Mathison Hall Trading and Finance Lab
The Lab was created to assist students with finance data management and trading software.
The Trading and Finance Lab provides data management software (Bloomberg, Factset and S&P CapitalIQ) to students to let them hone their skills on these products. Students participating in the Calgary Management Portfolio Trust (CMPT) and the UCeed Haskayne Student Fund (UCeed) use these products to assist in the management of their portfolios.
A donation from N. Murray Edwards and other generous donors provided initial funding for the original trading and finance lab which was located in Scurfield Hall.
The Lab also provides students with trading software to help them develop their skills in making good decisions facing uncertainty. Students using this software have competed very successfully at international trading competitions.
The original lab was championed by Dr. Gordon Sick, Professor Emeritus of Finance at Haskayne. Dr. Sick provided ideas and direction on the design of that lab, the software it used and areas where it could be beneficial to students within Haskayne.
Financial data software is generously supported by Mawer Investment Management.
Financial Data Software
Bloomberg, Factset and S&P Capital IQ provide students with access to financial data to develop their analytic skills.
Trading Software
The Rotman Interactive Trader (RIT) uses a trading simulation platform to help students develop good decision making skills facing market uncertainty.
Courses
FNCE 449 is held in the Lab during Fall Block Week. Financial data is used in FNCE 471 (CPMT), FNCE 461 (UHSF) and the trading software has been used in ENMG 485.
Joel Adams, BSc’18 (Mechanical Engineering), Crude Oil Analyst, Tervita Corporation
Without the N. Murray Edwards Trading and Finance Lab, I would have never been able to start my career the way I have. My first opportunity after university was working at the world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, in the Greater New York City area. I was able to obtain this opportunity because of the Haskayne Trading team organized by Gordon Sick in the lab.
The lab creates a melting pot of the most talented students from across the University of Calgary. In recent years it's been a place for business, engineering, computer science, and math students interested in finance and broadening their learning. This gathering of talent creates a self-reinforcing cycle of learning and improvement that wouldn't be possible with a standard computer lab.”
Felicia Specht, BComm’17 (Finance), Commodity Risk Analyst, BP Canada
I took Finance 449 in the fall of 2015. This course covers how to research using Bloomberg and Eikon as well as more advanced financial analysis. I used these skills in other Finance courses, as well as for preparing financial analysis for term projects in my other business courses. As President of the Haskayne Finance Club in the 2016/2017 year, I used the lab to introduce my club members to financial research using Bloomberg and Eikon.
Through the block week course and RITC I developed better research, analytical, modelling, and excel skills. These skills not only helped me provide stronger analysis in my business courses but gave me the competitive edge that landed me my first role upon graduation.”
Daniel Bezdek, BComm ’13 (Finance), BSc ’18, Artificial Intelligence Researcher, Riskfuel Analytics
The Trading and Finance Lab was an unparalleled place for me to acquire technical prowess and start a career in quantitative finance. Within the University of Calgary, I would say that I learned the most in the trading lab. For me it was not just a place to study for courses, it was the place I could experiment with modelling ideas and personal projects on real data. There were several other students with the same mindset and the lab became a place of intellectually stimulating discussions. For many of us, the lab was the place where our career journey started!