UNews - Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching

��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.”

Student experience speaks to individual learning

trevor.kenney — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 19:57:55 +0000

In this episode, Faculty of Management student Allan denBok speaks about the positive experience of being able to learn in small class sizes, allowing him to get individual attention from his professors.

He also gives viewers a look at the Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching in Markin Hall, and describes the unique opportunity he has to gain real-world financial market experience while still pursuing his degree.

Real-world experience

trevor.kenney — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:15:16 +0000

The Faculty of Management is preparing to launch an exciting initiative connected to the Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching (CFMRT).

On Tuesday, Nov. 15, representatives from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, the community and various stakeholder groups will gather for the official launch of the Student-Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) – $100,000 of real-money to be traded by finance students.

"The fund has been established so that participating students can gain invaluable practice managing a real-life investment portfolio," says Dr. Robert Ellis, dean of the Faculty of Management. "This will give them the opportunity to interact and network with industry experts and other business students interested in finance."

The Student-Managed Investment Fund allows students to trade stocks with a real-money account.

The Faculty has provided the initial $100,000 seed capital for the SMIF, which will be invested under the direction of CFMRT academic director, Dr. Pei Shao. Students will conduct the actual trading of funds as part of a new course designed specifically for the program.

"Students participating in the course are selected based on their academic performance and an interview," says Shao. "Eight students have formed our inaugural group and will play the role of either portfolio manager or financial analyst and work within various research teams focusing on different industry sectors."

One of the portfolio managers is finance and marketing major Taylor Nanton.

"Being part of the SMIF fund will allow us to gain hands-on industry experience in our chosen career path," says Nanton, who will graduate in spring 2012. "Having this opportunity provides us with experience we'll use every day in our future positions. It might also help us invest our own money more wisely."

In addition to supervision by Shao, guidance on trading activities will come from an advisory board comprised of external investment professionals, internal faculty members and legal experts. This will ensure compliance with laws, regulations and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ policies/guidelines.

Kevin Sassa (BMgt '93), an investment advisor with CIBC Wood Gundy, is one member of the advisory board. He believes the opportunities the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ affords through the fund is invaluable.

"From an industry perspective, the fund provides experience that may not be available at other institutions. When I was in university, students didn't have a fund and courses like this, so we had to acquire our expertise once we were out in the professional environment," says Sassa.

"Anytime you can get experience hands on, it bridges that gap between theory and real-world practice."

The SMIF has generated a very positive buzz in the financial community. Potential employers see it as an excellent training exercise, possibly reducing their own training expenses, as new recruits would be better prepared for the full responsibilities of their position coming out of school.

The SMIF advisory board is also a huge advantage for students, allowing them to begin establishing a business network before even entering the workforce.

Beyond the initial capital invested by the Faculty, it is expected that the SMIF will continue to grow through prudent investment by the students and continued fundraising efforts.

"Our goal is to increase the SMIF to $400,000 in the next three years," says Shao. "To achieve this goal, we've launched a fundraising campaign and expect that future funds will come from individual and corporate donors, professional organizations and a portion of ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ endowment assets. Our long-term vision is that the SMIF will become self-sustaining."

Ellis is enthusiastic about what the SMIF can do for the Faculty's students.

"These students will be exceptionally well prepared for careers in finance," says Ellis.

This story first appeared in the November issue of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Green computing - the way of the future

trevor.kenney — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:56:40 +0000

Innovation was at the forefront when it came to planning the technology needs for Markin Hall.

"What we did in this building is a pilot project for green computing that could be expanded to labs and offices on all three of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's campuses," says Trevor Butler, manager, Management Technical Services.

Green computing refers to environmentally sustainable computing, which involves using the most economical and energy-efficient technology possible to reduce the environmental impact.

"The Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching (CFMRT) provided a perfect opportunity for us to do things differently," says Butler. "Currently, 42 of a possible 48 work stations in the CFMRT have a thin

Markin Hall was built with energy-efficient technology.

client with dual monitors, which is connected to an extremely robust central server, the brains of the system. The central server hosts all the software, runs all the programs and stores all the data, which is much more efficient than using individual computers."

Thin clients are low-end computer terminals that concentrate solely on providing a visual interface between the user and the server. This system provides an enormous potential for energy savings.

"A desktop computer, such as those found in labs and faculty or staff offices across campus, uses about 150 to 200 watts of power while in use. A thin client uses an average of 13.5 watts of power when in use and less than one watt when not in use. You can clearly see the massive financial and energy savings they provide."

There are also considerable financial savings with thin clients, which cost about $400 each and have an estimated lifespan of 10 years.

"They are incredibly economical to buy and maintain," Butler says.

Usability is also improved as applications are delivered across an Internet browser.

"Users appreciate the speed of the system," Butler says, "and can have a customized profile that provides them with only the programs they want. This makes the system easy to navigate and use."

Perhaps the most radical advantage with this system is that data can be accessed from anywhere in the world.

"Students on all three of our campuses or someone sitting at a computer in India could all have access to the same information," says Butler. "Currently, students on the Edmonton and Calgary campuses have access, but we have not implemented the remote access functionality yet. However, once implemented, that remote access would open our CFMRT and programs to the world. Who knows where that could lead in the future."

UNews - Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching

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

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