May the highest profit win!

College of Business and Law students have competed for the highest profit margin in our annual Trading Competition.

The third instalment of the School of Economics, Finance and Marketing’s Trading Competiton was held during the mid-year semester break in our RMIT Trading Facility at our city campus.

The event was sponsored by CFA Society Melbourne. It is part of the Finance Professional Network by RMIT and CFA Society Melbourne, and Mike Aked, the RMIT Chair of CFA Society Melbourne, was on campus to represent the industry partner’s involvement.

Once the competition began, 35 students worked in groups of two or three, acting as brokers or banks in a major foreign exchange dealing room, battling it out to generate as much profit by making simulated currency trades based on live market data.

Congratulations to Team 12, Lazarus Olsen-Wilken, James Mawson and Lucas Santilli, who finished with the highest amount of profit.

Well done, also, to the runners-up, Team 14, Le Ba Thai Nam, Truong Hao Thang and Vu Tung Son.

Master of Finance student, Abishek Sharma, said the opportunity to use the Trading Facility, and the data provided by Refinitiv (London Stock Exchange), was extremely valuable for his future career prospects.

“Working in the Refinitiv workspace and using real-time data gives us an idea of the conditions we will face in real-world situations, which is a unique opportunity provided to us by RMIT,” he said.

“I highly recommend students who want to be in the finance field to take part in the competition next year, if you want to see how trading works in real-time situations.”

Ly Han, a Bachelor of International Business, decided to enter the competition with her friends to review her knowledge of trading and finance, as a supplement to her current degree.

“I really enjoyed the competition as I could review what I have previously learned and build on my knowledge of the foreign exchange market,” she said.

Ly also highlighted team management as a skill she felt the competition helped her to practice.

“You’re under pressure to finish each transaction under 1 minute and 15 seconds, so we need to have good communication with your teammates,” she said.

Students sitting at computers with trading information on screens hanging from the ceiling

The RMIT Trading Facility (RTF) is amongst the largest tertiary-based facility of its type in Australia.

RMIT Trading Facility Manager and Senior Lecturer, Tim Pfitzner, said the competition was a great success, noting the enthusiasm of the students was infectious.

“I've had lots of feedback afterwards about how much they've enjoyed the day,” he said.

“I've seen some great profits being generated, but most of all I've seen some real learnings come through in the students and what they got out of today.”

35 students crowded in the Trading Facility with certificates of participation

35 students took advantage of the state-of-the-art trading facility RMIT has to offer.

Tim believes the competition is a great blend of real-world experience and engagement.

“No matter what finance background or knowledge you have, this is a fun competition,” he said.

“You come, you learn a lot, you learn valuable job skills, but you also have a lot of fun while you’re competing... it is critical to us that students have a positive experience.”

Find out more about the RMIT Trading Facility.

Story: Sheridan van Gelderen

11 August 2023

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May the highest profit win!