COMPETITIONS

RESEARCH CHALLENGE

CFA Institute Research Challenge is a global competition for young analysts, recognized by employers in the investment industry worldwide. The competition aims to develop students’ skills in financial analysis, company valuation, and the presentation of their findings. CFA Society Poland collaborates with local universities, which form teams of 3 to 5 students. Each team must have a faculty advisor, and under the guidance of an industry mentor, teams conduct a financial analysis and write a report on a company selected by CFA Society Poland for that year. The report is evaluated by a panel of financial professionals and then presented to a panel of industry experts, who select the team that will represent the country in the regional stage. The winning team from Europe advances to the global final.

Read more about the competition »

Competition Timeline:

September to November: Teams register for the competition.
November or early December: The opening kick-off meeting takes place at the evaluated company’s headquarters.
February: Teams must submit their financial reports.
March: The local final takes place, usually at the Warsaw Stock Exchange.
March and May: Regional and global finals, organized by CFA Institute.

Benefits of Participating in the CFA Institute Research Challenge:

Attractive financial prizes
High recognition for the winners and their universities in the financial community
Opportunity to gain valuable experience and test your skills as an analyst
A great way to enrich your CV with a globally recognized experience
Collaboration with financial professionals during project preparation
A chance to present your skills to industry authorities

Research Challenge. 2023/2024 Edition

Evaluated company: WP Group
Number of universities: 14
Number of teams: 27

Research Challenge. 2022/2023 Edition

Evaluated company: KRUK
Number of universities: 13
Number of teams: 28

Research Challenge. 2021/2022 Edition

Evaluated company: Asseco
Number of universities: 5
Number of teams: 8

Research Challenge. 2020/2021 Edition

Evaluated company: Allegro
Number of universities in Poland and the Baltic states: 11
Number of teams: 18

Previous Editions

Research Challenge 2019/2020 Edition

Evaluated Company: PZU SA
Winning Team: Warsaw School of Economics
Regional Final: Held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Global Final: Held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Competition Partners in Poland: Deloitte, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Warsaw Stock Exchange, IZFiA
Universities: Over 30 teams representing 20 universities (Poland and the Baltic states)

Research Challenge 2018/2019 Edition

Evaluated Company: PKN Orlen
Winning Team: Wrocław University of Economics
Regional Final: Zurich, Switzerland
Global Final: New York, United States
Competition Partners in Poland: Deloitte, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, Warsaw Stock Exchange, IZFiA
Universities: Over 30 teams representing 20 universities (Poland and the Baltic states)

Research Challenge 2017/2018 Edition

Evaluated Company: Cyfrowy Polsat
Winning Team: Kozminski University
Regional Final: Dublin, Ireland
Global Final: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Competition Partners in Poland: Deloitte, Warsaw Stock Exchange, IZFiA
Universities: 33 teams representing 25 universities (Poland and the Baltic states)

Research Challenge 2016/2017 Edition

Evaluated Company: CCC
Winning Team: Warsaw School of Economics
Regional Final: Prague, Czech Republic
Global Final: Prague, Czech Republic
Competition Partners in Poland: Deloitte, Warsaw Stock Exchange
Universities: 26 teams representing 20 universities

Research Challenge 2015/2016 Edition

Evaluated Company: COMARCH
Winning Team: Wroclaw University of Economics and Business
Regional Final: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Global Final: Chicago, United States
Competition Partners in Poland: Dom Maklerski BZ WBK, Deloitte, Warsaw Stock Exchange
Universities: 22 teams representing 14 universities (Poland and the Baltic states)

2014/2015 Edition

Evaluated Company: CD Projekt
Winning Team: Kozminski University

2013/2014 Edition

Evaluated Company: Netia
Winning Team: Wroclaw University of Economics and Business

ETHICS CHALLENGE

The CFA Society Poland Ethics Challenge embodies the mission of CFA Institute by promoting "the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellence." In addition, it focuses on many of the elements of CFA Institute’s Future of Finance initiative: Transparency and Fairness, Regulation and Enforcement and Safeguarding the System. Equally as important, it helps prepare those entering the investment profession for the ethical challenges that they will face in the workplace.

The first Ethics Challenge was started by CFA Society Poland in 2018. The Ethics Challenge is designed to increase students’ awareness of the ethical dilemmas they may face as future investment management professionals. Student teams from finance or economics programs are given an ethics case to study and evaluate. Each team then presents its analysis and recommendations. Following a question and answer period with each team, the judges then select a winner. Their decision is based on the quality of the team’s understanding of the ethical issues involved, their recommendations, and the quality of their analysis, presentation, and responses to the judges questions. The competition is only in Polish.

The thics Challenge can:

Improve your professional presentation skills
Help you gain ethical decision-making experience
Exposed you to real-world ethical dilemmas
Train you to work with a team
Extend your professional network

More information available in Polish: www.ethicschallenge.pl.

QUANT INVEST

Quant Invest is a quantitive analysis competition for students. Participants form teams of maximum 3 students currently pursuing Bachelor’s/Master’s/PhD degree. The competition task is to develop a quantitative method of portfolio construction, which uses financial, non-financial and economic data that allows to determine the sentiment and economic perspectives. Possible applications of solutions in portfolio management and innovation (understood as application of mathematical and machine learning methods) among others will be important from the perspective of evaluation of works.

The first edition was organised by: CFA Society Poland, QuantFin Foundation and PZU TFI SA.

More information at the project’s official website: quantinvest.pl »