Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

FEB UGM students have once again achieved remarkable success at the national level. Ali Alexander, a student in the Management Program, won first place in the national-level investment research competition, UNMUL Equity Research Competition 2024, held online from October 18 to October 25, 2024.

This student from the Class of 2021 secured the victory alongside his teammate Elsa Firlyani (Property Management and Appraisal-SV 2021), representing the Pairgrowth team. Mentored by Eddy Junarsin, Ph.D., CFP, the team triumphed after a rigorous selection process involving 24 teams from various universities across Indonesia.

Ali explained that the competition required all teams to develop an equity research paper that included an in-depth analysis of the macroeconomics, industry trends, business profiles, operations, financial performance, risks, valuation, and other aspects of the company being analyzed. The top three teams were then selected to present their analyses to a panel of judges.

In this competition, Ali explained that his team analyzed PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BBRI), which faced stagnant growth and skepticism due to Indonesia's macroeconomic challenges. The team comprehensively analyzed BBRI's macroeconomic context, business operations, financial performance, risks, and valuation and uncovered unique and interesting opportunities within the company.

Ali acknowledged the challenges of solving cases in the banking industry. Unlike non-financial companies, banking companies require a specialized financial template.

"Companies in the financial sector, such as banks, have different templates, which makes valuation particularly complex. We also had to ensure that our recommendations to buy or sell the stock were well supported by our analysis," he explained.

Despite various obstacles and challenges during the competition, Ali expressed his joy and gratitude for being able to bring honor to FEB UGM at the national level. FEB UGM provided significant support, including mentorship from qualified lecturers and assistance with administrative and reimbursement processes facilitated by the Career and Student Development Unit (CSDU). Ali hopes to achieve even more victories in the future.

"I hope to win more competitions before I graduate from FEB UGM, aiming for at least 50 competitions at both national and international levels," Ali said.

The UNMUL Equity Research Competition 2024, organized by KSPM FEB UNMUL, carried the theme "Accelerating People's Economy Towards Indonesia Emas Independence." The competition aimed to enhance young people's understanding of the banking and financial sectors' crucial role in empowering the people's economy and accelerating national business growth.

Reportage: Najwah Ariella Puteri
Editor: Kurnia Ekaptiningrum

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