Eight isn’t enough for UTC SMILE Fund team

The UTC SMILE Fund team, from left: Ryan Rinker, Ava Kelton, Blade Kisler and Trent “TJ” Lowe. Photo by Dr. Hunter Holzhauer.

For the eighth consecutive year, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga SMILE Fund team was victorious in the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute Greater Tennessee Research Challenge.

And not surprisingly, the success has continued.

The SMILE Fund (Student Managed Investment Learning Experience) team, comprised of Gary W. Rollins College of Business seniors Blade Kisler and Ava Kelton and sophomores Trent “TJ” Lowe and Ryan Rinker, recently beat out student groups from 10 other universities to advance to the Southeastern sub-regionals.

After another round of competition, the UTC student group was selected late last week as the sub-regional champion for the second consecutive year and the third time in four years.

The regional semifinals will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, April 2, at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

“This is an impressive group, and I’ve been very proud of their preparation and performance,” said Dr. Hunter Holzhauer, a Robert L. Maclellan and UC Foundation associate professor of finance and director of the SMILE Fund. “I’m very proud of this team; they’re making the most of their situation. If we get the right questions in the next round, I don’t see any reason why we couldn’t advance.

“I think their presentation is probably the best we’ve put together thus far.”

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual worldwide equity research competition that provides hands-on mentoring and intense training in financial analysis and professional ethics. University teams examine a company’s financial health, record their results in a formal research report and present their conclusions to a panel of judges. Unlike the UTC all-undergrad squad, most university teams are typically made up of graduate students.

Kelton is the chief analyst for the SMILE Fund’s consumer team. Kisler is vice president of analyst development and chief analyst for the tech team. Lowe is the tech team’s chief analyst and the new macro analysis vice president. Rinker is the chief analyst for the financials team and vice president of analyst development.

Along with Holzahuer, the group is mentored by industry expert Ray Ryan.

Holzhauer said the company the SMILE Fund and other regional teams were selected to analyze this spring is Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBRL). Cracker Barrel, the American chain restaurant and retail store, is headquartered in Lebanon, Tennessee.

“We always get a company based out of Tennessee in the local round,” Holzhauer said, “but when you move on, you’re going to compete with teams that don’t have that same company. So it’s always interesting.”

Tuesday’s regional semifinals will quickly be followed by the regional finals on Thursday. The CFA Institute Research Challenge finals will take place on May 16 in Warsaw, Poland.

Last year’s SMILE Fund team advanced to the Americas region finals. More than 6,400 students from 90 countries and nearly 1,300 university teams were competing when the 2023 version of the yearly CFA Institute Research Challenge began, and UTC’s group was one of the final 16 teams.

2024 CFA Institute Research Challenge Sub-Regional Champions

AMERICAS
Atlantic Islands and Latin America

Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru representing CFA Society Peru
University College of the Cayman Islands representing CFA Society Bahamas, CFA Society Barbados, CFA Society Bermuda, CFA Society Cayman Islands, CFA Society Jamaica, and CFA Society Trinidad and Tobago
Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV), Sao Paulo – Team B representing CFA Society Brazil

Canada

McGill University representing CFA Society Montréal and CFA Society Québec
University of Waterloo representing CFA Society Toronto and CFA Society Ottawa

Central and Southwest U.S.

Creighton University representing CFA Society Nebraska
Texas Tech University representing CFA Societies Texas

Eastern U.S.

Canisius University representing CFA Society Buffalo and CFA Society Rochester
Babson College representing CFA Society Boston
University at Albany (SUNY) representing CFA Society New York

Midwestern U.S.

Dordt University representing CFA Iowa
University of Minnesota, Duluth representing CFA Society Minnesota

Southeastern U.S.

Appalachian State University representing CFA Society North Carolina
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga representing CFA Society East Tennessee and CFA Society Nashville

Western U.S.

University of Denver representing CFA Society Colorado
Whitworth University representing CFA Society Spokane
Seattle University representing CFA Society Seattle

# # # # #

ASIA PACIFIC
Eastern Asia

Pukyong National University representing CFA Society Korea
National Sun Yat-sen University representing CFA Society Taiwan
Shenzhen University representing CFA Society Shenzhen

Oceania

Australian National University representing CFA Society Sydney
University of Melbourne representing CFA Society Melbourne

Southeastern Asia

University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) representing the Vietnam Community of Investment Professionals
University of the Philippines Diliman CFA Society Philippines
Universitas Prasetiya Mulya representing CFA Society Indonesia

Southern Asia

University of Dhaka representing CFA Society Bangladesh
Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi representing CFA Society India

# # # # #

EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST and AFRICA
Eastern Europe

Kozminski University representing CFA Society Poland
Bucharest University of Economic Studies representing CFA Society Romania

Middle East and North Africa

American University of Beirut representing CFA Society Lebanon
Qatar University representing CFA Society Doha
University of Jordan representing CFA Society Jordan

Northern Europe

Linköping University representing CFA Society Sweden

Southern Europe

Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II representing CFA Society Italy
Universidade Católica Portuguesa representing CFA Society Portugal
University of Zagreb representing CFA Society Croatia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Midlands State University representing the Investment Professionals Association of Zimbabwe
University of Mauritius representing CFA Society Mauritius
University of Lagos representing CFA Society Nigeria

Western Europe

University of Neuchatel representing CFA Society Liechtenstein and CFA Society Switzerland
WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management representing CFA Society Germany