UWI boosts business education with MSBM Finance Lab
Thanks to a relatively new facility the university is touting as the the first and only of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean to date, students at The University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona have ready access to real-time financial market data for the purpose of creating their own investment portfolios and developing trading strategies for educational purposes.
It’s a finance lab housed in The Mona School of Business and Management (MSBM). Commissioned in October 2015, the lab features Bloomberg terminals domiciled on the campus and Stock Trak &Copy; Global Portfolio Simulator — a virtual trading platform that can be accessed with Internet connectivity.
It provides a range of services that include analytics, communication and a wide array of economic data.
According to Dr Twila-Mae Logan, acting deputy executive director at MSBM, “The Bloomberg terminals are exactly the same that are available to traders and other market users in the real world of finance. However, we have an educational licence, hence, some of the features are disabled. Notwithstanding this, the vast majority of the features and all the ones that are required to fully expose participants to functionalities of the real world and for classroom instructions are available through the lab.”
With the Bloomberg terminals, students have access to up-to-the minute news from around the world, including Jamaica. The terminals also offer an array of information on financial matters like volatility indices, global benchmarks, all the major market indices, a trading platform, and a wide range of portfolio analysis tools.
As such, students can find current, projected and past financial statements of publicly traded companies across the globe, as well as those listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
“Other proprietary Bloomberg functions such as scenario/stress testing of portfolios are available on these terminals,” Logan told the Jamaica Observer by email.
The Stock Trak &Copy; virtual terminal facilitates simulated trading in securities, bonds, equities and derivatives in North American, European and Asian markets. That is, it allows for a “real-life feel”, but prices quoted are delayed by 20 minutes.
“The major benefit is the opportunity for the students to experience real-world technology and to complete the Bloomberg Market Concepts. The students are able to integrate theoretical concepts with real-world experiences simultaneously,” Logan stated.
In a practical sense, students are able to conduct analysis of stock offerings, quotes, currency exchange rates, and perform technical and fundamental analysis in a manner similar to securities dealers, business analysts, investment managers, and financial advisers.
Asked what has been the response from students, Logan responded that most appreciate the opportunity to experience the Bloomberg terminals and Stock Trak &Copy; Global Portfolio Simulator, especially those registered to sit Bloomberg Market Concepts.
And though housed at the business school, the deputy executive director indicated that “any student, graduate or undergraduate that is registered in any MBSM course can use the lab, regardless of the student’s faculty or major”.
Students use the MSBM Finance Lab to help with courses such as economics, financial reporting, corporate finance, investment analysis and portfolio management, equity and fixed income pricing, derivatives and alternative investments.
The Finace Lab brings the school’s technical infrastructure on par with leading international business schools, according to a release from MSBM.
In fact, with the technology, the school won the International Innovation Award at the AMBA Excellence Awards 2018 in London last month, outranking schools such as Amsterdam Business School (Netherlands), IEEM Business School (Uruguay), Queensland University Graduate School of Business (Australia), and Imperial College Business School and Westminster Business School (UK).
Sponsored in part by The Wall Street Journal and hosted by the Association of MBAs, the award celebrates the quality and achievements of postgraduate business education at the forefront of leadership excellence, recognising the talents and contributions made by AMBA-accredited schools and their students. The award ceremony was attended by 193 business school leaders representing 74 schools and 24 countries across the world.
Commenting on the award, MSBM Acting Executive Director Michael Williams said: “We’re overjoyed. AMBA is an elite group, and to be awarded number one is an honour indeed for our school. The award increases the school’s credibility and builds our reputation. We are pleased to have an organisation such as AMBA acknowledge our work.”