American University of Dubai wins UAE national CFA Institute Research Challenge

Last night the American University of Dubai (AUD) won the 2012 national CFA Institute Research Challenge beating three other UAE universities in a close final hosted by CFA Emirates, the association for financial and investment professionals in the UAE. This is the second year in a row that AUD has won the title. Each of the teams drafted and presented written reports on equity research findings on Drake & Scull, the subject company for this year's competition. The winning team will now advance to EMEA regional finals which will be held in London on March 14-15th.

The annual CFA Institute Research Challenge is sponsored by the CFA Institute in cooperation with local CFA Societies and more than 500 colleges and universities around the world. This competition is open to all business and finances schools in UAE. The CFA Emirates Society hosted its 2012 competition in partnership with four UAE based universities, each of which provided a team of three to five students under the guidance of a faculty advisor. This included: the American University of Dubai, Middlesex University Dubai, Zayed University and Institute of Management Technology Dubai.

In congratulating the winning team, Mr. Yacoub Nuseibeh, President of CFA Emirates said: "All of us at the CFA Emirates Society congratulate American University of Dubai and everyone who took part in this year's competition. The CFA Institute Research Challenge is a unique opportunity for students to gain real-life skills as they experience what it's like in the investment world, presenting research reports and convincing others of the merits of a particular investment. While the team from American University of Dubai will be moving on to the next phase of the competition, every student will have benefited from this exceptional opportunity to put their academic studies into an important practical context. CFA Emirates is committed to helping to develop and maintain the very best international investment standards and professionalism in the UAE, which leads the region as a financial and investment centre. We look forward to more UAE universities participating in the coming years"

Commenting at the event Mr Mohit Malhotra, Education Chair-Dubai of CFA Emirates said: "The CFA Institute Research Challenge competition offers a rare opportunity for students to have a real world experience in researching a public company. The members of each team had the chance to meet with the senior executives from Drake & Scull to learn more about their business, research and prepare an equity research report, and showcase their knowledge of the company as part of a formal presentation."

These teams made their presentations to a panel of judges that included the following industry professionals: Deon Vernooy, CFA, Senior Executive Officer, Emirates NBD Asset Management, Khadem Al Romaithi, Fund Manager, member in CFA Emirates society, Avinash D'souza, CFA, Senior Vice President, Rasmala Investment, Nabeel Qadir Bastaki, Vice President, Abraaj Capital, Mark Watts, CFA, Head of Fixed Income, Asset Management Group, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Yacoub Nuseibeh, CFA, President of CFA Emirates.

The CFA Emirates Society expresses their gratitude to the judges, the industry mentors, coordinators and to the senior management team at Drake & Scull for their time and effort in making the 2012 CFA Institute Research Challenge in UAE a success.