University of Waterloo students win global finance competition 

Students from the University of Waterloo have been named the global champions of the 2026 CFA Institute Research Challenge. 

The annual competition gives university students hands-on experience and mentorship in equity research, financial analysis, valuation and professional ethics. More than 8,000 students from around the world went head-to-head in this year’s competition. 

The winning team included Ethan Fraser, Jei Raman Gnaneswaran, Quynh-Anh Le, Michael Huang and Alicia Wen from the University of Waterloo’s School of Accounting and Finance. The students were supported by their faculty advisor, Steve Balaban, and industry mentor, Jeannine LiChong. 

The winners started with a local round hosted by CFA Society Toronto last fall, and advanced through sub-regional, regional and global finals before ultimately winning the championship in Hong Kong earlier this month.  

“This experience is transformative for students. The research challenge pushes them to think, analyze and present like real investment professionals,” Balaban said in a release. “Watching this team grow through each stage of the competition and ultimately win at the global level has been incredibly rewarding.”  

This isn’t the first time the University of Waterloo has emerged victorious in the competition. The university previously won the global championship in 2024 and 2016, and advanced at other stages of the competition in previous years.  

Noushin Ziafati

Noushin has been the associate editor of Advisor.ca since 2024. Previously, she worked at outlets including the CBC, Canadian Press, CTV News, Telegraph-Journal and Chronicle Herald. Reach her at noushin@newcom.ca.