��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Calgary campus opens Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching at BVC

trevor.kenney — Thu, 28 Sep 2017 21:01:17 +0000

Faculty of Management students at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Calgary campus at Bow Valley College now have access to the latest in hands-on training technology with the opening of the Calgary Campus Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching (CFMRT).

The Centre is a state-of-the-art facility, complete with a 42-foot, full-colour LED stock ticker, that focuses on the integration of theory and research with practice. Research databases, trading simulation software, and access to global financial resources allow students to link classroom lessons to real-life securities and markets.

“Our programming is geared toward working professionals looking to earn the skills and credentials needed to advance their careers,” says Lynda Thai-Baird, manager of the CFMRT on the U of L’s Lethbridge campus. “Our focus is to meet the needs of our Calgary campus student population by providing these students the same level of accessibility, and creating a seamless learning experience, on both campuses.”

The Centre, created in collaboration with Bow Valley College, is designed to provide a focal point for research and training in a range of financial disciplines, including investment strategy and portfolio management, financial engineering and risk management, trading and analysis of the microstructure of markets.

In 2010, the U of L’s Lethbridge campus opened the first CFMRT and it has proven to be a big draw for students, giving them the opportunity to participate in real-time exercises under actual market conditions. The Faculty of Management introduced the Student-Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) in 2011, providing $100,000 of real money to be invested under the direction of CFMRT advisors but traded by students enrolled in the specific SMIF course.

“The trading room helps the learning experience by taking the theories we have learned in class and showing how these theories are used by financial professionals on a day-to-day basis using the same software they utilize,” says Tanner Johnson, a fifth-year finance and accounting major and president of the Finance Club. “SMIF takes this further by providing the rare opportunity to learn about the challenges of managing real money while still working within a learning environment.”

Faculty of Management Dean Dr. Bob Boudreau says it was important for the U of L to provide this level of technology for its Calgary students, who are mostly employed mature students looking to enhance their financial literacy and further their careers.

“Opening this space in Calgary furthers the U of L’s mandate as an innovator in new curriculum, business initiatives and software development, which all contribute to enhancing the global competitiveness of our students,” says Boudreau. “This is a big day for us as a Faculty and even bigger for both U of L and Bow Valley College students.”

In addition to the real-time stock ticker, CFMRT also features 40 computer terminals with ultra-wide monitors, two high-end web cameras and a custom-designed digital financial data wall consisting of four, 65-inch LCD displays.

“The CFMRT in Lethbridge quickly established itself as a must-see facility for faculty, students, industry leaders and visitors to campus,” says Dr. Mike Mahon, U of L President and Vice-Chancellor. “It is truly leading-edge technology and allows our students to get instant feedback on their theoretical studies as they participate in hands-on, real-time market activities. This experience is invaluable to them once they graduate.”

In addition to the academic activities taking place in CFMRT, the room in Lethbridge has been used as a site for industry nights, high school trading competitions, university finance competitions, investment clubs and tours, all of which are now possible at the U of L’s Calgary campus at Bow Valley College.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge team brings home hardware in North American finance competition

caroline.zentner — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 23:15:31 +0000

Coaching sessions and simulated trading exercises helped a student team from the Faculty of Management place second overall at the recent 2014 ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Trading Challenge in New York City.

The U of L team, consisting of Matthew Helfrich, Devin Phalen, Michael Kawchuk and Ashley Tymburski, were among 80 students from 12 universities to participate in the North American trading competition that started Oct. 13 and finished in New York City on Nov. 14. They were accompanied by Dr. Shamsul Alam, a finance professor and team coach, and Lynda Thai-Baird, manager of the Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching facility known as the trading floor.

This is the first year the U of L has participated in the contest. To finish two points behind the first-place finisher, Fordham ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, was a big achievement considering the U of L was the only Canadian team and the only undergraduate team to compete.

“It was definitely exciting to place with all those top schools,” says Tymburski.

“I was pretty excited. The team we lost out to is pretty accomplished, so I don’t feel bad losing to them,” says Helfrich.

“They did a fantastic job,” says Alam. “I’m very pleased we came second against all the graduate students. The U of L trading room helped them learn how to trade and the competition was in a trading room like ours, so they were confident when they went into it. I’m very proud of them.”

In the three weeks leading up to competition in New York, individuals from each team participated in a real-time market trading exercise based on daily news events. Tymburski came in first in the competition, with Phalen placing a close second.

U of L team members are, left to right, Lyndai Thai-Baird and Ashley Tymburski (seated) and in the back row from left to right are Dr. Shamsul Alam, Michael Kawchuk, Matthew Helfrich and Devin Phalen.

“I haven’t actually traded personally. The other team members all have a little bit of trading experience so I was a little bit nervous about that. But it ended up turning out well for me,” says Tymburski, a fifth-year student working on a combined bachelor of management and bachelor of science degree.

At the competition, teams presented their investment strategies for two cases, one involving a methanol production company and the other for a gold exploration and mining company. The final part of the competition was a simulated trading exercise.

“We had a really good team. We all got along really well and we were dedicated to putting in the work and the hours to make sure we were successful,” says Helfrich. “The school offers a lot of these simulated market training programs and we do a lot of portfolio management projects, so we’re quite used to it. I think that gave us an advantage there.”

“We are a lot more confident now after going through this competition and are way more comfortable going forward,” says Phalen.

“I think we all took something out of it to help build ourselves and our personal portfolio,” says Kawchuk. “We were all very driven students going into it and I think that gave us the extra drive to do well in the competition. It was a fantastic team to be a part of.”

For Thai-Baird, the team’s performance is a solid indicator of the value of the trading floor.

“For us, as an institution, it shows that the things that we’re doing, especially with the investment that the Faculty of Management and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has made in this facility to give students the practical experience they need, really does translate to how we’ve done in the competition,” says Thai-Baird. “I hope we can continue to provide these types of experiences for students because it appears that it has really changed their outlook and their confidence level. Hopefully we can continue to bring home additional hardware in the future.”

UNews - Lynda Thai-Baird

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Calgary campus opens Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching at BVC

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��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge team brings home hardware in North American finance competition

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��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Calgary campus opens Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching at BVC

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge team brings home hardware in North American finance competition