Traders triumph away from home

Cardiff Business School teams take top two places in fast-paced trading competition held at Coventry Business School.

Four Cardiff Business School students, all members of the Cardiff Finance & Trading Society, have outperformed 16 other teams from across the UK to place first and second at the UK Universities Foundation Trading Competition.

The Competition, hosted by Coventry Business School, pitted 18 teams of two against each other in a range of simulated trading activities before facing a panel of professional traders.

Cardiff’s winning team was made up of Ahmed Laajam and Elliot Marshall, second and first year Economics & Finance students respectively. Their prize is a three day trading course in London which will be facilitated by Amplify Trading.

In second place were Joel Smith, first year Banking & Finance student and Maximilian Schulze Wenning, second year Economics & Finance student and President of the Cardiff Finance & Trading Society.

The structure of the competition demanded high-levels of skill, insight and concentration. It included four stages of activity and utilised the Global Investors trading software.

• Stage one – Designed to reflect a day trading situation
• Stage two – Simulated a week of trading activity
• Stage three – Designed to reflect the role of a portfolio manager
• Stage four – Present team strategy and approach to trading to a panel of professionals

Maximilian Schulze Wenning said: “I’d like to congratulate Ahmed and Elliott on their outstanding achievement. For Cardiff to place first and second, beating off stiff competition from other teams, is a credit to the Finance & Trading Society, the School and its excellent facilities.”

Dr Zhirong Ou, lecturer in Economics at Cardiff Business School, added: “This is a fantastic achievement and Ahmed, Elliot, Joel and Max should be very proud of themselves. The Finance & Trading Society is a great student led initiative that allows them to develop and enhance their class based learning and practise.

“The Trading Room facility is a designed to give students a real-world simulation of a trading floor, helping them to hone their knowledge, skills and trading style.”

Cardiff Business School is committed to providing its students with a competitive advantage in the professional world and is focused on balancing academic theory with practical application. The 60 seat Trading Room is integral to providing finance students with practical experience. The facility is used extensively during formal teaching but is also available for independent and group use.