CFA State Title Winners

UMaine Student CFA Institute Research Challenge Team to Compete for National Title

April 10, 2021 Awards, From the Classroom, MaineMBA, Student Groups

The University of Maine’s 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 UMaine in the Eastern U.S. division. The CFA Institute Research Challenge 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. 

“The success with the CFA competition is a testament to our students, their hard work, and their excellence,” says Faye Gilbert, Ph.D., Executive Dean of the Maine Business School and Interim Dean of the Graduate School of Business. “This 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.”

The University of Maine 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. 

“The visibility that this brings to the University of Maine and our Business School is now at a national and international level,” says Pankaj Agrrawal, Ph.D. “I 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.”