Q1 What is the title of the finance student competition you may consider competing?

BNP Paribas’ ‘Ace Manager’ competition

Q2 Describe the eligibility requirements, if any (e.g., undergraduate college student).

Anyone can enter, but only teams of three students who are studying a master’s or bachelor’s degree and are aged less than 26 years old will be eligible for a prize.

Q3 What are the competition criteria?

It’s an online business game which takes place in a fictitious town called ‘Universe-City’ where (BNP says) ‘an extraordinary discovery unleash a series of unprecedented events’. Participating teams will have to carry out various tasks related to retail banking, asset management and corporate and investment banking which will be embedded in case studies relating to these events…

Q4 What is the deadline for the submission?

10th May 2020.

Q5 Why are you interested in this competition?

It is an online competition so you are able to compete whenever and wherever you choose.

Q6 What would be a possible project you may turn in for the competition? Describe it in at least 100 words.

There is no “project” you would turn in per say, its a simulation game so you would actively compete and home you do not get eliminated. You would do the things necessary to keep your bank happy and flowing based on the case studies you’re given. However I need to write 100 words so, the competition itself can be used as a project, showing multiple banking decisions and giving evidence behind each decision for it. A project can be made determining when there are strong Banking opportunities. Additionally, comparing numerous banks against one another could show strong and influential returns. If there is success in the competition, it can even be put on your resume as you look for employment.

Q7 List things that you learned in financial modeling course that could be helpful for your project in Q6. Describe it in at least 100 words.

I dont know of any like direct things that would help in my project but the importance of financial modeling for a business is huge. The importance of financial modeling is mainly rooted in its capability to enable better financial decisions within a firm. It is widely used by organizations for the purpose of future planning. By simulating the impact of important variables, financial modeling allows for scenario preparation so that organization knows its course of action in various situations that may arise. The use of stocks and financial graphing from the financial modeling course Is what did and will most benefit me moving forward. It give me the chance to easily provide visuals of all past data for almost all companies and present a picture for the future. bringing all the financial data from years past in one place is a great way to show where a company has made its gains historically, and you can use this to show the companies strengths. This will show you exactly what the company needs to improve on in the future and how they can become a better company or continue on the succesful paths.

Q8 List things that you learned in other finance courses at PSU that could be helpful for your project in Q6. Describe it in at least 100 words.

In my financial managment course we talked a lot about banking. Specfically balancing money which I feel would play a huge role in this competition. Doing the things necessary to keep everything running smoothly. In my business law class we did a plethera of case studies and because of that I would be able to handle the case studies they give me very well. I would be able to read the important stuff and blobk out the extra stuff. That is what i’ve been taught to do. In my many other accounting classes I have taken. I have learned about debit and credit Debit=credit financial statements budgeting Taxation Reporting and managing of accounts And most importantly We learn about how to use calculators fast and maintain a high speed of calculating big amounts. Which is all very beneficial in a banking oriented competition.

Q9 Check the finance blog below and see if you see any post that may be helpful for your project in Q6. Discuss how it can be helpful in at least 100 words. Hint: The author of the blog writes articles on financial analysis using R. https://rviews.rstudio.com/categories/reproducible-finance-with-r/

Im sure one of these blogs will help durring this competiton as of right now. I don’t know my case study yet so I wouldn’t really be able to use that information to the full extent. I can see where if you were doing something similar that those could help you find a way to factor out information for what you are looking for. If I had to just make up somthing I guess I would choose “Momentum Investing with R”. In the post the writer tries to explain an investment strategy called momentum in the most simple basic form he can. The strategy is all about buying high and then selling higher on stocks that have been performing well and are likely to continue to do so whcih to me is common knowledge. I mean if you werent going to do that why would you invest in the first place. The whole thing starts by looking into the past and determining if a stock has reached a certain number to determine whether or not it is worth buying. Which is just doing your research and looking at its history. Using the chart can help you decide where to invest the banks money.

Q10 List things that you think could be helpful but not taught/offered at PSU finance courses. Discuss how it can be helpful in at least 100 words.

I feel that PSU needs a class specifically to teach college students about the stock market and proper ways to invest. A lot of college kids have no money because they don’t know how to make money grow. By teaching students to invest, money would not be a huge issue in college. The stock market is such an important and prosperous part of America that everyone should get equal opportunity to invest at a young age and see your money grow over time. Your bank account should grow up with you as you get older, not deplete on frivolous spending. I also feel as though we should have a class that teaches taxes. Most college students don’t understand taxes or how they work. Taxes can also be very confusing so getting an early jump on it in college would be a huge help. Im sure an intro to taxes course would be very beneficial to any student at PSU.