The ESG Trading Initiative
A Learning Experience supported by
HSBC and the BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab
January 23, 2023 – July 30, 2023
Participants must be current undergraduate or graduate students in a degree program at a publicly funded university in:
United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and Algeria.
The ESG Trading Initiative 2023
HSBC and the BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab (Rotman FRT-Lab) at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto have partnered to present the ESG Trading Initiative, an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students from United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, and Algeria to perfect their investment and leadership skills using the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rating as a guide to steer their portfolios towards sustainable finance.
In a safe – yet high stakes – environment, teams will represent their countries and universities in two complementary competitions that have been customized to reward a focus on ESG transition and ratings: The Rotman Portfolio Management Competition @ HSBC (RPMC@HSBC), and the Rotman International Trading Competition @ HSBC (RITC@HSBC).
Each competition offers unique hands-on experience with its own Rotman FRT-Lab software: the Rotman Portfolio Manager (RPM) platform, and the RIT Market Simulator (RIT) platform with its associated Decision Cases. Teams are challenged to sort through vast quantities of information to find actionable insights, using the problem-solving abilities that are required by today’s toughest global business challenges.
The ESG Trading Initiative centers on sustainability, collaboration and playing to win, fostering a business mindset for an increasingly competitive world.
Objectives
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Experience applying finance and market-related knowledge in real-life situations, considering ESG factors and compliance.
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Understanding of how the finance industry works in real-time alongside like-minded peers.
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Seminars with some of the industry's most respected professionals.
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Familiarity with order-driven markets and (limit and market) order types.
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Exposure to the liquidity of markets and the impact of trading costs.
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Experience in a realistic borrowing environment that allows for margin loans and short selling to understand the implications of margin trading.
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Familiarity with a trading interface that resembles real transactional software used by financial institutions.
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Understanding of how order-driven markets contribute to price discovery.
Approach
The cases represent various scenarios of risk and opportunity, with a focus on specific investment, portfolio or risk management objectives. Participants will be challenged to handle a wide range of market environments. The competition is composed of access to the RIT server, 3 Practice Sessions, three learning sessions, and the Competition Day using three cases: ESG Case, Liquidity Case, Commodities Case.
Participants may short-sell any securities and trade on margin, and need to be able to build a strategy to manage a portfolio of securities with acceptable ESG scores. Selected top-performing teams will be invited to virtually present their strategies and performance results to a panel of judges to determine the overall winner. The acceptable ESG score will be defined by the judging panel.
Selected top-performing teams will be invited to virtually present their strategies and performance results to a judging panel to determine the overall winner. The judging panel will define acceptable ESG scores.
The ESG Trading Initiative will help students develop the future skills they need to thrive.
Prizes
Overall ranking - ESG Trading Initiative@HSBC
$10,000
1st Place
$6,000
2nd Place
$4,000
3rd Place
$1,000
4th Place
$1,000
5th Place
$1,000
6th Place
$1000
7th Place
RITC@HSBC Ranking
$1,000
ESG Decision Case Best Performer award
$1,000
Best Performing Team award
$1,000
Liquidity Risk Case Best Performer award
RPMC@HSBC Ranking
$1,000
RPMC@HSBC Best Performing Team award
$1,000
RPMC@HSBC Best ESG Portfolio Manager award
$1,000
RPMC@HSBC Best ESG Portfolio Strategy
Registration
Registration
November 8, 2022
9:00 am EST
Information Session
Virtual
January 12, 2023
9:00 am EST
Registration Closes & Team Slide Due
Virtual
Rotman Portfolio Management Competition x HSBC 2023
RPMC@HSBC 2023
February 1, 2023
6:30 am EST
Virtual
March 16, 2023
9:00 am EST
RPMC@HSBC Practice Session 1
Virtual
April 13, 2023
9:00 am EST
RPMC@HSBC Practice Session 2
Virtual
April 27, 2023
9:00 am EST
RPMC@HSBC Practice Session 3
Virtual
May 11, 2023
9:00 am EST
RPMC@HSBC Practice Session 4
Hybrid
June 15, 2023
9:00 am EST
RPMC@HSBC Portfolio Management Period Closes
June 24, 2023
9:00 am EST
RPMC@HSBC Portfolio Strategy Presentation – upload
Virtual
Rotman International Trading Comeptition x HSBC 2023
RITC@HSBC 2023
July 13, 2023
2:00 pm (UTC +4)
RITC@HSBC Practice Session 1 & Portfolio Strategy Presentation
Kuwait (in-person)
July 17, 2023
2:00 pm (UTC+4)
RITC@HSBC Practice Session 2 & Portfolio Strategy Presentation
U.A.E. (in-person)
July 20, 2023
2:00 pm (UTC +3)
RITC@HSBC Practice Session 3 & Portfolio Strategy Presentation
Egypt (in-person)
July 22, 2023
9:00 am (UTC +3)
RITC@HSBC Competition Day & Awards Ceremony
Hybrid (in-person: Egypt)
Qualifications
- Participants must be current undergraduate or graduate students in a degree program at a publicly funded university in United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and Algeria.
- A maximum of 6 teams per university is allowed.
- 4 Members are required per Team.
- 1 Faculty advisor per team or multiple teams from the same department/unit ( an advisory and non-competitive role).
- We encourage diverse and inclusive teams (EDI statement)
- ESGTI 2022 alumni are welcome to return as team members to coach and mentor their colleagues.
- We encourage teams to include new members.
To register, please follow the steps in the registration process below (Step 1 and Step 2) outlined below. Please note that both steps are required to reserve a spot for the team.
Registration process
If you are interested to know more about the registration process, you are welcome to join our Registration Information Session on November 8 at 08:00 am EST (Eastern Standard Time). Click here to register. Otherwise, please proceed to the registration process below.
Step 1: Team Registration Form
Step 2: Team Slide
Scoring and Evaluation
RITC@HSBC 2023
The Rotman International Trading Competition @ HSBC will be scored based on a ranking methodology designed to translate absolute performance into relative performance by the use of a ranking system. This ranking system is designed to discourage participants from “betting the house” in one heat and generating very large absolute profits that will result in a clear win of the entire competition. Instead, participants’ absolute performance in each heat is converted into a series of ordinal ranks which are subsequently converted into a final case ranking.
RPMC@HSBC 2023
The Rotman Portfolio Management Competition @ HSBC will be scored on a performance basis measured by the Sharpe Ratio. Once the ‘Portfolio Management Period’ is over, selected top-performing teams will be required to deliver a presentation on their investment results and strategies to a judging panel of portfolio managers and investment professionals. The team performance will be evaluated based on both strategy presentation and portfolio performance on a weighted average basis.
Teams will be first evaluated by their Sharpe Ratio and ESG score performance. Selected top-performing teams will be invited to present their strategies and performance results in front of the judging panel to determine the overall winner. Any penalties will result in a score deduction when computing the ranking.
Statement on Equity, Diversity, and Excellence
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.
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 Ontario Human Rights Code. 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 this diversity in our own community is uniquely valuable to the University as it contributes to the diversification of ideas and perspectives and thereby enriches our scholarship, teaching and other activities. We will proactively seek to increase diversity among our community members, and it is our aim to have a student body and teaching and administrative staffs that mirror the diversity of the pool of potential qualified applicants for those positions.
For more information, please click here.