{"id":49348,"date":"2023-04-02T12:49:26","date_gmt":"2023-04-02T16:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=49348"},"modified":"2023-04-10T07:47:54","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T11:47:54","slug":"smile-fund-zooms-into-regional-semifinals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2023\/04\/smile-fund-zooms-into-regional-semifinals\/","title":{"rendered":"SMILE Fund zooms into regional semifinals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From left: Jacob Barber, Grant Fetters, Claire Hoeke and Nick Morris (photo courtesy of Hunter Holzhauer).<\/p><\/div>\n

When the 2023 edition of the CFA Institute Research Challenge got underway, nearly 1,300 university teams and more than 6,400 student participants from around the globe were competing\u2014including a group of four University of Tennessee at Chattanooga SMILE Fund (Student Managed Investment Learning Experience) students.<\/p>\n

On Friday, March 31, the four Gary W. Rollins College of Business undergraduates learned UTC was selected as the winner of the competition\u2019s Southeast sub-region. The group was one of 42 sub-regional champion teams advancing to the regional semifinal round.<\/p>\n

Senior Jacob Barber and juniors Grant Fetters, Claire Hoeke and Nick Morris will be competing again on Thursday, April 6, making a live presentation via Zoom. The SMILE Fund group will analyze HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA), a Nashville-based for-profit operator of health care facilities.<\/p>\n

Regional semifinal Zoom presentations, consisting of a 10-minute talk followed by a 10-minute Q&A with judges, are only open to the competing teams, their faculty advisor, an industry mentor and CFA society representatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so rewarding to be on the mentoring side and see them get the recognition for all their hard work,\u201d said Dr. Hunter Holzhauer, a Robert L. Maclellan and UC Foundation associate professor of finance and director of the SMILE Fund. \u201cThese are the best students wanting to prove their worth and rising to the challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably what it might be like if you were a coach of a sports team; they\u2019re putting in the blood, the sweat, the tears. When they buy into the process and do everything, they get to see success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barber, majoring in finance (investments track), is the SMILE Fund\u2019s chief health care analyst. He is a graduate of Hixson High School.<\/p>\n

Fetters, a native of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, is pursuing majors in both accounting and finance. He is the SMILE Fund\u2019s lead analyst in the consumer discretionary sector.<\/p>\n

Hoeke, who hails from Greeneville, Tennessee, is majoring in finance (investments track). She is vice president of operations for the SMILE Fund and one of the organization\u2019s chief analysts.<\/p>\n

Morris is an accounting major from Alpharetta, Georgia.<\/p>\n

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual equity research global competition that provides hands-on mentoring and intense training in financial analysis and professional ethics. University teams, typically comprised of graduate students\u2014as opposed to the UTC all-undergrad squad\u2014analyze a company\u2019s financial health, document it in a professional research report and submit findings to a panel of judges.<\/p>\n

University teams from 90 countries are separated into three global brackets, with only 42 remaining in the competition: 17 from the Americas, 11 from Asia Pacific and 14 from Europe, Middle East and Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you get down to just 17 teams left in North America and South America, it\u2019s really special,\u201d Holzhauer said.<\/p>\n

Americas teams have been divided into three breakout groups, with two teams from each group advancing to the regional finals\u2014taking place April 13-14.<\/p>\n

The UTC SMILE Fund students will compete against Babson College (Wellesley, Massachusetts), California Polytechnic State University, Concordia University (Montreal, Quebec), San Diego State University and Universidade de Sao Paulo (Brazil).<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I like about this round is that it\u2019s going to be live,\u201d Holzhauer said, contrasting it to the Southeast sub-regional stage when teams were judged based on submitted recorded videos. \u201cEach team has to present and do a Q&A. If we don\u2019t win, a better team beat us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In February, the SMILE Fund team took home top honors in the Greater Tennessee Research Challenge for a seventh consecutive year<\/strong><\/a>. The organization\u2019s best overall finish occurred in 2018, winning the CFA Americas regional semifinals and advancing to the regional finals.<\/p>\n

The CFA Institute hosted its first Research Challenge in 2007.<\/p>\n

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CFA Institute Research Challenge Sub-Regional Champions<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Americas<\/strong><\/p>\n

Atlantic Islands and Latin America<\/p>\n