Clemson University student Evan Smith of Winchester competes in financial management challenge

2015 May 12

Evan Smith of Winchester is a member if a Clemson University College of Business and Behavioral Science finance team that competed in the financial management Global Research Challenge.

Smith, who is majoring in Financial Management, and the team placed second among more than 30 collegiate teams from the Southeastern U.S., placing first in oral presentation and tying for second in the written portion of the competition.

Administered by the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Institute and its local societies, the competition requires teams to research a publicly traded company's finances and marketplace, and through several analytical methods, estimate the company's worth and outlook. Teams then recommended buying or selling the company's stock based on their findings. The written and oral presentations were graded by a panel of investment professionals.

Jack Wolf, associate professor of finance and faculty mentor for the team, called the competition and Clemson's Creative Inquiry program great experiential learning opportunities where students gain knowledge from the faculty and themselves.

"From an instructor's perspective, I was able to get my students into a competitive situation where they could take what they learned in a classroom and apply it in a real-world setting," said Wolf, who recently was chosen by Clemson students as the Alumni Master Teacher for 2015.

Given the Global Challenge competitors involved mostly larger universities with many teams composed of graduate students, Wolf said it also becomes an issue of school pride. "Our strong showing against that caliber of competition, shows our students that the finance program at Clemson will prepare them for a career as good as, if not better than, all the other schools in the region."

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Creative Inquiry Clemson's Creative Inquiry program develops students' critical thinking skills, enables problem solving as a research team and hones communication and presentation skills. It's small-group undergraduate research unique to Clemson University. Problem solving topics often spring from students' own curiosity, a professor's challenge or pressing needs of the world around them. Visit the Creative Inquiry website for more information.