Cross-disciplinary collaboration yields innovative stock analysis app – a made at UNB story
Author: Faculty of Management
Posted on Feb 20, 2025
Category: Students , Student Investment Fund
A shared passion for finance, technology, and problem-solving brought two University of New Brunswick students together to collaborate on an innovative tool called Dextra, a finance research assistant designed to enhance efficiency for students and professionals alike.
Meet the Innovators: Sam Salfi, who was born in Spain, raised in Canada, and is currently pursuing a degree in computer science with a focus on AI and software development; and Muhammad Jahanzaib, originally from Pakistan and in his final year of the BBA program at UNB, majoring in accounting with a concentration in finance and a minor in economics. Jahanzaib’s experience includes investment research, financial modeling, and startup advisory, and he is currently completing the Student Investment Fund (SIF) course.
The students initially launched the app with the name “StonkSeeker,” but the project has since been rebranded to Dextra to better align with its professional and institutional appeal.”
Dextra is an AI-driven tool that automates stock news analysis by providing summaries of recent developments, key events, earnings reports, competitor analysis, and macroeconomic changes impacting stock prices. Dextra aggregates financial news, analyzes key factors affecting a company’s performance, and presents the insights in a structured, easy-to-digest format.
The idea for Dextra originated from Jahanzaib’s experience in the SIF class. He noticed that students and investors often spend a lot of time and energy searching for stock-related news, navigating through ads, paywalls, and scattered sources, leading to inefficiencies and sometimes frustration.
To address this, Jahanzaib developed a Python script as a beta test to automate the process of gathering and summarizing stock news. With the support of Dr. Joseph DeCoste who teaches the SIF, he refined the concept by gathering feedback on key features that would enhance its usefulness.
Realizing the potential to turn this into a fully functional tool, Jahanzaib partnered with Salfi, whose expertise in AI and software development helped bring the idea to life. Together, they are building Dextra into a more advanced and scalable platform that could benefit not just students, but finance professionals as well.
Dr. DeCoste , who is also the director of UNB’s Centre for Financial Studies, noted, “The challenge for any analyst or portfolio manager is navigating through a constant flow of news and focusing on what truly matters. AI has a lot of potential to improve the efficiency of this process by helping identify the stories worth diving into. I've been really impressed with the initiative shown by the students in tackling this challenge head-on while honing their skills along the way. This is exactly the kind of talent the industry needs to evolve, and I’m proud that UNB is able to play a part in their growth.”
Looking ahead, Jahanzaib says, “With ongoing advancements, we aim to position Dextra as a premier AI-powered research assistant, helping both students and finance professionals make data-driven decisions with speed and confidence.”
“Our short-term priority is to improve the tool’s accuracy and usability, ensuring that it provides reliable, high-quality insights for users. In the long run, we want to position Dextra as a trusted financial research assistant that simplifies stock analysis for students, retail investors, and finance professionals alike.”
Photo: Two UNB students, Sam Salfi (L) and Muhammad Jahanzaib (R), have invented Dextra, a finance research assistant designed to enhance efficiency for students and professionals alike.
Learn more about UNB’s faculty of management and the Student Investment Fund class.
Media contact: Liz Lemon-Mitchell
Email: Lizabeth.Lemonmitchell@unb.ca