CFA INSTITUTE RESEARCH CHALLENGE FY2015 FEEDBACK FROM STUDENTS AND VOLUNTEERS
Market Intelligence
July 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS
03 About the Surveys
04 Key Findings
07 Local Level Feedback
33 Regional Level Feedback
45 Volunteer Feedback
ABOUT THE SURVEYS
The purpose of collecting feedback on the CFA Institute Research Challenge is
to assess the value and experiences among participants and volunteers to
measure success and identify opportunities for improving the constituent
experience.
3
Student Surveys
3,787 students were invited to complete the
local level survey. 201 responded, for a
response rate of 5%.
461 were invited to complete the regional
level survey. 99 responded, for a response
rate of 21%.
Volunteer Survey
780 volunteers were invited to
complete the survey. 150
responded, for a response rate
of 19%.
KEY FINDINGS: LOCAL LEVEL
4
• The majority of students, 79%, indicated a positive experience with the local CFA Institute Research
Challenge (though down from 87% in 2014) and 93% would recommend the challenge to someone
else. 78% rated the quality of the overall event positively.
• 91% agreed their participation has added value to their overall education experience and 89% feel
more confident in their ability to do research.
• 78% agreed their participation has increased their interest in a career in the investment industry. 85%
plan to engage with CFA Institute in the future through the CFA Program; of those, 56% indicated their
participation in the Research Challenge has influenced their decision to pursue the CFA Program.
• Students indicated their greatest motivations for participating in the competition were to learn
investment analysis through real world experience (89%), to gain hands-on knowledge of investment
practice from experts in the field (77%), and to prepare for a career in the investment profession
(71%).
• 87% agreed their participation exposed them to real-world investment analysis, 83% agreed it
improved their critical thinking, and 80% agreed their participation trained them to work as a team.
• 50% of students experienced some type of challenge in order to attend the local research challenge
(down from 55% in 2014), with the most common being scheduling conflicts with school.
• 70% of students learned about the Research Challenge through University Recruitment.
KEY FINDINGS: REGIONAL LEVEL
5
• 90% of students indicated a positive experience with the CFA Institute Research Challenge
Regional Event.
• 89% plan to engage with CFA Institute in the future through the CFA Program; of those, 73%
indicated their participation in the Research Challenge has influenced their decision to pursue the
CFA Program.
• 63% of students spent 60 hours or more preparing for the Regional Event.
• Students rated the quality of the regional event very positively, with the most positive ratings for
on-site event coordination and communication, the venue space, organization of the regional
final, and on-site registration. The aspects that have the most room for improvement were
sponsors and exhibitors and the quality of judges in the Qualifying Rounds.
- The two lowest rated aspects in FY2014 saw significant improvements in 2015:
- The quality of judges in the regional final improved from 66% positive in FY2014 to 77%
positive in FY2015.
- Event information on the CFA Institute website improved from 71% positive in FY2014 to
84% positive in FY2015.
• 47% of students experienced some type of challenge in order to attend the Regional Event, with
the most common being scheduling conflicts with school (29%).
KEY FINDINGS: VOLUNTEERS
6
• The majority of volunteers, 83%, indicated a positive experience with the CFA Institute Research Challenge. 96% would volunteer again and 96% would recommend volunteering for the challenge to someone else.
• 57% learned about the volunteer opportunity through a local host and 47% through a past volunteer.
• 85% agreed their participation helped them feel like they are giving back to the profession, 85% agreed it allowed they to use existing skills and 74% agreed it allowed them to work with others towards a common goal.
• Volunteers indicated their greatest motivations for participating in the competition were to give back to the university community (69%) and to give back to the investment community (62%).
• Social media usage was low among volunteers, with 20% using LinkedIn, 19% using Facebook and 13% using Google+, 9% using Twitter, and 6% using Sina Weibo (all down from FY2014). Of users, 57% said Facebook was valuable, 47% said Google+ was valuable and 38% said LinkedIn was valuable.
• 34% of volunteers experienced some kind of challenge in attending (up from 27% in FY2014), with the major conflict being scheduling with work.
