Dallas College launches the Texas Ticker, a hands-on trading and market analytics initiative meant to place Dallas college students at the forefront of North Texas’s growing financial district.
According to the Dallas College website, the program aims to be the center of the broader Dallas College “Y’all Street Market Experience,” with a plan to connect students as well as the community to the fast-paced world of market activity using professional tools, workshops and seminars.
The initiative launches as Dallas is emerging as a powerhouse in the financial sector, a movement that has been coined “Y’all Street.”
With the establishment of the Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) and the move for major financial firms to relocate into the region, Dallas College Chancellor Justin Lonon said in “Dallas College Launches ‘The Texas Ticker’ a Bloomberg-Powered Trading Initiative as ‘Y’all Street’ Takes Root in Dallas,” on the Dallas College website that he is making sure the program schools’ students with the ability to actively participate in the market rather than only learning about it.
Bloomberg and the Global Trading Challenge
At the center of the Texas Ticker is the Bloomberg Global Trading Challenge, one of the largest student investment competitions in the world. Teams are provided with a “paper trading” portfolio of $1 million to simulate investing under live market conditions.
The challenge brings in thousands of teams all over the world from over fifty different countries and growing, where students must use physical, high-tech Bloomberg terminals to manage the portfolio and their trades. Groups of four or five students team up for the challenge, and they may also include a member of the faculty or community mentor to help guide investment strategies.
Eugene Kuan, Senior Manager of the Bloomberg Program at Dallas College, stated that even though they did not participate in the Fall 2025 challenge due to a transition in management, previous teams performed well in international rankings.
Supported Campuses and Integration
Dallas College currently maintains 32 Bloomberg terminals spread across six of the campuses. Richland campus serves as base camp for the program and has the largest lab throughout Dallas College District. Northlake, Mountain View, Bill J Priest, El Centro, and Eastfield also have a share of the terminals.
The program is built on two key tenets.
Bloomberg for Education Certifications, free and self-paced online certificates are available to anyone with the Dallas College email. The four available certificates are Bloomberg Market Concepts, Bloomberg Finance Fundamentals, ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) and Bloomberg Spreadsheet Analysis.
The Bloomberg Terminals, physical hardware, usually reserved for large financial firms, are used for niche analysis as well as the Global Trading Challenge.
Business and economic majors primarily use the lab, but these facilities are open to all students and faculty. Dr. Bradford Williams, Vice Chancellor of Operations, Advancement & Innovation, said that the program is meant to be an introductory platform to springboard students in understanding how to analyze stocks and market mechanics while using professional hotkeys and data.
What comes next?
Dallas College is working to restaff needed student assistance so they can extend operating hours across other campuses involved. The Richland Campus Lab is currently open from 9:30 a.m. — 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Other campuses have varied hours of operation focusing on midday hours.
The Weekly Investment Club is planned to relaunch fall 2026. Students can then discuss stock strategies with faculty and mentors. Williams said the aim of the college is to serve as the “educational arm” for the financial industry’s growing presence in Dallas. This includes partnering with leading companies in the financial industry for lectures and workshops.
The Texas Ticker aims to expose students to possibilities in financial careers that they may not have previously considered or even thought possible. “Financial literacy is a life skill and not just confined to business majors,” Kuna said.
