CFA Society Ireland Hosts 2026 CFA Institute Research Challenge Local Final
On Thursday, 19 February, CFA Society Ireland hosted the local final of the prestigious CFA Institute Research Challenge at the offices of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) in Dublin. The evening brought together some of Ireland’s brightest finance students to present their equity research and valuation analysis, with this year’s subject company being Cairn Homes.
The event was proudly sponsored by Nearwater Capital.
Congratulations to the team from the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, who were named winners on the evening and will now advance to the sub-regional stage of the competition.
The winning team members were:
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David Crowe
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Joshua Gantly
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Guoxuan Huang
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Beth Murray
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Michael Nealon
The team was supported by their university mentor, Cormac MacFhionnlaoich, and industry mentor, Marie Gillespie, whose guidance helped shape the team’s research and presentation.
Presentations were evaluated by an experienced judging panel comprising:
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John Mullane
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Eileen Rowesome
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Rob Langrick
The judges commended the teams for their professionalism, depth of research, and ability to defend their investment recommendations under questioning.
CFA Society Ireland extends its thanks to all participating universities, mentors, judges, and sponsors for their contribution to another successful competition year. Special thanks also go to the NTMA for hosting the event.
We wish the UCD Smurfit team the very best as they progress to the next stage of the competition.