Baruch MFE Baruch MFE wins RITC 2023 - 7th win overall, 6th win in the past 8 years, all-time scoring record

dstefan

dstefan

Baruch MFE Director
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The Baruch MFE Program won the 2023 Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC) that took place virtually this weekend competing against 42 other universities from 13 countries from four continents: Australia, Canada, Croatia, France, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Thailand, United Kingdom, and United States.

We acknowledge and thank our partner Virtu Financial who sponsored the participation of our students at the RITC competition this year.

This is the 7th win overall for our program at RITC and the 6th win in the past eight years. This winning consistency is all the more remarkable given that our graduate students can compete for only one year, while undergraduate students on other teams participate for up to five years.

Moreover, our students established a new all-time scoring record in the competition! They won the Volatility Options Trading and the Electricity Trading cases and were third in the Liquidity Risk and Algo Trading cases.

Congratulations to our winners, @Aneesh Subramanya , (Mason) @MingsenWang, @James Wu , (Tony) @Xingyu Zhu!

Top 5
1. Baruch College
2. University of Warsaw
3. University of Calgary
4. University of Toronto
5. Columbia University

The full ranking and the case summaries are attached.

RITC2023-results.png
 

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Baruch is such a beast!
Where are other top US MFE programs? Do they not participate at all?
 
kitkat said:
Baruch is such a beast!
Where are other top US MFE programs? Do they not participate at all
Click to expand...
Results from last year:
Alright, I'm getting error messages when I try to access them. Not sure what's up. If that changes I'll edit this.

I have looked before, wondering the same thing you are. I only saw one top 5 school team participate, CMU. They ranked somewhere near 48/53.
 
This makes me wonder if the competition is really a good indictor of top real-world talent. By all accounts, it's not easy, and winning is a feat of technical skill and preparation, but I'm not sure that it predicts real-world success the best. If it was known to predict the best talent, then all top schools would send teams because ALL the best firms would recruit from the competition. But no one recruits from the competition, the European schools that make up the majority of the teams are not well represented in top firms (I've never heard of any of them, except trinity college, which I think is where Dr. Duffy teaches at).

If I'm wrong, and these colleges are well represented, someone please tell me.

If I didn't consistently hear ONLY great things about Baruch's program and directors, I would assume that their focus on this competition is more of a marketing plot than anything else. Meant to tout them as the top school and draw in overseas talent that doesn't know any better. But I only hear great things, so it's a bit of a quandary. Maybe the top schools don't participate because they have more downside than upside when competing. If they lose it looks worse. Except I remember UChicago placing recently, and MIT used to hold the record for largest win margin until Baruch took it from them (2016?). So I might have glossed over the rankings last time I checked, but I sincerely don't remember seeing any of the 'top' schools ranked by Quantnet.

If we can get a Baruch grad to explain the thought process and outcomes of the competition I'd be grateful. Part of it is definitely marketing either way, because they do market it (and somewhat heavily too). But I am unsure how much it is really worth.
 
MikeLawrence said:
This makes me wonder if the competition is really a good indictor of top real-world talent. By all accounts, it's not easy, and winning is a feat of technical skill and preparation, but I'm not sure that it predicts real-world success the best. If it was known to predict the best talent, then all top schools would send teams because ALL the best firms would recruit from the competition. But no one recruits from the competition, the European schools that make up the majority of the teams are not well represented in top firms (I've never heard of any of them, except trinity college, which I think is where Dr. Duffy teaches at).

If I'm wrong, and these colleges are well represented, someone please tell me.

If I didn't consistently hear ONLY great things about Baruch's program and directors, I would assume that their focus on this competition is more of a marketing plot than anything else. Meant to tout them as the top school and draw in overseas talent that doesn't know any better. But I only hear great things, so it's a bit of a quandary. Maybe the top schools don't participate because they have more downside than upside when competing. If they lose it looks worse. Except I remember UChicago placing recently, and MIT used to hold the record for largest win margin until Baruch took it from them (2016?). So I might have glossed over the rankings last time I checked, but I sincerely don't remember seeing any of the 'top' schools ranked by Quantnet.

