CFA UK and Brandes Investment Partners £5,000 essay prize 2016

Wednesday 24 February 2016

The CFA Society of the UK and Brandes Investment Partners are delighted to invite entries from young investment professionals to a new essay competition in honour of Ben Graham.

The competition was unveiled last year at the inaugural Aberdeen Road lecture presented by Charles Brandes, CFA, chairman and founder of Brandes Investment Partners, who worked with Ben Graham when founding his firm in the 1970s.

The £5,000 prize, provided by Brandes Investment Partners, will be awarded for the submitted paper that best reflects the characteristics demonstrated by Ben Graham in his written works.

The winner will be announced at the second Aberdeen Road lecture on 22 June 2016.

Essay Theme

Ben Graham (1894-1976) was known as the father of value investing and he excelled at making money in the stock market without taking big risks. Graham created and taught many principles of investing safely and successfully that modern investors continue to use today. Your essay should describe how the characteristics demonstrated by Ben Graham best reflect the way you practice today and give examples of what they mean to you.


Entry Criteria

  • Open to all members of the CFA Society of the UK under the age of 35.
  • Entrants should submit a paper that best reflects the characteristics demonstrated by Ben Graham in his written works, which references those works and which contributes to the recognition of financial analysis as a profession.
  • The criteria which the award judges take into account are clarity, objectivity and depth of understanding of financial analysis and its contribution to the investment profession.
  • Entries should be a minimum of 1,200 words and a maximum of 2,500 words.
  • Participants must submit a 50-word synopsis of their paper along with their paper

Entry Deadline

Entries should be emailed to AberdeenRoad@cfauk.org by 2 May 2016.
The winner will be announced on 22 June 2016.

Judging Panel

Bob Schmidt, Brandes Institute
Arturo Mengual Garcia, CFA
Asif Jeevanjee, CFA
Will Goodhart, CEO, CFA UK
James Ashworth, CFA

Terms and conditions

Entry is open to all CFA UK members aged under 35. No purchase necessary. The judge's decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into. All entries will be judged anonymously. Entries must be received by 2 May 2016 before 5pm (BST). We reserve the right to publicise the winners' names and home towns. By entering, authors are agreeing that their entries may be published online and in Professional Investor magazine and distributed via the CFA UK's social media channels.