About the Rotman Market Simulation Challenge (RMSC)
The Rotman Market Simulation Challenge is a one-day competition designed to test the participant’s financial acumen, strategic thinking, and teamwork skills in a dynamic, real-world environment.
The participants will be tasked in navigating a simulated market environment, making strategic decisions to maximize returns on your investment portfolio. Participants will be presented with real-time data, news updates, and market trends, requiring you to adapt swiftly to changing conditions.
Similar to the Rotman International Trading Competition, the primary goal of the competition is to give students the opportunity to apply theory to actual markets. A briefing session will acquaint participants with the rules, mechanics, and objectives of the competition.
Throughout the event, teams will engage in multiple rounds of simulated trading, each representing a distinct market scenario. The teams will analyze data, formulate trading strategies, and execute trades within the allocated time frame for each round. And finally, in the conclusion of the competition, there will be a debriefing session where participants can reflect on their performance and learn from the experience.
Students will be evaluated on three main criteria:
- Financial Performance: The effectiveness of their trading decisions and the overall performance of their investment portfolio.
- Strategic Thinking: The quality of their strategic analysis, risk management, and ability to capitalize on market opportunities.
- Teamwork: Collaboration, communication, and coordination within their team to achieve common objectives.
Note: University of Toronto Students may attend the RMSC x UofT (formerly known as Rotman Online Trading Competition).
Interested in a collaboration with Rotman?
We appreciate your interest in collaborating on a competition with the BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.
Whether your organization envisions a modest competition involving 30 students or a grand-scale event with over 500 participants, whether it’s conducted in person or virtually, rest assured, we possess the expertise to transform your vision into reality.
Renowned for our flagship event, the Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC), which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024, and many other competitions such as Rotman Portfolio Management Competition (RPMC), Rotman Online Trading Competition (ROTC), High School Market Simulation Challenge (HSMSC), and the Rotman Market Simulation Challenges series; we’ve established ourselves as pioneers in investment simulations.
Our competitions attract top-tier students from across the globe, providing them with an immersive experience in real-time financial market dynamics. Hosted by the esteemed Rotman School of Management, consistently ranked among the world’s finest business schools, and backed by a distinguished finance faculty, we’re situated in the vibrant heart of Canada’s economic hub. As part of the University of Toronto, a leading research-intensive institution, we’re committed to fostering excellence and innovation.
Participating in such competitions offer invaluable opportunities for individuals to refine both their investment acumen and leadership prowess within a controlled yet high-stakes environment. Teams are tasked with navigating through vast data sets to extract actionable insights, honing the problem-solving skills crucial for addressing today’s most complex global business challenges. Collaboration and strategic gameplay lie at the core of these competitions, shaping a new paradigm for business thinking in an increasingly competitive landscape.
The RMSC is a competition framework that can be implemented either onsite or remotely.
RMSC's Learning Objectives & Highlights
Providing these competitions is a great learning opportunity for all parties involved. Students, academic faculty, and sponsors gain invaluable experience as a result of co-hosting.
STUDENTS
Apply finance and market related knowledge to real-life situations, have an opportunity to see how the finance industry works, hear from some of the industry’s most respected professionals, learn from each other in both competition and social settings.
FACULTY
Have an opportunity to observe the event while coaching the students, take part in a workshop where the main topic for discussion will be integrating theory and practice in the classroom.
SPONSORS
Have an opportunity to build their brand recognition with some of the brightest students entering the financial markets industry, have a chance to meet face-to-face with students and discuss potential job opportunities.
Value
RMSC Value to Universities
Universities co-hosting the RMSC will gain several advantages from the collaborative efforts involved. These include forming an RITC team, engaging actively with their community, and offering the RMSC as a co-curricular activity. This initiative will provide more community members with the opportunity to participate in RITC activities, thereby helping them build the necessary knowledge and experience. Such preparations will ensure participants are better equipped and ready for their roles within the RITC.
RMSC Value to Students
RMSC activities provide students with valuable learning experience in teamwork, individual, and group responsibility. They also promote an understanding of competition structure, activities, and create awareness of areas of improvement to achieve the best results in RITC. Furthermore, extracurricular activities serve as a practical extension of classroom learning, allowing students to apply academic skills in real-world scenarios, thereby contributing to a well-rounded education. Additionally, students have the opportunity to acquire or improve their skills in various competitive disciplines.
Questions?
For more information about how to get involved and how the cost structure works, contact us at financelab@rotman.utoronto.ca. We would be happy to set up a meeting with your organization to discuss further.
Rotman School of Management
A Global Leader in Management Education
The Rotman School of Management is part of the University of Toronto, a global center of research and teaching excellence at the heart of Canada’s commercial capital. Rotman is a catalyst for transformative learning, insights and public engagement, bringing together diverse views and initiatives around a defining purpose: to create value for business and society.
