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American University of Dubai wins UAE national CFA Institute Research Challenge

Winners will represent Emirates in EMEA regional finals in London

Dubai, 13^th February 2012: Last night the American University of Dubai (AUD) won the 2012 national CFA Institute Research Challenge beating three other UAE universities in a close final hosted by CFA Emirates, the association for financial and investment professionals in the UAE. This is the second year in a row that AUD has won the title. Each of the teams drafted and presented written reports on equity research findings on Drake & Scull, the subject company for this year's competition. The winning team will now advance to EMEA regional finals which will be held in London on March 14-15^th.

The annual CFA Institute Research Challenge is sponsored by the CFA Institute in cooperation with local CFA Societies and more than 500 colleges and universities around the world. This competition is open to all business and finances schools in UAE. The CFA Emirates Society hosted its 2012 competition in partnership with four UAE based universities, each of which provided a team of three to five students under the guidance of a faculty advisor. This included: the American University of Dubai, Middlesex University Dubai, Zayed University and Institute of Management Technology Dubai.

In congratulating the winning team, Mr. Yacoub Nuseibeh, President of CFA Emirates said: "All of us at the CFA Emirates Society congratulate Americaan University of Dubai and everyone who took part in this year's competition. The CFA Institute Research Challenge is a unique opportunity for students to gain real-life skills as they experience what it's like in the investment world, presenting research reports and convincing others of the merits of a particular investment. While the team from American University of Dubai will be moving on to the next phase of the competition, every student will have benefited from this exceptional opportunity to put their academic studies into an important practical context. CFA Emirates is committed to helping to develop and maintain the very best international investment standards and professionalism in the UAE, which leads the region as a financial and investment centre. We look forward to more UAE universities participating in the coming years"

Commenting at the event Mr Mohit Malhotra, Education Chair-Dubai of CFA Emirates said: "The CFA Institute Research Challenge competition offers a rare opportunity for students to have a real world experience in researching a public company. The members of each team had the chance to meet with the senior executives from Drake & Scull to learn more about their business, research and prepare an equity research report, and showcase their knowledge of the company as part of a formal presentation."

These teams made their presentations to a panel of judges that included the following industry professionals: Deon Vernooy, CFA, Senior Executive Officer, Emirates NBD Asset Management, Khadem Al Romaithi, Fund Manager, member in CFA Emirates society, Avinash D'souza, CFA, Senior Vice President, Rasmala Investment, Nabeel Qadir Bastaki, Vice President, Abraaj Capital, Mark Watts, CFA, Head of Fixed Income, Asset Management Group, National Bank of Abu Dhabi and Yacoub Nuseibeh, CFA, President of CFA Emirates.

The CFA Emirates Society expresses their gratitude to the judges, the industry mentors, coordinators and to the senior management team at Drake & Scull for their time and effort in making the 2012 CFA Institute Research Challenge in UAE a success.

-Ends-

Media Contacts
For and on behalf of CFA Institute in the GCC and Middle East
Marcus Pepperell/Vadia Rai @ FTI Consulting
T: +971 (0)4 332 8832
marcus.pepperell@fticonsulting.com / Vadia.rai@fticonsulting.com

CFA Institute
Steve Wellard / Nicole Haroutunian (Europe, Middle East, Africa)
T: + 44 (20) 7531‐0755 / 0766
steve.wellard@cfainstitute.org / Nicole.Haroutunian@cfainstitute.org

About the CFA Institute Research Challenge
The CFA Institute Research Challenge is an initiative in which leading industry professionals promote best practices in securities research to students from top area business schools. Over the course of the competition, university teams are mentored by analysts and portfolio managers in writing an equity research report on a publicly traded company. The local level competition culminates in a presentation of that research to a panel of investment industry experts, who select the best presentation.

About CFA Emirates
The CFA Emirates Society is an association of local investment professionals consisting of portfolio managers, investment advisors, educators and other financial professionals. With 426 members, CFA Emirates is the largest member society in the GCC region comprising over half of the total number of CFA charter holders in the Gulf. The society also represents a majority of the 4,773 candidates from the region who took the CFA exams in 2009. With CFA membership in the GCC anticipated to double over the next decade, a significant share of this growth is expected to be in the UAE.

About CFA Institute
CFA Institute is the global association for investment professionals. It administers the CFA and CIPM curriculum and exam programs worldwide; publishes research; conducts professional development programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and performance-reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA Institute has more than 110,000 members, who include the world's 100,000 CFA charterholders, as well as 135 affiliated professional societies in 58 countries and territories.

© Press Release 2012