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UUBS MSc in Applied Finance students were part of a winning team in an investment challenge which also doubles as the coursework in their Financial Markets, Institutions & Operations module.

Finance lecturer Paul Stewart explains

“The students are in teams of 3 and have a (virtual!) £100k to play with over a 7-week period. I use a simulation platform which effectively replicates the market: the teams can only buy or sell when the market is open and at actual market prices, they can input a range of order types (& can even ‘short’ shares) and are charged commission. While this platform manages their virtual trades/portfolio, the students research their investments in the CME Financial Innovation Laboratory.”

To further help the students with their investment strategy, a range of wealth management companies in Belfast mentor the students through the challenge and (together with the CISI) contribute a sum of money which provides a prize for the winning team – the NI Student Investment Team of the Year. The mentoring & financial support was provided by Cunningham Coates, Investec, Quilter Cheviot, Tilney and Davey.

The monetary prize & certificate is awarded each year at the NI CISI Annual Branch Dinner. Supported by the Department of Accounting Finance & Economics, a group of MSc Students (including the three winners: Josh Guvenc, Damian Faulkner & Michael Cartmill) attended the dinner this year, enjoying the networking opportunity and also the opportunity to listen to a very interesting an engaging speaker, David Blevins (Sky’s Ireland Correspondent).

CME Group Foundation Financial Innovation Laboratory

Ulster University Business School is one of a few business schools in the UK and Ireland to offer direct use of data, analytics and information, to the Bloomberg Professional service through its CME Group Foundation Financial Innovation Laboratory.