Trinity Finance Team Advances in Worldwide Competition

There’s a March Madness for finance students, and Trinity University is dancing. 

A team of Tigers from Trinity’s Michael Neidorff School of Business has won the South Texas region of the CFA Institute Research Challenge for the first time in University history.

John McAdams ‘26 says.  “Beating out graduate schools and large universities to be named the top CFA research team in the region is a manifestation of growth.”

The CFA challenge is an annual global competition, founded in 2007, that connects university students with investment professionals for hands-on mentoring and intensive training in financial analysis and ethics, and tests participants' analytical, valuation, reporting writing, and presentation skills.

Associated Professor Dante Suarez, Ph.D. coaches the team, composed of McAdams, Collin Bishop ‘26, Roan Erwin ‘26, Carter Code ‘26 and Sean McDermott ‘26, with the group mentored closely by Olivier Dardant ‘16, a senior equity research analyst at Frost Bank. Next, they face the subregional round, with a new slate of schools, including, that stretches from North Texas to Nebraska, including heavyweights like LSU and Oklahoma. There are 150 schools left worldwide, and the group finds out the next round of results on March 26th.

“Trinity progressing this far in the CFA Challenge shows the quality of education available at Trinity, and showcases seniors’ readiness for high-finance roles,” says McDermott.

According to Suarez, this is Trinity’s third year of reaching the South Texas finals, and is the first time winning. “A judge even reached out to one of our faculty to tell him how amazing the team’s presentation had been,” Suarez says. “This is a star-studded team that’s aiming to go all the way.”

As the team moves forward, Erwin says the experience is positioning both the participants, and Trinity, for future success.

“This is a tangible signal to alumni, employers, and prospective students that Trinity is producing high-level research and analysis talent in the finance space,” Erwin says. “This competition has pushed me to build a nuanced and contrarian thesis from the ground up. I’m understanding the business model, identifying the true value drivers and risks, and translating all of that into a clear valuation and recommendation that can stand up to questions.”