Photo caption: Pictured: (left to right) Tye Lawson (3rd place winner), Thomas Roura (Trading Competition winner), and Joshua Gard (2nd place winner), with Professor Jedrzej Bialkowski from UC Business School’s Department of Economics and Finance.
Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) recently hosted its annual UC Trading Competition, sponsored by CMC Markets. Organised by the Department of Economics and Finance in collaboration with the UCSA student club Investment Society (INVSOC), the competition provides students with a valuable platform to apply their financial knowledge in a real-world setting.
In the competition, 175 student teams, consisting of both individual participants and pairs, used virtual funds to trade cryptocurrencies, commodities, forex, and shares via the CMC Markets platform. During the three-week competition, students navigated a simulation of real-world financial markets.
Bachelor of Science student Thomas Roura, Bachelor of Engineering student Joshua Gard, and Bachelor of Commerce student Tye Lawson, took the top three places, achieving returns on investments (ROI) of 334.54%, 314.44%, and 259.02% respectively.
Looking back on the three-week trading challenge, top trader Thomas says it was a relentless experience. “Fighting for first place was a constant battle as everyone was actively making trades. The competition kept me on my toes as I constantly looked for trades to maintain my position on the leaderboard.”
Runner-up Joshua describes the competition as an opportunity to learn about risk taking. “It takes the risk out of investing but allows you to get a foot in the door, take risks that you normally wouldn’t take, and see the payoff that it can hold.”
Tye, who came in third place, says he felt both excitement and uncertainty during the competition. “There wasn’t too much strategy going on my end, but it was pretty crazy to see how fast your luck can change from having a good run to losing almost everything within the space of a few minutes.”
Students are provided with a rare, hands-on opportunity to apply course knowledge to real-world investment scenarios, offering more than just cash prizes for the winners.
UC Business School Finance lecturer Sanghyun Hong, who coordinated the competition for a third time, says he hopes the event will encourage students’ investment participation and learn about capital markets.
“At UC Business School, we are dedicated to providing experiential learning opportunities for our finance students,” said Hong. “While lectures offer students the foundational theory of investment, this experience lets them apply their knowledge in practice, enhancing their grasp of the complexities involved in managing risk and return.”
Professor Jedrzej Bialkowski from UC’s Department of Economics and Finance has over the years promoted the idea of trading challenges at UC. Noting the fact that the competition gives students a chance to apply their knowledge and skills in a real-world setting, he says that “It stimulates their interest in key forces moving international financial markets.”
As in previous years, the event was successfully organised by the Department of Economics and Finance at UC Business School with close collaboration with INVSOC lead by UC Master of Commerce student Courtney Comley. Chris Smith from CMC Markets provided the investment platform and generously donated $2000 in prize money.
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