The CFA Society UK and Brandes Investment Partners are delighted to announce the 2020 winner of the investment essay competition honouring Benjamin Graham, founder of the CFA Program and widely considered the father of value investing.
Masahiro Onizuka, CFA was awarded the £5,000 first prize last week via a Zoom call and Alexander Laing, CFA was awarded a runner-up prize of £500. Masahiro’s essay posed the question, “Is there now ‘value’ in value investing?
“Our winner, Masahiro Onizuka, suggests that value investors need to acknowledge the impacts of the current digital revolution, which are akin to the Industrial Revolution,” says Will Goodhart, Chief Executive of CFA UK.
“Masahiro argues the point that the basic tenet of value-investing philosophy indisputability has value. However when accounting for recent technological advancements such historical data may not be as reliable as it once was.”
“In this unusual period for value investing, we are excited to have received a record number of submissions this year," said Brandes Managing Director Oliver Murray. "We are encouraged to see so many young, bright minds continue to integrate Benjamin Graham's value philosophy into their investing education."
John Citron, CFA, a judge in the essay competition and a previous winner, says: “Each year the standard of entries rises, and the judging gets harder. The winning essay stood out by going beyond the traditional value vs. growth debate, and instead built new arguments and analytical tools while staying true to Ben Graham’s original insights.”
Read the winning essay written by Masahiro Onizuka, CFA.
Read the runner-up essay written by Alexander Laing, CFA.
About the Investment Essay Competition
The annual competition awards a £5,000 prize, provided by Brandes Investment Partners, to one winner for a paper that draws on Graham’s thinking and work as well as promotes financial analysis as a profession. It is open to all members of CFA UK.
About CFA UK
Part of the worldwide network of member societies of CFA Institute, CFA UK represents the interests of 10,500 investment professionals in the United Kingdom.
About Brandes Investment Partners
Brandes is a leading investment advisory firm managing global equity and fixed-income assets for clients worldwide. Since the firm’s inception in 1974 Brandes has consistently applied the value investing approach pioneered by Benjamin Graham to security selection. It was among the first investment firms to invest globally using a value approach. Headquartered in San Diego Brandes and its related entities have offices in Milwaukee, Toronto, Dublin and Singapore. To learn more about Brandes, visit the website or follow LinkedIn.
Notes to editors:
For further information about the results or to request an interview, please contact Ogilvy Public Relations: CFASocietyUK@ogilvy.com