Texas State business students win research challenge competition

The Chartered Financial Analyst Institute Research Challenge recently announced that Texas State University’s undergraduate team won the Central and Southwest U.S. Sub-Regional Championship.

The team advanced to the global competition’s Regional Semifinals for the Americas, held Thursday, April 6. As of press time, Texas State now stands among the top 12 teams in the U.S. and among the top 17 in North and South America.

The CFA Institute Research Challenge is the largest equity research competition in the world. This annual program provides university students with hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis.

“I’m nervous and excited,” said Dr. Janet Payne, the team’s faculty advisor, prior to the team's next competition. “This is the farthest we’ve ever advanced.”

Texas State’s CFA Institute Research Challenge team, which hails from the McCoy College of Business, is comprised of finance major Michael Hardy, finance and accounting double majors Brian Dorough-Paniagua and Jesusa Zuniga, and recent finance graduate Aaron Aguirre (B.B.A., Fall 2022).

Each of them has contributed hundreds of hours of research for the competition.

“I’m really proud of them,” Payne said. “Every bit of work has been their own.”

Zuniga said she is looking forward to the Regional Semifinals.

“Michael, Brian and I are all second-semester students in the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF),” Zuniga said. “Aaron was in the program with us last semester. This course is presentation and research intensive. The director of the SMIF program, Dr. Holland Toles, has given us all the tools and guidance to strengthen our analytical skills. I feel SMIF has been a major contributor to our success in this competition.”

Dr. Sanjay Ramchander, dean of the McCoy College of Business, called the Sub-Regional Championship a “truly outstanding accomplishment by our students.”“ This win puts them in rarified company as they stand only among a handful of business schools in the world to advance to the global Regional Semifinals,” Dean Ramchander said. “Competing and winning at these levels is only possible because of the support and mentorship our faculty provide students in offering a world-class business education.”

“The hard work and dedication of our students and their faculty mentors paid off,” said Dr. Haiyong Liu, Chair of the Department of Finance and Economics. “I am so grateful to have such a talented and dedicated team representing our college and university. We are confident that they will continue to succeed in the semifinals.”Six teams from the Americas will advance to the Regional Finals, which will be held April 13-14. While the Sub-Regional Championship consisted of recorded presentations, Thursday’s Regional Semifinals for the Americas will be virtual but live, consisting of 10-minute presentations and 10-minute question- and-answer sessions.

Seventeen teams will be divided into three virtual rooms, with each room sending two teams forward.

Texas State’s team will face-off with James Madison University (Virginia), Universidad EAFIT (Colombia), the University of Michigan, and the University of Waterloo (Canada). The judges for all rounds are CFA charter holders and members of CFA societies.

Creighton University’s team also advanced from the Central and Southwest U.S. Sub-Regional. Other teams competing with Texas State included Washington University (St. Louis), Kansas State University and the University of Oklahoma.