Rotman Market Simulation Challenge x UofT | January 16, 2025
Undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Toronto (St. George, Mississauga and Scarborough campus) are invited to participate in the 2025 Rotman Market Simulation Challenge x UofT (RMSC), formerly known as Rotman Online Trading Competition, sponsored and organized by the BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab at the Rotman School of Management (Rotman FRT-Lab), co-hosted by The Bridge at University of Toronto – Scarborough, and the Li Koon Chun Finance Learning Centre, at University of Toronto – Mississauga.
RMSC brings together teams of students to compete in a unique 1-day simulated market challenge where they test their skills in real-time from the safety of a structured learning environment. RMSC 2025 marks the 13th anniversary of this exciting tri-campus event competition.
The top 2 performing teams (4 students in total) will be invited to form the University of Toronto Team at the Rotman International Trading Competition 2025. The third place winning team will be added to the team as substitutes.
Registration Dates
Registration Opens
November 29th, 2024 at 12:00 pm (EST)
Registration Closes
December 15th, 2024 at 11:59 pm (EST)
Fees
This competition is free for UofT students.
Schedule
January 16th, 2025 | 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
- 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm | Introduction & Practice Session
- 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm | Competition Trading Session
- 4:00 pm – 4:30 pm | Awards Ceremony
Awards
1st Place -
Invitation to form the RITC 2025 team to represent University of Toronto
🥈2nd Place -
Invitation to form the RITC 2025 team to represent University of Toronto
3rd Place -
Invitation to form the RITC 2025 team to represent University of Toronto (as substitutes)
Practice Sessions (Virtual)
Prior to the competition, please join us for any of the 2 optional virtual practice sessions on the following dates:
- January 15th, 2025 at 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
- January 15th, 2025 at 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
*Meeting link will be sent to you via email upon registration.
Qualification
- Participants must be current undergraduate or graduate students in a degree program as of UofT’s 2024-2025 academic year.
- Two student members are required per team (Only 1 member needs to register per team).
- We encourage diverse and inclusive teams; while it is not mandatory, participating teams should be composed of different genders
- To compete in this competition, it is highly recommended that at least one of your team members is familiar and have used the RIT Market Simulator
Co-Curricular Record (CCR)
Once awarded with the Certificate, students may also claim for CCR recognition.
The Co-Curricular Record (CCR) is designed to help students find opportunities at U of T beyond the classroom and to have their skills and experiences captured on an official document. For more details about this CCR position, CLICK HERE.
Benefits of Co-Curricular Record (CCR) Recognition:
- Highlight and reflect on the skills you’ve gained.
- Get engaged in a variety of workshops and track your progress.
- Record your participation on an official university document.
- Connect with your CCR community, build your network, and enhance your resume.
If you are ready to claim your CCR, CLICK HERE.
Technical Requirements
- Please ensure RIT Market Simulator is installed on your device.
- Mac users can install a virtual lab on their computer for free. Click here for more information.
Location (Cross Campus Initiative)
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
Mississauga Campus
Li Koon Chun Finance Learning Centre
Innovation Complex
Room L1245, Lower Level
University of Toronto Mississauga
3359 Mississauga Road
Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6
Canada
Scarborough Campus
The BRIDGE Finance and Data Lab
Instructional Centre
Room IC 108
University of Toronto Scarborough
1095 Military Trail
Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4
Canada
Virtual
Online – Join via Microsoft Teams Meeting
*A meeting link will be sent to you via email upon registration
*Competition Day is Hybrid. If you plan to attend in-person, please attend the session at your home campus; space is limited.
Case Summaries
LIABILITY TRADING CASE
The Liability Trading Case challenges participants to test their critical thinking and analytical skills in an environment where they must evaluate the liquidity risk associated with various tender offers. Throughout the case, participants will encounter multiple tender offers, requiring quick decisions on whether to accept and execute, or reject each offer based on their profitability. Profits can be achieved by exploiting price differentials between market prices and private tender offers. Once a tender is accepted, participants should focus on efficiently closing out their large positions to maximize returns and minimize liquidity and market risks.
ALGORITHMIC MARKET MAKING CASE
The Algorithmic Market Making Case is designed to introduce participants to algorithmic strategies for market making, where the objective is to earn the bid-ask spread while providing liquidity for an individual stock. Participants will need to use their programming skills to develop algorithms with the RIT API to automate trading strategies and respond to changing market conditions. Throughout the case, these algorithms will submit orders to profit by earning the bid-ask spread and pursuing rebates through competitive limit orders that get filled. Given the high-frequency nature of the case, participants are encouraged to develop algorithms that can quickly adapt to rapid changes in market dynamics using their preferred programming languages.
Dress Code
RMSC is a professional business competition, so participants are expected to dress in business casual or business formal 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 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 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.