• Overall feedback on the society/host coordination was positive (81% positive rating). Other areas saw declines in FY2014, notably on-site event coordination, quality of educational resources, quality of training materials, quality of judges, online registration process, and pre-event communications from CFA Institute.
7
LOCAL LEVEL FEEDBACK
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
8
1% 2%
9%
45% 43%
1% 2%
11%
39%
47%
1% 3%
10%
37%
50%
1%
4%
15%
32%
47%
Poor 1 2 3 4 Excellent 5
Overall, how would you rate your experience with the local CFA Institute Research
Challenge?
2012 2013 2014 2015
97%
97%
94%
93%
2012
2013
2014
2015
Would you recommend the CFA Institute Research Challenge to
someone else?
2012 2013 2014 2015
83%
17% 0%
Did you work with an industry mentor?
Yes
No
I was not assignedan industry mentor
LEARNING ABOUT THE RESEARCH
CHALLENGE
9
25%
31%
26%
14%
3%
Not at alldifficult 1
2 3 4 Verydifficult 5
How difficult, if at all, was it for you to find information about
your Local Challenge?
70%
14%
8%
5% 3% 0%
How did you learn about the CFA Institute Research Challenge?
University recruitment
Past participant
Local host
CFA Institute website
Other
Social Media
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
10
No opinion has been excluded from calculations
89%
83%
76%
93% 89%
79%
92% 86%
79%
91% 89%
78%
My participation has addedvalue to my overall
education experience
I feel more confident in myability to do investmentindustry research the
future as a result of myparticipation.
My participation hasincreased my interest in acareer in the investment
industry.
% agreeing with the following statements about their participation in the local CFA
Institute Research Challenge: (Scale: Strongly disagree (1) to Strongly agree (5))
% Agree (4 + 5) displayed
2012 2013 2014 2015
86%
6% 8%
26%
7%
85%
7% 8%
27%
8%
CFA Program CIPMProgram
ClaritasInvestmentCertificate
Otheravailable
educationalofferings
I do notintend to
engage withCFA Institutein the future
How, if at all, do you plan to engage with CFA Institute in the future?
(Local Level Survey Respondents)
2014 2015
PRE-RESEARCH CHALLENGE FAMILIARITY &
POST-EXPERIENCE INTEREST
11
Of those, 56% said their participation in the
Research Challenge influenced their decision to
pursue the CFA Program. 44%
52%
14%
49%
58%
19%
45%
49%
16%
40%
50%
15%
CFA Institute CFA Program Local CFA Society
Before the Research Challenge started, how familiar were you with CFA
Institute, the CFA Program, and the local CFA Society?
2012 2013 2014 2015
MOTIVATIONS
12
86%
73%
68%
47% 45%
39%
20%
89%
77%
71%
52%
46% 41%
27%
To learn investmentanalysis through
real-worldexperience
To gain hands-onknowledge of
investment practicefrom experts in the
field
To prepare for acareer in theinvestmentprofession
To extend personalnetwork
To gain universitypride
To extendprofessional pride
To gain nationalpride
Which of the following best describes your motivation(s) to participate in the CFA Institute Research Challenge?