Ideally situated in Canada’s largest city, U of T is at the heart of the third-largest financial center, fourth-largest health sciences community and third largest biotechnology cluster in North America. Rotman is committed to leveraging our location for the mutual benefit of the University and city.
Through strategic partnerships with multi-national corporations, NGO’s, and governments both local, national and international, we are forging relationships that ignite leadership potential, accelerate the transfer of knowledge and increase economic prosperity in our city, region, across Canada and internationally.
The Lab
The BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab
The BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Trading Lab at the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management in the University of Toronto is a state-of-the-art facility that focuses on the integration of theory and research with practice. Research databases and real-time access to global financial resources allow students to link classroom lessons to actual securities and markets. In addition, our custom-designed suite of instructional products uses interactive simulations to develop skills for making good financial decisions when faced with uncertainty about future outcomes.
RITC
About the Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC)
This annual competition takes place every February of each year. The competition brings together students and faculty from universities across the world to take part in a simulated market challenge. Students participate in various activities from trading sessions to seminars featuring industry practitioners.
The Rotman International Trading Competition presents business students with the opportunity to use classroom knowledge about financial markets in a dynamic trading environment in the Rotman School’s BMO Financial Group Finance Research and Training Lab. This state-of-the-art facility is a fully equipped finance lab designed to promote experiential learning in the area of financial markets, risk management and investment strategies. The competition cases are implemented over the highly acclaimed Market Simulator and associated Decision Cases, a market simulation platform being used in over 50 universities and money management firms around the world.
The teams of students engage in competitive trading in many simulated types of markets: factor modeling, news driven analysis, and algorithmic and liquidity trading. The RITC team customizes specific trading cases to make the competition as challenging as possible.
The in-person competition events usually include: a sales and trader liquidity trading case, a commodity trading case, a credit risk case, a volatility trading case and an algorithmic trading case. Teams’ scores are based on the aggregate results across the different trading cases.
The primary goal of the competition is to give students the opportunity to apply theory to actual markets. RITC provides a forum for students to interact with each other and learn from each other’s experiences and opinions.
In 2021 and 2022, given the challenges of the current pandemic situation around the world and in the spirit of continuity and competition, we hosted Rotman International Trading Competition in its first virtual format, we had great success with 200 students representing 45 universities from Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, such as Harvard University, New York University, UCLA, Texas A&M University, and many more.
THE ROTMAN FINANCE ANALYTICS AND DECISION-MAKING LEAGUE (RFADML)
RMSC is part of a bigger, groundbreaking initiative at Rotman School of Management—the Rotman Finance Analytics and Decision-Making League (RFADML). This initiative is designed to blend experiential learning with real-world financial challenges and innovations, setting a new standard in finance education.
Rotman Market Simulation Challenges (RMSC), Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC) , Rotman Portfolio Management Competition (RPMC) and Excel Hackathon are part of this initiative. Which means all students participating in RMSC will be eligible to take advantage of the benefits offered by the umbrella initiative. RFADML, that includes qualification points for more awards and rewards, expanded knowledge acquisition via the different kind of academic components, and broader reach to network opportunities including other participants and sponsors.
It is not mandatory to attend the whole RFADML components you can still only participate in RMSC and RITC, and still achieve great results and enjoy the learning experience. Participating in RFADML will amplify the experience because it will include more activities, themes and different kinds of learning experiences that will address skills and theories participants need to have in order to excel in their career. Click here to learn more.
Note: University of Toronto Students may attend the RMSC x UofT (formerly known as Rotman Online Trading Competition) to earn points for RFADML.
Why You Should Participate in RFADML
Engage with Real-World Financial Challenges
Apply academic theories to tackle genuine financial issues using advanced analytics.
Innovative Problem Solving
Create cutting-edge solutions for the finance industry using data analytics and machine learning.
Expert Mentorship
Receive guidance and insights from industry leaders and academic experts.
Professional Networking
Connect with peers, professionals, and potential employers in finance and technology sectors across the world.
Skill Enhancement
Improve your analytical, strategic, and technical skills in a competitive setting.
Join Us and Make an Impact in RFADML
This is your opportunity to be part of a pioneering league that promises not only to challenge but also to enhance your career prospects in the ever-evolving financial sector. Whether you’re a student eager to apply your knowledge or a professional aiming to refine your skills, RFADML is the platform to showcase your talents and learn from the best. Click here to learn more.
Questions?
For more information about how to get involved and how the cost structure works, contact us at financelab@rotman.utoronto.ca. We would be happy to set up a meeting with your organization to discuss further.