Centre students go toe-to-toe with MBA teams in business competition

Not all team victories at Centre take place on the athletic fields.

A team of Centre students took on some heady competition in the annual CFA Challenge, which pits teams of students studying Business or Economics & Finance against one another to test their expertise in financial analysis, valuation, and professional presentation.

Organized by the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Institute, the goal of the competition is to provide participating university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis and professional ethics. The teams work together on an assigned project to test their analytical, valuation, report writing and presentation skills. Students gain real-world experience as they assume the role of research analysts, according to the CFA Institute.

Centre’s team, consisting of Owen Carey, class of 2025, Jack Furlong, class of 2025, Sydney Gonzalez, class of 2025, Kyle Granquist, class of 2026, and Max Speers, class of 2025, took second place overall in the Louisville Regional CFA Challenge, which pitted seven intuitions against one another.

“It was incredibly rewarding to place second in the competition,” said Gonzalez. “Being able to compete at a high level motivated our team to reach our full potential. We proved that our skills and dedication were able to be competitive and even surpass MBA students, which is a testament to the effort we put in.”

The Centre team was led again by Brad Dewey, instructor of economics and business, who brings considerable expertise to the table — more than 30 years of equities research and investment experience. Before becoming a private investor, Dewey spent 15 years on Wall Street in both investment research and investment management.

Under his guidance, the Centre team spent three months preparing for the Louisville Regional CFA Challenge, dedicating their full time and attention during CentreTerm.

“Up against a tough field of teams from six other regional colleges and universities, including MBA graduate programs, Centre's hard work and effort in both written and oral presentation rounds earned them the top seed spot in the finals round, placing second to the perennial contest powerhouse Indiana University Southeast MBA program,” he said. “As team advisor and on behalf of Centre College, I was proud of their spirited effort and delighted by their achievement.”

Two competitors leading this year’s team, Carey and Furlong, also studied under Dewey in the fall. His Equity Research and Financial Modeling class helped lay the groundwork for the test presented by the CFA Challenge.

“We hit the ground running over Christmas break, reading through the company financials and doing some industry-specific research,” Carey said. “Once we arrived for CentreTerm, we started discussing the company (Texas Roadhouse). With the help of Mr. Dewey, we developed a plan of attack that would give us the best chance of victory.

“Our team chemistry was great; we would arrive and treat it like an office rather than a class.”

If it sounds like Carey is describing a sports team getting ready for a playoff showdown, there’s good reason. The competitive drive was strong for the entire group.

“Our entire team played sports at Centre at some point,” he said. “This competitive nature allowed us to get through those long nights and tough moments, because we all wanted to win.”

In addition to the thrill of competing, the challenge also gives students the chance to exercise skills that are valuable in the business world.

“I gained a deeper understanding of financial analysis, financial modeling and valuation,” said Gonzalez. “The opportunity to present in front of industry professionals taught me how to convey our findings effectively.”

The teamwork necessary also mirrored a professional environment with a group working together to assemble seamless final products, from the report to the presentation.

“Everyone on the team learned a lot and enjoyed working together to create something we were proud of,” Carey said. “We were running our own ship with Mr. Dewey there all the time, just for advice and help.

“Beating an MBA program and going toe-to-toe with another in the final shows the academic excellence of Centre.”