N. Murray Edwards Trading & Finance Lab opens at Haskayne School of Business

More photos available here. 

November 30, 2011

(Calgary, AB) – As one of the top three finance centres in Canada (along with Toronto and Montreal), Calgary has been lacking a trading floor/finance lab learning environment where students can learn the inner workings of the industry. That changed today, when the N. Murray Edwards Trading & Finance Lab opened at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary.

Construction on the lab – which will allow students to learn how to use trading information systems such as Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg to evaluate trades in stocks, bonds, and commodities – had been underway since the summer.

With title sponsor Murray Edwards ringing the ceremonial bell to start the trading day, the new lab got an early-morning test drive by a group of Haskayne students involved in the Calgary Portfolio Management Trust (CPMT) initiative. CPMT students manage a substantial equity portfolio, earning course credit as they build their skills in research, spreadsheet modeling, database management, portfolio tracking, teamwork, public relations, and investment strategy.

Located in Scurfield Hall, the new 18 seat lab will be utilized in Haskayne’s investment, risk management, and capital budgeting courses. Students from across the university will be able to access trading and risk management software and information in the lab for hands-on practice.

“This lab really excites me because it is on the third floor of my business school,” says Bachelor of Commerce student and Finance major Christian Erana. “I used to have to go elsewhere and wait in line to use the tools we now have here in the building. This lab will help improve the competitive advantage that University of Calgary students have, setting us all up for success when we graduate and seek employment in industry.”

Murray Edwards – Vice-Chairman of the Board of Canadian Natural Resources Limited, as well as owner and president of Edco Financial Holdings Ltd. – donated half a million dollars to the facility, which will carry his name. Other investors have each committed $35,000 to name the work stations in the lab: Leith Wheeler, National Bank of Canada, FirstEnergy Capital Corp., Peters & Co. Limited, BMO Financial Group, Goldman, Sachs & Co., and an alumni group from Haskayne’s Calgary Portfolio Management Trust Class of 1998.  

"The opening of the new trading and finance lab at University of Calgary is a recognition of the importance of giving back to the community of Calgary,” says Murray Edwards. “It is a contribution to the Haskayne School of Business for the leadership role it has in providing students with the financial tools they need to become future Calgarian and Canadian business leaders".

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Media Contact:

Julie Phillips
Haskayne School of Business
403.680.1054
julie.phillips@haskayne.ucalgary.ca