2014 2015
APPROXIMATELY, HOW MANY HOURS DID YOU
SPEND:
13
2%
12%
32%
20%
35%
0-24 hours 25-49hours
50-99hours
100-149hours
150 hoursor more
Researching the company and assembling the research report
(as an individual)
24%
27%
18%
12%
20%
0-14 hours 15-29hours
30-44hours
45-59hours
60 hours ormore
Practicing/assembling your presentation
SKILL DEVELOPMENT
14
No opinion has been excluded from calculations
Exposed youto real-worldinvestment
analysis
Trained youand others to
work as ateam
Improvedyour critical
thinking
Helped yougain
knowledge ofinvestment
practice fromexperts inthe field
Improvedyour
professionalpresentation
skills
Preparedyou for a
career in theinvestmentprofession
Improvedyour
persuasionand
influencingskills
Extendedyour
personalnetwork
Improvedyour
understanding of
professionalethics
Extendedyour
professionalnetwork
2012 86% 79% 78% 78% 72% 69% 62% 48% 46%
2013 92% 81% 80% 80% 76% 74% 60% 52% 46%
2014 88% 83% 82% 77% 79% 73% 67% 59% 55% 52%
2015 87% 80% 83% 72% 74% 74% 65% 57% 53% 47%
87% 80% 83%
72% 74% 74%
65% 57%
53% 47%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
% agreeing that their participation in the local CFA Institute Research Challenge results in the following:
(Scale: Strongly disagree (1) to Strongly agree (5)) % Agree (4 + 5) displayed
QUALITY OF PREPARATION
15
Not applicable has been excluded from calculations
68% 69%
83%
58%
73% 75%
69%
64%
73% 70%
81%
68% 72% 71% 73%
62%
80% 76% 75%
72% 71% 70% 68% 66%
CFA Instituteonline registration
process
Subject companymanagement
team
Team members Quality ofeducational
resources offeredon the CFA
InstituteResearchChallengewebpages
Faculty advisorassigned to your
team
Society or HostCoordination
Industry mentorassigned to your
team
Equity AssetValuation e-book
Please rate the following: (Scale: Poor (1) to Excellent (5))
2013 2014 2015
QUALITY OF LOCAL CHALLENGE
16
Not applicable has been excluded from calculations
81%
74%
66% 70%
67%
78%
73%
68% 68% 67%
Quality of Overall Event On-site event coordination Quality of judges Pre-Event Communicationsfrom CFA Institute
Pre-Event Communicationsfrom Local Host
Please rate the following: (Scale: Poor (1) to Excellent (5))
2014 2015
SOCIAL MEDIA
17
52%
37%
12%
4%
52%
43%
31%
28%
18%
45%
40%
30%
25%
15%
Facebook LinkedIn Google+ Twitter Sina Weibo
Which of the following social media platforms did you use during the
local CFA Institute Research Challenge?
2013 2014 2015
50%
42% 41%
26%
15%
54%
58%
48%
31%
24%
Facebook LinkedIn Google+ Twitter Sina Weibo
How valuable were the following social media outlets to you in participating in the CFA Institute Research Challenge?
Value, of those using (top two box out of 5): 2014
Value, of those using (top two box out of 5): 2015
CHALLENGES TO ATTEND
18
37%
46%
6%
19% 16%
6%
45%
38%
16% 16%
11%
3%
50%
36%
14% 14% 13%
5%
None Scheduling conflictswith school
Insufficientcommunications/
instructions
Scheduling conflictswith work
Travel arrangements Other
What challenges, if any, did you experience in order to attend the local CFA Institute Research Challenge?
2013 2014 2015
33
REGIONAL LEVEL FEEDBACK
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
34
0% 0% 1%
27%
71%
1% 0%
9%
34%
56%
Poor 1 2 3 4 Excellent 5
Overall, how would you rate your experience with the CFA Institute Research Challenge Regional Event?
2014 2015
90%
1% 3%
23%
6%
89%
2% 6%
16%
4%
CFA Program CIPM Program Claritas InvestmentCertificate
Other available educationalofferings
I do not intend to engage withCFA Institute in the future
How, if at all, do you plan to engage with CFA Institute in the future? (Regional Level Survey Respondents)
2014 2015
PRE-RESEARCH CHALLENGE FAMILIARITY &
POST-EXPERIENCE INTEREST
35
Of those, 73% said their participation in the
Research Challenge influenced their decision to
pursue the CFA Program.
APPROXIMATELY, HOW MANY HOURS DID YOU
SPEND:
36
0-14 hours 2% 15-29 hours
9%
30-44 hours 15%
45-59 hours 11%
60 hours or more 63%
Approximately, how many hours did you spend preparing for the Regional Event?
