Graduate students advance to ‘Final Four’ of NYSSA Challenge

Graduate | Mar 03, 2015 | Gabelli School of Business

From left, team mentor Charles Stryker, members Brendon Integlia, Michael Feres, Lushan Li, Alton Tang, Christopher Nealand, and adviser Robert Fuest.

By Joe Vitale, GabelliConnect Freelance Writer

A team of graduate students from the Gabelli School of Business has advanced for the third year in a row to the “final four” of the New York Regional Final of the CFA Institute Research Challenge, an event locally hosted by the New York Society of Security Analysts.

The group of students – Brendon Integlia, Michael Feres, Lushan Li, Alton Tang and Christopher Nealand – dominated in the first round, where the group presented research on a public company, selected by NYSSA, to a group of Wall Street experts, who then chose the final four.

“I believe our team has been successful thus far because of our strong work ethic and our intense desire to win,” said Integlia, who credited the group’s success in part to ts creativity.

In the next round, Integlia said, competitors are more skilled and the questions asked by judges are more rigorous.

Still, the group does not expect to be entirely out of place: The teams in the final four are similar to the past few years. New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rutgers University, and Seton Hall University have consistently advanced to the regional competition.

For the final presentation, each group of students is expected to present its research to a panel of Wall Street experts, which will select a regional champion.

The team’s adviser is Robert Fuest, who serves as COO and head of investment research at Landor and Fuest Capital Managers. Fuest was also the adviser for Fordham’s team last year, which was chosen as the regional winner.

Regional champions then go on to compete in the Americas Regional, where they will go head-to-head with students from around North America.