May 09, 2025
Students from Souhei Ishida Seminar in College of Economics become first Japanese team to advance to the Asia-Pacific regional semifinals of the CFA Institute Research Challenge 2024-2025
Keyword:INFORMATION
OBJECTIVE.
Students from the Souhei Ishida Seminar in the College of Economics participated in the Asia-Pacific regional semifinals of the CFA Institute Research Challenge, hosted by the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute. They are the first team representing Japan to advance to this stage.
From left, Imura, Watanabe, Takeshita, Ohtani
The team from the Ishida Seminar won the Japan Competition held on December 7, 2024. In mid-March 2025, they submitted a 10-minute presentation video to compete in the East Asia sub-regional competition.
As a result, the team advanced to the Asia-Pacific regional competition, becoming the first Japanese representatives to do so since the regional contest was divided into sub-regional and overall regional phases.
【Team Members】
As a result, the team advanced to the Asia-Pacific regional competition, becoming the first Japanese representatives to do so since the regional contest was divided into sub-regional and overall regional phases.
【Team Members】
- Kodai Takeshita (third-year student, College of Economics)
- Nagiha Imura (third-year student, College of Economics)
- Ryosei Watanabe (third-year student, College of Economics)
- Hazuki Ohtani (third-year student, College of Tourism)
The team advanced past the East Asia subregional competitions, which serve as qualifiers for the Asia-Pacific regional stage. Although they did not reach the finals, they gave an excellent presentation and demonstrated their teamwork skills on the global stage.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition focused on corporate analysis and stock valuation. Each year, approximately 6,700 undergraduate and graduate students from over 1,100 universities worldwide participate. Participants are evaluated based on their investigative reports written in English, as well as their presentations and question-and-answer sessions conducted in English.
An Ishida Seminar team has advanced to the final round of the Japan Competition for the fourth consecutive year.
*Their academic year status is based on their enrollment at the time of the Japanese Competition in December 2024.
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition focused on corporate analysis and stock valuation. Each year, approximately 6,700 undergraduate and graduate students from over 1,100 universities worldwide participate. Participants are evaluated based on their investigative reports written in English, as well as their presentations and question-and-answer sessions conducted in English.
An Ishida Seminar team has advanced to the final round of the Japan Competition for the fourth consecutive year.
*Their academic year status is based on their enrollment at the time of the Japanese Competition in December 2024.
COMMENT
Third-year student, the College of Economics
Ryosei Watanabe
It is a great honor for us to advance to the semifinals of the Asia-Pacific regional round for the first time as the Japanese representatives.
Our team developed a unique evaluation method, different from traditional approaches, in our pursuit of fulfilling analysts’ desire to explore the gap between market value and intrinsic value. We conducted thorough research, including interviews with end users, for our presentation. I believe that our enthusiasm and proactive attitude, which went beyond conventional research methods of the Research Challenge, contributed to our high evaluation score and helped us reach the regional semifinals.
Although we regret not being able to advance to the global finals, which has been our longstanding goal, I believe our journey has provided hope and inspiration for future Japanese participants.
I sincerely thank everyone who supported us throughout this nine-month project. Thank you very much.