If we can get a Baruch grad to explain the thought process and outcomes of the competition I'd be grateful. Part of it is definitely marketing either way, because they do market it (and somewhat heavily too). But I am unsure how much it is really worth.
Click to expand...
Hi Mike,

I was a member of the champion team at Baruch MFE. My initial reason for participating in this competition was to gain growth from experiencing demo trading: I enjoy trading, and this competition has honed my ability to make appropriate trading decisions in different market environments. On the other hand, when the market moves against expectation, such adversity also helps me to adapt quickly in a short period of time. The competition also focused on teamwork: I was able to prepare with my teammates from the beginning to the end, and we showed strong cohesiveness even under the pressure of the competition. We encourage each other when the market moves against us, we maximize our results with cooperation when opportunities come, and we cheer together when we won the title.

These are the reasons why I entered the competition. I am proud to bring more honor to Baruch MFE :)

To sum up, the competition is a growing experience for me. What I have learned will be greatly meaningful to me in my future career, and if people (like my boss or interviewers) are interested in what I have done specifically in the competition, I have many stories (technical + emotional) to tell. That means more than the best firms' direct recruitment from the competition ;)
 
James Wu said:
Hi,

I was a member of the champion team at Baruch MFE. My initial reason for participating in this competition was to gain growth from experiencing demo trading: I enjoy trading, and this competition has honed my ability to make appropriate trading decisions in different market environments. On the other hand, when the market moves against expectation, such adversity also helps me to adapt quickly in a short period of time. The competition also focused on teamwork: I was able to prepare with my teammates from the beginning to the end, and we showed strong cohesiveness even under the pressure of the competition. We encourage each other when the market moves against us, we maximize our PnLs with cooperation when opportunities come, and we cheer together when we won the title.

These are the reasons why I entered the competition. I am proud to bring more honor to Baruch MFE :)

To sum up, the competition is a growing experience for me. What I have learned will be greatly meaningful to me in my future career, and if people (like my boss or interviewers) are interested in what I have done specifically in the competition, I have many stories (technical + emotional) to tell. That means more than the best firms' recruitment ;)
Click to expand...
James, Thanks for the reply. What you say makes sense.

Why do you think fewer programs from the US seem to compete? Or has that not been your experience? The past rankings are still down so I can't check.
 
MikeLawrence said:
James, Thanks for the reply. What you say makes sense.

Why do you think fewer programs from the US seem to compete? Or has that not been your experience? The past rankings are still down so I can't check.
Click to expand...
I have no clues for that as well (sorry for that), but during my experience, Columbia MFE and NYU MFE both participated; CMU also participated. And because the competition is held by University of Toronto, there are many Canadian universities joining the competition (like Waterloo, University of Ottawa, UBC, University of Calgary, etc.) For the European teams, I think they are highly interested in RITC because there is also a Rotman European Trading Competition (link to 2022 results: Results - Rotman European Trading Competition), so that's why they're very interested in the RITC as well. I can remember that many schools ranking front in this European competition also joined the international one.

A potential reason is: since setting up preparation for the competition is indeed complicated, then for schools where students do not participate a lot or not having many great experiences, they might not spend much time on the preparation.

Hope it's helpful!
 
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@MikeLawrence You ask the right questions. I am a current MFE student at Baruch and was on the RITC team with James.

Winning at the RITC requires focus, dedication, and meticulous preparation to execute under pressure. I cannot speak to the thought process of other programs but Baruch has a culture of competing and winning the Rotman competition that has been fostered over years. It's a competition that students look forward to, train for, and take pride in winning. I believe this culture plays a big part in our continued success.

Now for your second concern about whether the RITC is an indicator of read-world talent, success in the workplace requires, among other things, technical strength and outstanding dedication. While winning the RITC in and of itself may not predict success in the workplace, it does reflect the ability of the top teams to stay disciplined, execute efficiently, and generally hold their own in a dynamic environment. These are skills that contribute directly to real-world success. That said, the Baruch MFE program is more than just our success at the RITC: the program is highly selective and I can tell you, from experience, the quality of current students and the alumni network is simply exceptional. The program is geared not only towards preparing one for a career in finance but to set them up for success. The track record of past students is a testament to the strength of the program and is also, in part, the reason top firms consistently recruit students from the program.

