Championship. By the time they reached Kuala
Lumpur, they joined just four teams to compete
in the finals—another U.S. team, two from
Europe, and one from Asia.
The Malaysian location proved fortunate.
“We found that there was going to be a
defense contractor exposition there the week
before our competition,” Seim says. “It had
representatives from 60 countries and 1,300
different companies. So we went over about
10 days earlier than our competition to this
exhibition and learned so much.”
Fueyo recalls that stretch as an incredible,
competitive opportunity. “It was a value-added
for us,” she says. “We put a lot of work in
during the days coming up to the global final.”
They changed the presentation significantly
based on the research they conducted,
creating new text, slides and video. “The whole
competition we tried to differentiate ourselves
with our proprietary research by talking to
customers, talking to the competition, calling
executives, going that extra mile that would
give us an edge,” she says.
Each of the team members consider the
experience professionally beneficial. Seim,
who graduated with his EMBA in April, is an
Advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors. “When
you spend as much time as we did on some
very complicated topics—having learned
something intensely for 10 months and come
out on top a number of times, then near the
top, you come out the other side saying: ‘Okay,
I have a talent or I have a skill. I have an ability
to be challenged and tested. I proved that I
can do something.’”
Crayton received his MBA in April.
His experience has brought increased
recognition at Black Knight Inc. where he
works in finance. “It has definitely elevated
my exposure in the company,” he says. “We
just got a new CEO a few months ago and he
sent me a personal email saying congrats
and we wish you the best for the competition.
Then the CFO got me to do a couple of
minutes at the Finance Town Hall. It’s a
feather in my cap to be able to sit in the room
with those kinds of people.”
Never being satisfied with the product —
always looking for a gap to fill with something
a little more enticing — that is what their
mentor Dr. Missa had encouraged them to do
until the very last moment. Fueyo, who graduated in April with her
Bachelor of Business Administration in
finance and economics, joined North
Avenue Capital in June as a Loan Architect.
She attributes her transitional ease to
involvement with DSIF and CFA.
At the final presentation, the team excelled
with a compelling “buy call” and strong
response in the Q&A. They had exceptionally
competitive scores. “Finishing runner-up
in this global competition with 1,100-plus
universities, especially in only our second
participation, is something to be very proud
of,” Dr. Missa says. “I don’t think anybody
but us gave us a chance at the beginning of
the process. I am sure this will inspire JU
students to achieve great things in anything
they pursue.” “For me, it was a great experience, especially
being my last year in college,” she says. “I
learned how to design longterm investment
strategies, conduct in-depth security analysis,
and also present the research reports in front
of people. Analytical skills and also soft skills
are really needed in the corporate world.
If anyone has the chance to be part of the
CFA or the Investment Fund, and they like
finance, of course, they shouldn’t doubt it. The
experience you get, it will be rewarding short-
and long-term.”
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