Ed Hutton, CFA, displays his award with the 2020 Niagara University Research Challenge team, from left, Nicolette Radomski, Adam Vars, Nicolaus Van Cleave, Alan Peunic, and Joseph Tricarico.

Ed Hutton, CFA, associate professor of finance and director of the Financial Markets Laboratory at Niagara University, has been recognized by the CFA Societies of Buffalo and Rochester for his 10 years of leadership in the CFA Institute Research Challenge. The award was presented at the CFA Research Challenge Luncheon, held in Pittsford, N.Y., on Nov. 4, 2019. The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global equity research competition where teams of college students compete to analyze a designated publicly held company. In 2019, more than 6,100 students, representing 1,150 universities in 95 countries, participated in the competition.

Starting in 2008, Prof. Hutton collaborated with Dr. Richard Wall, emeritus professor of finance at Canisius College, to design the structure of the competition. Using the format developed at Niagara University and Canisius College, CFA Research Challenge teams compete on the local, regional, and international levels to prepare an investment recommendation, first in a written format, and then by presenting and defending their finding to a team of investment professionals.

In accepting his award, Hutton emphasized the impact the CFA Research Challenge has had on its participants.

“When I talk to past participants, they consistently tell me that participating in the Research Challenge was one of the most impactful learning experiences they have had,” he said. “They found analyzing a real public company, using publicly available financial and market data, as well as meeting with the senior management of their companies, to be highly rewarding, but extremely challenging.”

The 2020 Western New York CFA Research Competition will be held at the Whitman School of Business at Syracuse University on Feb. 28, 2020. Teams from Niagara University, Canisius College, Rochester Institute of Technology, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Brockport, Clarkson University, Ithaca College, the University of Rochester, SUNY Geneseo, and Syracuse University will analyze the Graham Corporation (NYSE:GHM). The event is sponsored by S&P Global Market Intelligence, Morningstar, Citi, Invesco, Manning & Napier, and Nottingham Advisors.