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After months of research, late-night preparation, and team collaboration, MtA’s Investment Club shared a well-deserved moment of pride recently with some of the region’s largest business programs.

Representing Mount Allison at the Atlantic Regional CFA Institute Research Challenge, students Andrew Leslie, Spencer Desveaux, Evan Wood, Tom Dessureault, and Hinke Younger delivered an impressive performance, earning second place in a field of six universities — and missing first by just 0.25 points.

For the team, the result was exciting. But even more meaningful was everything that led up to it — the hours spent working together, the challenge of taking on a real-world company analysis, and the opportunity to test their skills in a high-level competition environment.

“A highlight for the pitch was just being able to be a part of a really close-knit team, spend a lot of hours with this team, and bring together a project that we’re really proud of and represents Mount Allison well,” says third-year Commerce student Tom Dessureault.

The team competed through Mount Allison’s Investment Club and was tasked with analyzing Restaurant Brands International, the parent company of Tim Hortons and Burger King. Their work involved creating a detailed financial model, writing a 10-page report with a 10-page appendix, and presenting their findings in Halifax before two separate panels of judges.

It was a demanding process — one that stretched over several months and required the students to think well beyond the classroom.

“It’s a whole different thing than what you would see in school and other case competitions,” says fourth-year Commerce student Spencer Desveaux. “You basically contribute three or four months of your time to one report on one project. It was an awesome experience.”

For fourth-year student Evan Wood, the experience was also an opportunity to show what Mount Allison students can do.

“One of the highlights out of the CFA Challenge was the fact that we got to show…we can compete with the larger programs in the region,” he says.

That sense of pride is evident — not only in the result, but in the way they approached the challenge. Their analysis of the company considered not just profits and projections, but also broader issues including governance, sustainability, consumer trends, and the impact of changing health habits on the quick-service restaurant industry.

“There’s a lot more that goes into a business besides their profit-making abilities,” says Dessureault. “We got to see through the whole lens of their total mission, what they’re doing for society, how they treat their employees, and how that ultimately breaks down to how much that company will be worth at the end of the day.”

One of the team’s greatest strengths was the range of perspectives around the table.

While several members came from accounting and finance backgrounds, third-year international PPE student Hinke Younger brought a different perspective to the work, contributing insight on environmental, social, and governance factors.

“Being able to bring another perspective was really valuable,” says Younger. “It was a great experience for me to understand how other people approach the same kind of problems, how other people think, the things that they value, and the way that they work.”

Her contribution became a clear example of what Mount Allison does so well: bringing students together across disciplines and creating space for them to learn from one another.

For the graduating students on the team, the challenge was also a reflection of the Mount Allison experience itself — one defined by close mentorship, meaningful involvement, and a strong sense of community.

“The best way to describe Mount Allison is the support system,” says Desveaux. “You have that close relationship with your professors, and you have people around you who really care about your success. I’m really grateful that I decided to go to Mount Allison.”

Andrew Leslie, a fourth-year Commerce student, says Mount Allison gave him the chance to jump in early and build that kind of experience over time.

“If you want to be driven and you want to get involved, it’s super easy,” he says. “Here I am graduating after doing the CFA challenge, after being co-president of the Commerce Society, after being involved in the investment club.”

That willingness to get involved is something the team hopes to pass on. As graduating members prepare for what comes next, recruitment is already underway for future teams — with an emphasis on welcoming students from a variety of academic backgrounds.

“I’m excited to see what future iterations of teams from Mount Allison can do with this opportunity,” says Younger.

For this year’s team, the competition may be over, but the experience will stay with them long after graduation.