HSE ICEF Team Takes First Place at CFA Institute Research Challenge

© ICEF

The HSE University 2/ICEF team has won the Russian stage of the CFA Institute Research Challenge international financial modelling competition, which concluded on February 28. The team was headed by mentors Dmitry Kachalov and Kirill Chuyko.

Two teams from the Moscow campus of HSE—HSE University 1 and HSE University 2—took part in the local final of the Research Challenge 2021–2022. The HSE University 2 team consisted of ICEF bachelor’s and master’s students. The CFA Institute Research Challenge is a global ‘investment Olympiad’ that gives finance and economics students an opportunity to demonstrate their applied knowledge in financial analysis.

As in previous years, ICEF teacher Dmitry Kachalov was the team’s mentor on behalf of HSE ICEF, while Kirill Chuyko, ICEF graduate and head of research at BCS Global Markets, served as ‘Industry Mentor’.

HSE University 2/ICEF team (the competition was held online)

The HSE University2/ICEF team was the overall winner of the competition’s 2022 local final, with a team from MSU coming second. Both teams will go on to participate in the regional stage of the competition (Europe, Middle East and Africa). A team from NES came third in the local finals.

The HSE University 2/ICEF team members are:

• Alex Akopyan (first-year master’s student)
• Daniil Boev (fourth-year bachelor’s student)
• Ivan Vedomenko (fourth-year bachelor’s student)
• Aslan Radzhabov (fourth-year bachelor’s student)
• Madina Thakushinova (fourth-year bachelor’s student)

In 2020, two HSE University teams took first and second places in the Russian stage of the competition and represented Russia in the regional stage. The HSE University 2/ICEF team came first in the Russian stage, as it did again this year. In 2021, the HSE University 1 team took second place.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge aims to find future investment market leaders. Over several months, university teams conduct financial analysis of the operations of a country’s leading company, then defend their results in English before a jury of experts. This year, the subject of analysis in Russia was Mat i Ditya, a medical company group. The results of the work will be presented by the HSE University team at the regional stage CFA IRC EMEA in March. The winners of the EMEA stage will go on to take part in the global stage.

Aslan Radzhabov, member of the HSE University 2/ICEF team

We spent a long time preparing for the CFA Institute Research Challenge. We had to outline the range of tasks and distribute them between the team members. But thanks to our experienced mentors, Dmitry Kachalov and Kirill Chuyko, we quickly understood what we were supposed to do. Regular consultations with them helped us understand whether we were moving in the right direction.

Our investment report was evaluated in the first part of the competition, then we gave our presentation to the jury. Taking into account the amount of time we spent on writing the report, I believe that the jury members valued our approach to company assessment and analysis. Our success in the defence process comes down to our presentation, the well-structured data, and our clear answers in the Q&A session.

We were representing both ICEF and HSE University as a whole at the competition, so we did our best and achieved the highest result. It was an invaluable experience. The competition was big, complicated and long, but it helped us to develop essential skills in company investment analysis and become a tight-knit team! ICEF students have always been known for their responsible approach and effective team work—qualities that are also valued in the CFA Challenge. We are happy we had the opportunity to participate. Now, we are preparing for the international stage.