QUALITY OF REGIONAL EVENT
37
Not applicable has been excluded from calculations
94% 99% 97%
93% 96%
85% 87% 92%
71%
83%
66%
80% 80%
95% 95% 95% 93% 91% 90% 88% 86% 84% 79% 77%
73% 72%
Based on your experiences, please rate the following aspects of the Regional Event:
(Scale: Poor (1) to Excellent (5))
2014 2015
CHALLENGES TO ATTEND
38
50%
29%
12% 11% 8% 6%
2% 2%
53%
29%
16% 12%
4% 4% 0%
2%
Did you experience any difficulties with the following items in order to attend the Regional Event?
2014 2015
45
VOLUNTEER FEEDBACK
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
46
1% 1%
9%
35%
54%
1% 4%
11%
37%
46%
Poor 1 2 3 4 Excellent 5
Overall, how would you rate your experience with the CFA Institute
Research Challenge?
2014 2015
Yes 96%
No 4%
Would you volunteer for the CFA Institute Research Challenge again?
Yes 96%
No 4%
Would you recommend volunteering for the CFA Institute Research Challenge to someone else?
AWARENESS
47
54%
47%
10% 13%
5%
0%
57%
47%
13% 13%
4%
1%
Local host Past volunteer CFA Institute website Other Advertisement in a CFAInstitute publication
Social Media
How did you learn about the CFA Institute Research Challenge?
2014 2015
PARTICIPATION
48
No Opinion has been excluded from calculations
88% 86%
80%
64%
85% 85%
74%
60%
Helped you to feel that you are givingback to the profession
Allowed you to use existing skills Allowed me to work with otherstowards a common goal
Provided you the opportunity tomeet, work and network with others
in your field or profession
To what extent do you agree or disagree that your participation in the Research Challenge resulted in the following?
Scale: Strongly disagree 1, 2, 3, 4, Strongly agree 5 Displayed: % Agree (4 + 5)
2014 2015
MOTIVATIONS
49
67%
62%
28%
34%
14%
10% 11%
9%
69%
62%
27% 25%
19% 16%
10%
6%
To give back tothe universitycommunity
To give back tothe investment
community
To extendpersonal network
To extendprofessional pride
To gain personalpride
To support youralma mater
Other To earn CE credit
Which of the following best describe your motivation(s) to volunteer for the Research Challenge?
2014 2015
APPROXIMATELY, HOW MANY HOURS DID YOU
SPEND WITH THE TEAM:
50
11%
32%
25%
9%
23%
0-3 hours 4-6 hours 7-10hours
11 ormorehours
Notapplicable
Assembling the research report
24% 22%
11%
6%
38%
Practicing/assembling the presentation
SOCIAL MEDIA
51
30%
22%
17% 15%
10%
20% 19%
13%
9%
6%
LinkedIn Facebook Google+ Twitter Sina Weibo
% of volunteers using each social media outlet in
participating in the CFA Institute Research Challenge
2014 2015
47% 45%
39%
14%
31%
57%
47%
38%
33%
23%
Facebook Google+ LinkedIn Sina Weibo Twitter
How valuable were the following social media outlets to you in
participating in the CFA Institute Research Challenge?
Scale: Not at all valuable 1, 2, 3, 4, Very valuable 5, Did not use
Displays: % 4 + Very valuable 5, Excludes did not use
2014 2015
CHALLENGES TO ATTEND
52
73%
18%
5% 5%
66%
23%
10% 7%
None Scheduling conflicts with work Insufficient communications/instructions
Other
Did you experience any difficulties with the following items in order to attend the Research Challenge?
2014 2015
QUALITY OF EVENT
53
Not applicable has been excluded from calculations
88%
83%
91%
84%
77%
90%
80% 77%
72%
81% 77% 76%
69% 64%
60% 60%
53% 50%
Society or Hostcoordination
Pre-EventCommunicationsfrom Local Host
Quality of OverallEvent
CFA Institute onlineregistration process
Pre-EventCommunications
from CFA Institute
On-site EventCoordination
Quality of Judges Quality ofeducational
resources offered onthe CFA Institute
Research Challengewebpages
Quality of trainingmaterials
Based on your experiences, please rate each of the following: Scale: Poor 1, 2, 3, 4, Excellent 5
Displayed: % 4 + Excellent 5
2014 2015