EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

QFRM students are also actively engaged in student activities, voluntary services and international competitions to broaden their horizons.

 

Henry Lin, Champion, Greater China, International Quant Championship The International Quant Championship is a quantitative trading competition that stimulates the participants’ skills in identifying trading signals. This competition attracts PhD, Master’s and Undergraduate candidates from prestigious universities all over the world. The participants are asked to identify the best weights of stock allocation, based on various kinds of data including company fundamentals, price movements or industry sentiments. Various statistical techniques including regression analysis and time series analysis are applied, in conjunction with overall knowledge in finance, mathematics and computer science. I joined a team with three other CUHK students, whose fields of study were statistics, mathematics and computer science. With the joint effort of all three team members, we successfully advanced to the regional final and won the championship.

Hinz Shum, National Best Team, International Quant Championship We fondly remember the days we worked arduously around the clock on delicately designed alphas, which are models that use historical data to predict the future price movements of financial instruments. The International Quant Championship was a very rewarding experience for us. In reflecting on the process, we find ourselves deeply grateful for the QFRM programme at CUHK. By dint of the ample financial, mathematical and programming knowledge that we acquired in class, we triumphed over more than 10,000 teams from all over the world and won the National Best Award in our presentation in Beijing during the national final stage. Apart from what we achieved, we really enjoyed the moments when we were working hard together in the CUHK library, trying to apply the many brilliant ideas we had learned in class, ranging from different financial theories to mathematical equations. That breadth and depth of instruction is what we have found unique in the QFRM programme.

Giselle Yu, 1st Runner-up, Peak Time Case Competition 2017 Together with Colin, Wilkins and Joyce, I participated in Peak Time 2017, an annual international business case competition held by the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, Latvia. After competing in the preliminary rounds, the 20 top teams from 18 different countries were invited to join the final events in Riga. Our first task was to maximise the share price of a phone manufacturing company in a business simulation game. Then, we were asked to solve a business case in 4 hours. This case competition is an excellent platform for business students to apply book knowledge to a real scenario. We were also able to polish our team collaboration skills and presentation techniques. Peak Time is more than just a competition; it is also a golden chance for participants to know more about Latvia and other countries. In the Riga sightseeing tour and cultural evening gathering, we learned about Latvian history and other countries’ cultures by chatting with other finalists and tasting their traditional snacks.

Peter Xi & Kinson Chan, Best Consistency Award, CASH Algo Trading Contest Participating in the CASH Algo Trading Contest has been a unique experience that cannot be obtained elsewhere. In the contest, our team strived to compose a trading strategy algorithm using Python in pursuit of both high returns and good consistency. The competition is a remarkable opportunity to apply knowledge of quantitative finance and risk management in the investment world, and furthermore, it has also been a chance to sharpen our programming skills. All of our team members enjoyed the contest, and winning the Best Consistency Award definitely better prepares us to be future quants.

Shi-yu Song, ranked 8th globally, J.P. Morgan Investment Challenge 2015 I joined the J.P. Morgan Investment Challenge last semester and luckily ranked 8th globally. I used a simple but very risky strategy by setting up a synthetic long stock with Ping An (02318.HK). The strategy allows you to win lots of money once you bet on the right trend but at the same time suffer a lot by taking risks. It is always worthwhile to join different case competitions; the cost is limited but the rewards are huge. Not only do you get possible internship opportunities, you can also apply what you learn from the textbook to the real-word situation.