Seated, from left, Bixby Stewart, Taylor Boyle. Standing, from left, Marshall Hargrave, Chris Simmons. Not pictured: Josh Gates

A group of Appalachian State business students recently won the first Investment Research Challenge - NC. The competition pitted teams from five in-state universities against each other in a competition to research a publicly traded company, prepare an analyst report, and present their analysis to a panel of investment professionals.

Students had access to the management team for one day. The teams were given a template to follow in completing their written analysis and report. The CFA NC Society provides mentors for the teams and judges and graders that review and grade these reports. …

The purposes of the Challenge are to teach best practices in research to the next generation of analysts, offer experience in a real-world setting to complement students’ academic curriculum and provide an opportunity for experienced investment professionals and society members to give back.

Among the competing universities was Appalachian State, Duke, Wake Forest, UNC Chapel Hill and UNC Charlotte. The company they were assigned to research was Horizon Lines, Inc. (HRZ). The teams made their presentations last Saturday.

The Appalachian State team was the only one comprised entirely of undergraduates. It included Taylor Boyle, Marshall Hargrave, Josh Gates, Chris Simmons, Bixby Stewart. All are members of the Bowden Investment Group.

The team from Duke took second place.

The team travels to New York on March 18 to compete in the national competition. The winner of the national competition will travel to London in April to compete in a global challenge.

The ASU New Bureau has more details.

The students were mentored by Kay Norwood, who is a CFA charter holder and director of equity research for Evergreen Investments in Charlotte. Norwood, an Appalachian alumna, also is a member of the Appalachian State University Foundation Board of Directors.

“I challenged them to make sure they were comfortable with their assumptions, that they had considered everything, understood what they were writing and the impacts of their recommendation,” she said.

Students in Goff’s classes conduct similar equity research and present reports as part of their coursework, but not on a level as intense as what they experienced during the CFA North Carolina Society competition.

“I have known for a long time that Delbert has been doing something special with this class,” Norwood said. “It just shows how far along Appalachian is at the undergraduate level compared to other schools in the competition.”