CFA Institute Investment Research Challenge 2025/2026

The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute organizes an international student competition in company valuation. Teams of 3-5 students are assigned a mentor, a CFA charter-holder with extensive business experience. Winners proceed to the European and global rounds. Find more information about the competition on the CFA website, the competition factsheet, and the promotional video. 

The kick-off presentation will take place on October 8, 2025, at 18:00 at the Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE) in room RB 213. Lifestream of the kick-off presentation will be available here. Additional information will be provided at Prague Banking Club on October 14, 2025.

Applicants should note that participating in the competition is highly rewarding for one’s professional development as it yields valuable experience and a rich network of contacts. Nevertheless, successful performance is rather time-consuming and requires effective collaboration in the student team. Succeeding in the competition requires an in-depth understanding of the valued company, the industry it operates in, and the macroeconomic outlook. It also requires solid analytical skills needed to analyze the data, interpret it, and draw appropriate conclusions. It is also crucial to deliver a well-structured presentation with a coherent message and convincingly respond to judges’ questions. 

Find sample presentations on YouTube. Find information about Charles University team’s successful participation in the competition in 2022 here and here, in 2021 here, in 2018 here and here, and in 2016 here.

In case of successful participation of the Charles University team in the Czech national final (1st, 2nd, or 3rd place), all team members receive 6 ECTS credits counted as a professional internship in the group of elective courses. 

We invite applications from individual students that shall be accompanied by:

1. a CV,

2. a transcript of records from past studies (both Bachelor’s and Master’s) from the Student Information System (SIS) in pdf (a printscreen is sufficient),

3. a 1-page long motivation letter highlighting an applicant's qualifications for contributing to the team and specifying his/her time possibilities.

Applicants are welcome to indicate their preference for teammates they would like to form the team with. Selection of team members will be based on the competence, motivation, and commitment of individual applicants, and teammates preferences.

Email your application and the required appendices to Jiří Novák (jiri.novak@fsv.cuni.cz) by October 16, 2025, at 23:59.