The Montréal Exchange Launches Educational Programs

A new University Partnership program aims to raise students’ interest in derivatives

16 Apr, 2012 6:00

Written by David Lin

The Montréal Exchange has recently launched a new university partnership program geared towards students interested in finance, particularly in the area of derivatives. The partnership has two branches: a bursary component and an options trading component.

The Montréal Exchange has recently launched a new university partnership program geared towards students interested in finance, particularly in the area of derivatives. The partnership has two branches: a bursary component and an options trading component.

With this program, the Montréal Exchange will be reaching out to seven universities in Quebec, namely McGill, Concorida, HEC, UQAM , UQRT, Université de Sherbrooke, and Université Laval.

A Unique Initiative

The TMX will evaluate in the long term on the feasibility of reaching business schools outside of Quebec, and potentially even outside of Canada.

According to Stephanie Berthiaume, Marketing Manager of the TMX Group, “relationships the Montréal Exchange has had with students has been very informal in the past. The goal was to get closer to the educational community in an effort to spread the word about options….particularly the opportunities within the options market here in Canada.”

Josiane Lanoue, Business Development Manager of the Montréal Exchange explains that there are over 2000 jobs in Montreal related to derivatives, so “making students aware of the Canadian derivatives markets helps the Montréal Exchange reach [its] goal of positioning [itself] as the derivatives platform in Canada. ”

The Montréal Exchange’s contribution to education extends beyond the options simulations and bursaries; under the University Partnership umbrella, the Exchange will also be supplying member schools with a derivatives learning package, originally created for retail investors, aimed to be a supplement to classroom materials.

Scholars Program

The program is offering two bursaries at the graduate and postgraduate levels for $15,000 and $20,000, respectively. The bursaries would be granted to graduates pursuing degrees in finance, law, mathematics, financial engineering, economics, or any other related discipline. Eligible candidates would be registered in a full-time graduate program at a university in Quebec. The purpose of this bursary is to aid recipients in their research project. The duration of the bursary will last one academic year, after which candidates are welcome to re-apply.

The selection jury will include two vice-presidents of the Montréal Exchange, as well as a lawyer, a guest teacher, and an industry professional. Candidates will only be considered on the basis of their academic excellence.

Candidates will be required to submit a summary of their research project, along with a CV, transcript, two letters of recommendation, and a letter of motivation. The research project should be pertinent to the areas of derivatives and risk management.

Required documents should be submitted to [email protected] by May 16,2012. There will be an information session on Thursday, May at 5:00pm in the Auditorium of the Montréal Exchange.

Options Trading Simulation

The Montréal Exchange will be hosting their first trading simulation open to any undergraduate student in Quebec who specializes in finance. This innovative simulation tests students on their abilities to trade derivatives to maximize returns over a ten-week time horizon. Simulations will be hosted every semester (except summer) for the next five years.

The first trade will begin on October 1st, 2012, and end on November 30th, during which time teams will be trading with a virtual portfolio of $100,000. Trades will be done in real time through an options simulator that will be made available on the Montréal Exchange website.

The teams are to consist of at least two students, with no restrictions on the maximum size of the team.

Each team will be given five options strategies that they will have to execute throughout the ten-week trading period. The options portfolio will be constructed from choosing eight classes from a list of the most actively traded options classes in Canada.

Lanoue says, “There are many trading simulations offered by schools out there, and for us, it was important to [host] a simulation with an educational side to it. So not only will the winner be determined by the return of the portfolio, they will also be evaluated based on the completion of the [trading] strategies that were requested of them.”

The winning team will be awarded a $10,000 cash prize.

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