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CFA Institute Research Challenge

The CFA Institute Research Challenge offers students the unique opportunity to learn from leading industry experts and compete with peers from the world's top finance programs.

This annual educational initiative promotes best practices in equity research among the next generation of analysts through hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills. The Challenge gathers students, investment industry professionals, publicly traded companies, and corporate sponsors together locally, regionally, and globally for a real world competition. The challenge comprises analysis of a publicly-traded company, mentoring by a professional research analyst, writing a research report, and presentation of research to a panel of experts. Additionally, all participants are introduced to and held to the standard of the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.

CFA Society Los Angeles is proud to host the annual local level of the CFA Institute Research Challenge in Los Angeles.

2026 Participating Universities

California State University, Dominguez Hills
California State University, Fullerton
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Northridge
Pepperdine University
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
University of Southern California (USC)

To be a future participant, please contact Steven Wang, CFA at IRC@cfala.org.

2027 Schedule

Team Submission Deadline -
IRC Kick-Off Presentation/Call - October 16th, 2026 at 4pm
Subject Company Meeting/Call - November 2026 - Date/Time TBD
Register with CFA Institute Deadline - Click Here
Final Report Due - January 18th, 2027
Local IRC Competition - February 12th, 2027 @TBD
Sub-Regional Kickoff - March 3rd, 2027
Sub-Regional Video Presentations Due - March 11th, 2027
Sub-Regional Advancement Announcement - March 30th, 2027
Regional IRC Semifinals - April 6th-April 7th, 2027 (live virtual in Zoom)
Regional IRC Finals - April 8th-9th 2027
Global IRC Final - May 2027 (Singapore)

CFA Exam Scholarships for the Local Winning Team

In addition to prizes awarded by CFA Society Los Angeles, each member of the local winning team will receive a CFA Exam Scholarship from CFA Institute. The scholarship will reduce the CFA exam registration fee to $650.

In addition to earning recognition for their outstanding work, local winners will now receive scholarships to support their participation in the CFA Program. This opportunity is designed to help students further develop their investment knowledge, enhance their professional credentials, and take the next step in their finance careers.

CFA Institute will send scholarship details to all local winning teams in March, along with full eligibility requirements.

Once awarded, students will have 30 days to claim their scholarship and one year to apply it to their next CFA Program registration.

Eligibility Requirements

Have a CFA Institute account and CFA Institute ID.
Meet all eligibility criteria to enroll in the CFA Program.
Not be registered for a CFA exam or awaiting results from a previous exam.
Not have an active, unused scholarship.
Not have an expired, unused scholarship issued after September 1, 2024.
Not have a pending application under another code in the Accelerate Scholarship program or in any other CFA Institute scholarship program.

2027 Subject Company

TBA

2026 CFA Institute Research Challenge in Los Angeles Champions: Team E of California State University, Fullerton

Karhan Camurdan, Mateo Garcia Mesa, Eamon Helding, and Samantha Santonil
Mentored by Derek Derman, CFA and Faculty Advisor Kelly Ko, CFA

Team E of California State University, Fullerton, the 2026 Los Angeles Research Challenge champions

Volunteer Opportunities

The challenge is a volunteer-intensive effort and requires the participation of many industry-leading portfolio managers and analysts. Volunteering opportunities include grading written research reports, mentoring a team, presentation assistance, or judging oral presentations. CFA continuing education credit may be available for volunteering. If you are interested in helping in any of these capacities, please email Caitlin Topkis at caitlin@cfala.org.

Students and Faculty

If you are a student or faculty member from a college or university in Los Angeles area and are interested in joining the 2027 CFA Institute Research Challenge, please send an email to info@cfala.org.