4 JMSB undergrads take on the Western Hemisphere

Four Concordia undergraduate finance students are headed to Boston later this month to show off their investment management know-how.

The team is competing in the Americas Regional Challenge. They will be up against students from 54 universities across the western hemisphere in the two-day test of skills, from equity research and valuation to investment report writing and presenting with poise. 

Alina Israilian, Madeleine Sedgewick, Marco Tremblay and Richard Yuan already beat teams from Montreal on Feb. 16 to advance to the regional CFA Institute Research Challenge. If they win in Boston, they'll take on winning teams from Europe and Asia at the Global Final in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in April.

“This event is a rigorous competition that really puts our students’ knowledge and ability to apply investment management principles to the test,” says Anne-Marie Croteau, dean of the John Molson School of Business (JMSB).

“It pits them against some of the brightest young minds in finance. To be among the 54 teams moving on to the regional challenge is an incredible accomplishment."

The annual global competition also provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis.

Three of the four Concordia team members are students in the elite Kenneth Woods Portfolio Management Program.

Established through a donation by alumnus Kenneth Woods, MBA 75 and a 2017 recipient of an honorary doctorate, the program provides a select group of high-achieving JMSB students with hands-on training in investment management.

In the program-within-a-program, students gain experience working with a real-life portfolio worth over $2 million.

Reena Atanasiadis is a senior lecturer and director of the Kenneth Woods program. She oversaw the team’s planning and delivery.

“I could not be prouder of these students and what they’ve accomplished,” she says.

Learn more about Concordia’s Kenneth Woods Portfolio Management Program.