I hope this gives you more insight into the program. Happy to answer if you have any questions! :)
 
Before applying for MFE programs, I did a good amount of homework comparing curricula among different programs - one thing that impresses me is that Baruch has a nice list of trading-related courses. Their program perhaps is the best place to go for traders. If I am not limited by the city locations, I would definitely apply for it.
 
Any 2024 Spring UCB MFE fellas who are also into trading? let's connect ;).
Perhaps we can team up to give it a shot at the next RITC
 
dstefan said:
Baruch MFE teams won First, Second, and Fourth place at the 2022 Rotman International Trading Competition (RITC) that took place virtually this weekend and included 53 teams from academic institutions from 16 countries - Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Slovakia, Thailand, and United States.

The participation of our students at the RITC competition this year was sponsored by our partner IMC Trading.

This is the 5th win in the last 7 years for our program at the premier collegiate trading competition in the world, and the 6th win overall!

Top 5 (out of 53 teams)
1. Baruch College
2. Baruch College
3. University of Ottawa
4. Baruch College
5. University of Calgary

Detailed performances per case:
Volatility Trading: 1st and 4th
Liquidity Risk: 1st and 3rd
Electricity Trading: 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
Algo Trading: 4th

The Case Summaries and the results are attached.

The success of our students is a testimony to their trading and analytical skills and to their outstanding teamwork.

Congratulations to our students!
Click to expand...
No UK teams participating?
 
Aneesh Subramanya said:
@MikeLawrence You ask the right questions. I am a current MFE student at Baruch and was on the RITC team with James.

Winning at the RITC requires focus, dedication, and meticulous preparation to execute under pressure. I cannot speak to the thought process of other programs but Baruch has a culture of competing and winning the Rotman competition that has been fostered over years. It's a competition that students look forward to, train for, and take pride in winning. I believe this culture plays a big part in our continued success.

Now for your second concern about whether the RITC is an indicator of read-world talent, success in the workplace requires, among other things, technical strength and outstanding dedication. While winning the RITC in and of itself may not predict success in the workplace, it does reflect the ability of the top teams to stay disciplined, execute efficiently, and generally hold their own in a dynamic environment. These are skills that contribute directly to real-world success. That said, the Baruch MFE program is more than just our success at the RITC: the program is highly selective and I can tell you, from experience, the quality of current students and the alumni network is simply exceptional. The program is geared not only towards preparing one for a career in finance but to set them up for success. The track record of past students is a testament to the strength of the program and is also, in part, the reason top firms consistently recruit students from the program.

I hope this gives you more insight into the program. Happy to answer if you have any questions! :)
Click to expand...
you are a beast Aneesh!
 
Congrats guys! I am very happy about your success!
Baruch's team was full of brilliant and kind people!
 
James Wu said:
since setting up preparation for the competition is indeed complicated, then for schools where students do not participate a lot or not having many great experiences, they might not spend much time on the preparation.
Click to expand...
Our coach has personally led Baruch teams to first place for five years before us (the Baruch MFE John Wooden, so to speak), and past participants kindly spared time to share their experiences. We would have had a harder time preparing for the competition were it not for their advice/guidance. This is just an example of how Baruch faculties and alumni are helpful to the community.

Since MFE students tend not to stay at school for too long (1-2 years), I would imagine once a school misses one competition, they would have lost the crucial know-how and have to restart from scratch, which further harms their chances. (This strangely reminds me of US moon missions.)
 

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Some more thoughts now that my forum moniker is changed from a toy to my real name:

I am currently taking one of Baruch's signature courses "Market Microstructure", in which we study the behavior of traders, brokers, and market-makers in the real-life market. There is a convoluted model (Avellaneda and Stoikov) that, admittedly, looked like a cauldron of Greek alphabet soup to me at first sight. When I was market-making as a trader in the Electricity case, however, it all came back to me. I was acting just as the model predicted - keeping away from the market when it's swinging and jumping back into it when the price stays tame, for example. Calibrating my actions to the rational market-maker in the model even boosted my profits further.

Something similar goes for the Liquidity Risk case, where we are required to periodically clear out positions gained from profitable tender offers. Crucial to the case is transaction cost, a concept discussed many a time in class but not personally experienced (for me, at least). The competition is a peek into how the real market works, which is a unique experience for me since I spent the last twenty years of my life being a full-time student.
 

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