About
Rotman Commerce Trading Competition | November 10, 2023
Current undergraduate Rotman Commerce students are invited to participate in the Commerce Trading Competition hosted by the BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab at the Rotman School of Management (Rotman FRT-Lab).
Teams will compete in a unique simulated market challenge where they will navigate Decision Cases based on real-world conditions delivered on the industry-leading RIT Market Simulator platform. This is an exciting opportunity to test your collective decision-making skills in a safe environment and engage in a friendly competition with your peers!
Awards
1st Place
CAD $200
2nd Place
CAD $100
3rd Place
CAD $50
Registration Timeline
Qualification
- Participants must be current first to third year UofT undergraduate students in a degree program.
- Two student members are required per team.
- We encourage diverse and inclusive teams; each participating team should be composed of different genders.
Fees
- To reserve your spot, a member of the team must pay the member registration fees (C$10 CAD before fees & taxes) per person.
Schedule
- 9:00 am - 10:00 am | Introduction & Practice Session
- 10:00 am - 11:30 am | Competition Trading Session
- 11:30 am - 12:00 pm | Awards Ceremony
*After registration, please join us for an optional practice session on October 31st at 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm in-person at the lab.
Location
St. George Campus
BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab
Rotman School of Management
Room 290, North Building
105 St. George St.
Toronto, ON M5S 3E6
Canada
Case Summary
Liquidity Risk Case
The Liquidity Risk Case challenges participants to put their critical thinking and analytical abilities to test in an environment that requires them to evaluate the liquidity risk associated with tender offers. Participants will be faced with multiple tender offers throughout the Case. This will require participants to make rapid judgments on the profitability, subsequent acceptance and execution, or rejection, of each offer. Profits can be generated by taking advantage of price differentials between market prices and prices offered in the private tenders. Once any tender has been accepted, participants should aim to efficiently close out their large positions to maximize returns and minimize liquidity and market risks. In addition, participants learn about risk management by avoiding front-running and other speculative strategies, which are considered unethical and illegal trading practices that may incur fines.
Price Discovery Case
The objective of this case is to educate students on how markets serve as a platform for determining prices when multiple traders possess diverse information and perspectives on specific securities. By acting upon the information available to them, including insights derived from the market price of a security, traders should be able to successfully resolve the case and trade the security to its precise value before the case concludes.
This case further enhances the understanding of market equilibrium principles by introducing two tradable securities and an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The ETF is composed of one unit of each of the two securities, resulting in its value being equivalent to the combined value of these two securities. It is crucial for traders to recognize that the information derived from both securities directly impacts the value of the ETF. Consequently, the ETF’s value is expected to be more accurate than that of the individual securities. Traders should also be attentive to and capitalize on any arbitrage opportunities that may arise between the ETF and its underlying components.
Dress Code
Rotman Commerce Finance Association (RCFA) is a professional business competition, so participants are expected to dress in business casual or formal business attire.
Health and Safety | COVID-19
Competition participants are responsible for following health and safety measures where applicable. Individuals should report health and safety concerns to the competition committee via email at financelab[at]rotman.utoronto.ca, who will promptly review, assess and implement measures to address the concern where appropriate.
Measure to reduce risk of exposure:
- Individuals who are sick or who have COVID-19-related symptoms should stay home/hotel/accommodation.
- Isolate until there is no fever and symptoms improve for 24 hours (48 hours for gastrointestinal symptoms), regardless of testing results or no testing.
- Refer to: Ontario COVID-19 Self-Assessment and Procedures in the Event of a Confirmed Case and/or COVID-19 Symptoms.
- Avoid touching your face, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
- Wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Practice proper respiratory etiquette, such as sneezing and coughing into your elbow.
- Face masks are encouraged, and we ask everyone always to respect the decisions of others, their comfort levels, and their health needs.
Statement on Equity, Diversity, and Excellence
Equity and Human Rights
The purposes of this statement are to express the University’s values regarding equity and diversity, and relate these to the institution’s unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission.
At the University of Toronto, we strive to be an equitable and inclusive community, rich with diversity, protecting the human rights of all persons, and based upon understanding and mutual respect for the dignity and worth of every person. We seek to ensure to the greatest extent possible that all students and employees enjoy the opportunity to participate as they see fit in the full range of activities that the University offers, and to achieve their full potential as members of the University community.
Our support for equity is grounded in an institution-wide commitment to achieving a working, teaching, and learning environment that is free of discrimination and harassment as defined in the <em>Ontario Human Rights Code</em>. In striving to become an equitable community, we will also work to eliminate, reduce or mitigate the adverse effects of any barriers to full participation in University life that we find, including physical, environmental, attitudinal, communication or technological.
Diversity and Inclusiveness
Our teaching, scholarship, and other activities take place in the context of a highly diverse society. Reflecting the intersectionality in our community is uniquely valuable to Rotman, as it contributes to the diversification of thoughts, ideas, and perspectives that enrich our teaching, scholarship, and research activities. We will proactively seek to increase inclusion and feelings of belonging among our community members, with an aim to having a student body, teaching and administrative staff that mirror the diversity of qualified applicants. For more information, please click here.