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