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A team of students won the Desert Classic regional of the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute Research Challenge Feb. 21 in Phoenix. They now advance to The Americas finals in Toronto, Canada on March 20-21. The business school students outlasted undergraduate and MBA teams from Arizona State, Northern Arizona, Thunderbird, and University of Arizona.

The students are among 46 teams from North and South America to reach this round where they will compete for a place in the Global Final April 12 in London. There, university teams from around the world, including the New York, Asia Pacific and Europe, and Middle East and Africa regions, will face off for the Global Champion title.

UNLV team members include: Sean Skinner, Elias Shliyan, and Jeffery Zemp, all finance seniors; and Warren Stender, a recent management graduate. They conducted a financial analysis of the restaurant chain Kona Grill, developed a comprehensive equity research report, and presented to a panel of global financial experts their recommendations to buy, sell, or hold company shares. The team recommended buying the stock with the expectation that Kona will open new stores and increase same-store sales at existing restaurants.

Since last fall, the students have spent about 200 hours each sharpening their analytical, valuation, and presentation skills. They were mentored by Jagdish Mehta, visiting associate professor of finance in the Lee Business School, and Dominic Rodrigues, chief investment officer of Las Vegas-based Integress Financial.

Shliyan said the competition highlights the advantages of experiential learning.

"Taking classes at UNLV has been extremely beneficial to our success. However, this competition has provided us with additional opportunities to learn more about our industry and act as professionals," he said.

Paul Thistle, chair of the business school's finance department, said the students mastered many skills that will benefit them in competition and the real world of finance.

"We're very proud of the UNLV team and appreciate the support of the CFA Society Nevada. These students worked very hard to achieve this success and earn the opportunity to move on to The Americas finals," Thistle said.

Their accomplishments -- two years running -- underscore the quality of business education at UNLV, he said. "We think our students can compete with anybody."

Last year, more than 3,000 university students from around the world participated in the CFA competition.