Financial Research and Learning Lab

Why participate in the HeadStart Program?

This is your chance to learn how to write a research report meeting industry standards!  Completing the certificate can help you in many ways as this program is geared towards students who are interested in:

• Learning how to analyze a company and its market according to industry standards
• Learning how to use and select the right databases to analyze and prepare a quality research report 
• Learning how to use industry recognized databases 
• Participating in the CFA Institute Research Challenge
• Joining the Capital Markets Program (CMP), which manages the Telfer Capital Fund (TCF)
• Joining the TFS Investment Group
• Preparing for the job market
• Meeting peers & networking

Note that Unit 1 is mandatory for students:

• Applying for a CFA Institute scholarship

Register to Lab Workshops & Database Demos here.

You can obtain two (2) separate badges:

• Unit 1: A badge will be available upon completion of Unit 1.  This one is required for those students interested in applying for a CFA Institute scholarship
• Completion of program. A badge will be available upon completion of the entire program.

The HeadStart Program embeds many concepts from the CFA® Program Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK) and its structure is inspired by the required sections in the CFA Institute Research Challenge report template.  It is composed of 5 Units:

• Unit 1 | Program Overview, Ethics, Industry Standards & Regulation
• Unit 2 | Market, Sector & Industry Analysis
• Unit 3 | Screening, Comps & Financial Analysis
• Unit 4 | ESG & Risk Analysis
• Unit 5 | Valuation Methods

Presentations covering each Unit will be offered during the fall and winter semesters.  Lab Assistants will also host database demos to help students get acquainted with the Lab resources available that can help with the analysis of a company and the redaction of a research report. 

The program will conclude with the HeadStart Valuation Challenge in which participants will have the opportunity to apply and showcase their newly acquired stock analysis skills.