Finance Students Take First Place, Two Years in a Row

BUFFALO, NY - A team of Canisius University finance students won first place at the Western New York Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge, held at the University of Rochester on February 17. The CFA Institute Research Challenge is a competition between university-sponsored teams that research a designated publicly-traded company, prepare a written report on that select company and then present their findings to a panel of judges. The competition tests the analytic, valuation, reporting writing and presentation skills of university students. 

This is the second consecutive year that Canisius University secured a first place win at the Research Challenge. The Canisius team finished ahead of the State University of New York at Geneseo, which placed second, and the Rochester Institute of Technology, which placed third. Other participating schools included Syracuse University, Niagara University and the State University of New York schools at Brockport, Buffalo, Fredonia and Oswego. Canisius will now advance to the North/South Americas Regional Research Challenge, which will be held on April 10 -11 in New York City. The winner of that challenge will advance to the global finale. 

The Canisius University team was comprised of the following students: Matt Krajna MBA ’12, team captain; Jim Fish ’12; Kevin Kaznica ’12; and Fuad Fadel MBA ’12. Richard A. Wall, PhD, professor of economics/finance and interim vice president for academic affairs, serves as the faculty advisor to the Canisius Team. Jeffrey Viksjo ’06, CFA, senior financial analyst at First Niagara Financial Group, serves as the team’s industry mentor. The Canisius team is comprised of students from the Golden Griffin Fund, the college’s first real-money, equity investment fund managed by undergraduate and graduate finance majors. Students develop analytical financial skills during the two-semester finance course taught in the college’s Financial Markets Lab.

The Chartered Financial Analyst Institute is a global association for investment professionals. It administers the CFA and Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) 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. The institute has more than 100,000 members, including the world’s 90,000 CFA charter-holders, as well as 135 affiliated professional societies in 58 countries and territories. 

Canisius University is one of 28 Catholic, Jesuit colleges in the nation and the premier private college in Western New York. Canisius prepares leaders - intelligent, caring, faithful individuals able to pursue and promote excellence in their professions, their communities and their service to humanity.