Research Challenge

CFA Institute Research Challenge

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an annual global competition that connects university students with investment professionals from within the CFA Society® network. The competition provides students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis and ethics and tests participants' analytical, valuation, reporting writing, and presentation skills.

Members of our society, along with a faculty advisor and an industry mentor, work with teams of students to value a stock, write a research report, and present their recommendations. Teams then compete with peers from other schools at local-level competitions organized and judged by CFA Society members and volunteers. The winning university team(s) from each local competition then advances to see who will become the sub-regional, regional, and global champions. 

Learn more and read FAQs See the schedule and get involved

2025 - 2026 Research Challenge: Tower Semiconductor (TSEM)

CFA Society Israel is pleased to announce that the subject company for the 2025–2026 local competition is Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM), a global leader in specialty analog semiconductor manufacturing.

We will have participation from Reichman University, Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University, and Bar Ilan University.
If you are part of another university that would like to participate, please reach out — additional teams are still welcome.

Teams must consist of 3–5 students, and universities may enter multiple teams. Each team will be paired with an industry mentor who provides guidance and feedback throughout the competition.

Key Dates for 2025–2026

  • Kickoff Event: December 2025

  • Written Report Submission: Early February 2026

  • Local Final (Live Presentations): Late February 2026

  • European Sub-Regional Round: Spring 2026

  • Global Final (In Person): Hong Kong May 2026

The winning team of the Israel local final will advance to the virtual European Sub-Regional Round, representing Israel in the next stage of the global competition and potentially to the Global Final in Hong Kong.

Previous Research Challenges

2024 - 2025 CFA Institute Research Challenge – Israel Local Finals

In 2024, CFA Society Israel proudly hosted the annual CFA Institute Research Challenge, bringing together top talent from three leading academic institutions: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, and Reichman University.

Each team conducted an in-depth equity analysis of Similarweb (NYSE: SMWB) and presented their findings at Similarweb’s Tel Aviv headquarters in front of a panel that included the company’s CFO and Head of Investor Relations.

Congratulations to Hebrew University, this year’s winning team, who delivered an outstanding presentation and advanced to the regional round.

This event exemplifies our commitment to bridging academia and industry and we thank Similarweb for their partnership and support.