications in strategic partnership with Bloomberg Television, owned by Bloomberg L.P. The news channel’s coverage extends from the latest business news, stock quotes, personal finance solutions and expert opinions on investing and management to industry verticals and beyond.

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