The Research School of Finance, Actuarial Studies and Statistics (RSFAS) has agreed to support and fund a select number of student teams within RSFAS to participate in the McGill Portfolio Competition. Teams are to be formed by students, with a team comprising three to four members. Team formations are all voluntary, and are not restricted by program or course enrolment.
Information on RSFAS funding is as follows:
− First round: The School will fund the first-round registration fees for up to four teams. If more than four teams express interest, a case will be handed out to the teams and a competition will be held to select the top teams that will receive funding from the School.
− Second round: The School will fund one team to compete in the second round of the competition. Should more than one team be successful in progressing to the second round, the School will hold a competitive process to select the top team to receive funding.
Students are encouraged to take up this opportunity to apply what they learn in class to solving a real-world problem. Please email expressions of interest (EOI), including the names and ID numbers of all students in the team, to anna.vonreibnitz@anu.edu.au and hua.deng@anu.edu.au by 5pm, 3 August 2018.
Information from the organizing committee of MIPC is contained below:
The MIPC has cash prize rewards of C$50,000, a figure that makes this competition one of the most lucrative university competitions in the world. A C$25,000 prize will be awarded to the winning team and an additional C$25,000 in prize money will be shared amongst the other finalists.
MIPC was created to shift the focus of case competitions to the buy side of finance. It is also meant to address and find creative, academic solutions to the retirement-savings shortfall and the global dilemma of underfunded pension plans. For the competition, teams are given a realistic case study of a severely underfunded pension fund. Teams need to examine the fund’s health, and then skillfully construct an innovative portfolio that ensures the fund’s sustainability. Along the way, participants must consider factors like risk management, taxes, as well as the interests of the various stakeholders of pension plans.
We are encouraging the best and brightest students from across the globe to compete and submit solutions to the 2018 MIPC, which will take place next fall. The case is released in early September, submissions are due in early October, and then the top 25 teams will be officially invited to Montreal for the final round of the challenge in early November.
This competition is open to undergraduates and graduate students alike, and last year we received submissions from many exceptional universities in Canada, the USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia. No previous experience with pensions is necessary — we encourage all university students with a demonstrated interest in the buy side of finance to participate.
The top 25 teams will pitch their solutions to an expert panel of judges representing the world’s largest asset management firms. MIPC is presented in partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and more of the world’s premier institutional investors like BlackRock. With our impressive group of sponsors, MIPC is the ideal recruiting platform for students.
For additional information, please visit our website at mipc.ca.