Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

A remarkable achievement was made by a Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UGM student, Ali Alexander, at the ASEAN Investment Challenge 2024. The 2021 Management Program student won the title of national champion in this prestigious competition.

His victory at the national level qualifies him to represent Indonesia in the regional competition scheduled for January 2025. In addition, Ali received a development fund prize of IDR 70,000,000.

The ASEAN Investment Challenge is a premier annual investment competition organized by CGS International. It aims to enhance students' understanding of sustainable investing while contributing to building a robust stock market for the future. With the theme "Your Galaxy, Your Way!" this year's country-level competition spanned four months from August to November 2024.

As Southeast Asia's leading investment competition, the ASEAN Investment Challenge 2024 attracted more than 1,000 students from across Indonesia. The competition is divided into two levels: the country and the region. At the country level, participants from various countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, competed in a series of investment challenges. This stage consisted of participant registration, a learning journey, and a six-week country-level challenge (October 21-November 29, 2024). The top three winners of each country-level challenge will compete to represent their respective countries at the regional level, which will be held in January 2025.

The central case of the competition focused on designing optimal investment strategies to maximize returns in the face of economic uncertainty. Contestants were required to build efficient equity portfolios with returns above the IHSG Composite Index, adhere to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, maintain a high margin of safety, and identify opportunities in companies undergoing corporate actions such as mergers or acquisitions.

Ali successfully addressed these challenges by employing a strategy based on deep fundamental analysis. He prioritized stocks of companies with high growth potential and low valuations to minimize downside risk. In addition, Ali identified opportunities from corporate actions such as mergers or acquisitions, which significantly increased stock prices. He built a portfolio that outperformed the IHSG with his proposed solution while supporting ESG principles. "This strategy has proven effective over specific trading periods and has delivered far superior performance compared to market indices," he recently explained.

Despite emerging as the top champion, Ali's journey has been without challenges. He admitted to facing immense pressure during the competition due to the fierce competition among the contestants and the challenge of making accurate investment decisions. However, he managed to navigate the lengthy competition process and secure victory by staying focused and calm. He also expressed confidence in his well-crafted strategy.

Ali focused on fundamental analysis to select stocks of high-potential companies, including those undergoing corporate actions such as mergers or acquisitions. Confident in his research-based approach, he overcame competitive pressures and made measured decisions. This strategy proved highly effective and enabled him to generate higher returns than the IHSG.

Throughout the competition, Ali received support from many parties. In preparation for the regional level, he received mentorship from Eddy Junarsin, Ph.D., CFP, a FEB UGM lecturer who had previously guided him in valuation studies for financial competitions in his third semester. Ali hopes to do his best at the ASEAN regional level. "I am proud to have achieved this victory. For the next stage, I ask for everyone's support to continue progressing and winning the competition," he added.

Ali's success is concrete proof that we can achieve our dreams with hard work, perseverance, and the right strategy. His achievement brings pride to FEB UGM and inspires all Indonesian students to take on new challenges and overcome obstacles.

Reportage: Najwah Ariella Puteri
Editor: Kurnia Ekaptiningrum

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