Graduate College of Management Students Launch the Bloomberg Trading Challenge

By Anna G. Szczebak

A group of driven, UMass Boston students have organized the Bloomberg Trading Challenge (BTC), the only university investment competition to take place entirely within the Bloomberg Terminal. Bloomberg is a global company dedicated to connecting decision makers with accurate data and insights about the financial market. Its platform, the Bloomberg Terminal, is used by asset managers and policy architects in business, finance, and government all around the world.

Members of UMass Boston’s Graduate Student Managed Fund, Brian Walker (MSF) and Valentino Palmieri (MSF), alongside Laura Rodriguez, a member of UMass Boston’s Undergraduate Student Managed Fund, are working together to organize, launch, and run this challenge.

With the help of PhD candidates, Hugh Qiu and Faraz Moghimi, the group recruited nineteen teams from UMass Boston, Clark University, and Bryant University. Each team has been given remote access to the Bloomberg Lab, an on-campus center for the Bloomberg Terminal, at their respective universities. Over a period of seven weeks, from March 8 to April 23, each team will invest $1 million into US equities. The three teams with the highest return on investment (ROI), will present their findings to BTC participants and various professionals in the finance industry.

“Many finance students couldn’t get internships this past year due to COVID-19. Because of this, BTC is a valuable opportunity. It gives students a chance to learn the same skills they would have in a finance internship. Participants gain experience outside of the standard classroom setting and practice navigating the Bloomberg Terminal, a resource that is heavily utilized in the finance industry. BTC also adds to the participant’s portfolio of professional skills, improving their communication and research abilities,” explained Brian.