RMIT Vietnam team recalls challenges, joys of CFA challenge

RMIT Vietnam team recalls challenges, joys of CFA challenge

A group of five RMIT Vietnam students finished in second place at the CFA Institute Research Challenge 2019.

The global competition gives university students the chance to receive direct mentoring and intensive training related to financial analysis and professional ethics.

Held annually by the CFA Institute, the leading worldwide association of investment management professionals, the challenge tasked teams with creating a research analysis paper on a given company.

From left, the CFA Institute Research Challenge 2019 team Tran Hoang An, Vu Hoa An, K’Le Bao Tran, Nguyen Phuoc Hoang (team leader), and Luu Dinh An Binh. From left, the CFA Institute Research Challenge 2019 team Tran Hoang An, Vu Hoa An, K’Le Bao Tran, Nguyen Phuoc Hoang (team leader), and Luu Dinh An Binh.

Nguyen Phuoc Hoang, Vu Hoa An, Luu Dinh An Binh, Tran Hoang An and K Le Bao Tran represented RMIT Vietnam, under the supervision of finance lecturer Mai Duc Huy Truong. The group had to analyse FPT Corporation and come up with a ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ recommendation based on their findings.

“We did research from August to November,” said Tran Hoang An, a senior in Economics and Finance. “We did research on FPT, did the evaluation, wrote the report and submitted it. Each of us was in charge of a different part, so I did financial analysis, someone else did the financial evaluation, another edited the whole paper, and so on.”  

Once the group made it to the semi-final round, they had to give a presentation based on their written report to three judges, after which they were chosen for the finals. 

“We didn’t expect our team to get second place,” An said. “We just tried to do our best. No RMIT Vietnam team has made it to the final round, so it was a huge surprise to us.”  

The team with RMIT lecturer Mai Duc Huy Truong (pictured on the left), who has coached them for four months in the lead up to the competition. The team with RMIT lecturer Mai Duc Huy Truong (pictured on the left), who has coached them for four months in the lead up to the competition.

The team leader, Nguyen Phuoc Hoang added that it was difficult to work on the in-depth report while also focusing on coursework, though it paid off in the end.

“We met each other almost every day during the semester break to finish the report, which was a good time for us to build relationships and learn about each other,” he said. “That really paid off in the semi-finals when we surprised people by presenting in a distinct way compared to other universities, which a lot of people loved.”

Both Hoang and An found that working smoothly as a team was challenging at times, though ultimately worthwhile.

“The hardest challenge I think is the teamwork; it’s really hard to harmonise among teammates,” Hoang said. “With bold, candid and intense members, sometimes we struggled.”

“I still remember that there was one time when we had big arguments with each other,” An added. “I think that’s quite normal in a group discussion, and was quite good for our group, because then you can see opposing views, and that was good for us to improve the whole report. That was the most memorable part of our process.”

Story: Michael Tatarski

24 February 2020

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