Queen's University Trading and Investment Club and Student Managed Fund

Description of impact

Queen’s University Trading and Investment Club (QUTIC) and Queen’s Student Managed Fund (QSMF) were launched in 2012 as extra-curricular activities to develop student investment skills and maximise the educational benefits of the school’s newly established, state-of-the-art trading room. QUTIC activities include industry masterclasses, career insights, virtual and simulated trading challenges, instructional seminars and participation in international competitions. Core events occur each Tuesday evening during term time.

QSMF centres on managing an investment portfolio. Each year, a student executive committee is appointed, who in turn appoint sector heads to lead sub-teams. Collectively, they are responsible for exploring investment choices, compiling research reports, constructing a balanced portfolio, managing risk, reporting performance analysis and more. Trading room facilities are reserved each Wednesday afternoon for core QSMF activities. Industry leading Bloomberg software is used extensively. In 2015/16 QMSF raised sufficient funds to move from a virtual to real-money basis. While student managed funds are well established in US universities, real-money funds are rare in the UK and Ireland [2, 3].

Who is affected

Queen's students across all degrees and levels

Narrative

Open to students across all levels of study and discipline, in 2015/16 a total of 175 students have registered for QUTIC, with 83 students active in QSMF. A year on year rise in student numbers engaging with these extra-curricular activities endorses their success.

The faculty team have been responsible for launching and developing QUTIC/QMSF, creating appropriate governance structures, facilitating events, leading activities, and providing guidance and coaching. With over 21 years combined experience working in the finance and banking sector, their teaching philosophy is to share their passion for financial markets and develop the skills necessary for students to enter a highly competitive industry. As such they aim to promote experiential and collaborative learning, through authentic activities that develop a range of skills to better prepare students for recruitment selection and employment opportunities. More generally, the applicants are interested in developing the role of technology within teaching, to enhance student engagement and develop technical skills.

Impact status	Ongoing
Impact date	01 Sept 2012
Category of impact	Societial Impact
Impact level	Engagement