{"id":73547,"date":"2026-01-13T08:51:19","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T13:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=73547"},"modified":"2026-01-26T08:42:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T13:42:45","slug":"nguyen-with-the-win-utc-student-earns-national-championship-in-t-e-a-m-university-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2026\/01\/nguyen-with-the-win-utc-student-earns-national-championship-in-t-e-a-m-university-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Nguyen with the win: UTC student earns national championship in T.E.A.M. University Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"UTC

UTC sophomore Vu Nguyen, with UC Foundation and Robert L. Maclellan Associate Professor of Finance Hunter Holzhauer, displays his T.E.A.M. University Challenge trophy. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n

Vu Nguyen isn\u2019t one to seek the spotlight. But when the final scores were tallied in a national financial planning competition, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore found his name at the very top.<\/p>\n

Nguyen\u2019s investment portfolio finished first among more than 600 students from 14 universities in the 2025 T.E.A.M. University Challenge, hosted by The E-Valuator Asset Management.<\/p>\n

A management major in the Gary W. Rollins College of Business and a lead analyst with the SMILE Fund (Student Managed Investment Learning Experience), Nguyen said discipline, preparation and a steady strategy set him apart.<\/p>\n

His SMILE Fund teammate, senior finance major Chandler Mason, also placed among the nation\u2019s best, finishing eighth overall.<\/p>\n

The T.E.A.M. University Challenge tasks students with creating a $100,000 investment portfolio for a hypothetical client using mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Portfolios are scored on performance, risk management and expense ratios.<\/p>\n

The competition began in 2014 \u201cas a way to give back to the young financial planning community,\u201d explained Collin J. Miller, president of The E-Valuator, LLC. \u201cWe host this event each fall semester, which can be a great learning opportunity for students since the fall is typically a volatile time of the year for the stock market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Hunter Holzhauer, UC Foundation and Robert L. Maclellan associate professor of finance and director of the SMILE Fund, said UTC\u2019s results were the strongest in program history.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been in this competition for at least five years, and this was our best year,\u201d Holzhauer said. \u201cVu is a phenomenal kid. He is so quiet. He\u2019s so humble. I don\u2019t know if he\u2019d have gotten the recognition he deserved if it wasn\u2019t for opportunities like this where it makes it more than obvious that he\u2019s one of our top students.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vu<\/p>\n

Nguyen said his approach was simple: stay steady when others chased the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons I won the competition was having a global worldview rather than a solely U.S.-based one,\u201d he explained, \u201cand I followed that guidance before executing and locking in the trades to participate in the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put 40% in gold and the rest in a variety in Asia. I believe in emerging markets; that\u2019s why I invested in companies in Asia.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he knew all along he was taking an unconventional path.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s strategy is trying to follow the crowd,\u201d Nguyen said. \u201cI\u2019m the black sheep.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each student participant in the T.E.A.M. Challenge received access to The E-Valuator software, which allowed them to analyze more than 32,000 mutual fund and ETF (exchange-traded fund) holdings through Morningstar data.<\/p>\n

Nguyen said his analytical skills, sharpened during his time in the SMILE Fund, gave him an edge.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used my own strategy, the analyst skills that are being taught by Dr. H and skills I learned from different SMILE Fund members,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s how I achieved this trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nguyen built his client portfolio using the case study of a first-time investor seeking long-term, low-volatility growth. Students were graded on a mix of three-year, one-year, and three-month performance metrics, along with standard deviation and expense ratios.<\/p>\n

SMILE Fund Program Manager Hunter Carroll said Nguyen\u2019s work ethic was exceptional from the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cVu joined the SMILE Fund in the spring of 2025,\u201d Carroll recalled, \u201cand he immediately hit the ground running and wrote fantastic research on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Not only did his research impress, but his work ethic was also equally impressive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was clear early on that Vu has a passion for investments. I look forward to Vu\u2019s contributions during his remaining time in the SMILE Fund.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nguyen\u2019s T.E.A.M. research on TSMC, a global supplier of chips for NVIDIA, Apple and other tech giants, earned high praise.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe took it on and did phenomenal research,\u201d Holzhauer said. \u201cIt\u2019s always fun as a professor to realize you\u2019ve got a diamond in the rough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Holzhauer said Nguyen\u2019s humility and dedication stand out most.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s not going to be bragging on himself,\u201d Holzhauer said. \u201cHe\u2019s just going to do things the right way and let it show, and he\u2019s clearly starting to stand out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great for a student like him who\u2019s humble and hardworking. He\u2019s one of those students who makes all of us proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nguyen, who graduated from Cleveland (Tennessee) High School in 2024 and attended Cleveland State Community College through dual enrollment, said he chose UTC for its business program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first visited the school, I saw the College of Business building and the stock market exchange near the front entrance,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI was like, \u2018This is where I have to be. This is home.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Nguyen hopes to keep competing, learning and building toward a career in finance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI plan to compete in as many national tournaments as I can because that\u2019s going to present not just the SMILE Fund but also the school,\u201d he said. \u201cI would love to be on Wall Street, be a hedge fund manager or own a hedge fund someday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

Gary W. Rollins College of Business<\/a><\/p>\n

UTC SMILE Fund<\/a><\/p>\n

SMILE Fund stories<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Vu

Vu Nguyen is a management major in the Gary W. Rollins College of Business and a lead analyst with the SMILE Fund.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vu Nguyen isn\u2019t one to seek the spotlight. But when the final scores were tallied in a national financial planning competition, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga sophomore found his name at the very top. Nguyen\u2019s investment portfolio finished first among more than 600 students from 14 universities in the 2025 T.E.A.M. University Challenge, hosted by The E-Valuator Asset Management.<\/p>\n

Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1493,"featured_media":73825,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64,70,122424,123864,122498,15,3,7712,122425,57,8244,661,124930],"tags":[126516,126517,123827,126513,83473,123828,124776,123829,70452,126512,126514,126515,126511],"class_list":{"0":"post-73547","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-accounting","9":"category-advancement-and-alumni","10":"category-business-finance","11":"category-campus","12":"category-community","13":"category-faculty-and-staff","14":"category-finance","15":"category-college-of-business","16":"category-honors-and-awards","17":"category-news","18":"category-students","19":"category-transfer-students","20":"tag-chandler-mason","21":"tag-collin-j-miller","22":"tag-creating-the-mocs-experience","23":"tag-hunter-carroll","24":"tag-hunter-holzhauer","25":"tag-leveraging-our-special-place-as-chattanoogas-university","26":"tag-mocs-learn-mocs-do-mocs-lead","27":"tag-operating-with-excellence","28":"tag-smile-fund","29":"tag-t-e-a-m-university-challenge","30":"tag-the-e-valuator-asset-management","31":"tag-the-e-valuator-llc","32":"tag-vu-nguyen","33":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nNguyen with the win: UTC student earns national championship in T.E.A.M. 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