The grand finale of Optimity 2019, an investment and portfolio management content, took place in North South University on August 29.
Organised by North South University Finance Club, this month-long competition brought out impressive performances from undergraduate students countrywide-- helping them learn about investment management in the process. Successful for three years in a row now, the moral of Optimity has always been to enhance the finesse of participants regarding matters of investment, portfolio management and financial subjects alike.
This year's Optimity was grander and more intense than the previous years as it invited more enthused participants and the rounds were precisely strategic. The collaboration between the esteemed sponsors and partners and NSU Finance Club was crucial to make this event emerge prosperous.
'Optimity 2019' commenced with the orchestration of informative roadshows at 22 prime universities around Bangladesh; Dhaka University, BUET, Chittagong University etc. to name a few. Intensive promotions by the dedicated members of NSU Finance Club led to the registration of 157 teams from the entire nation. The first round of the competition, which was a case solving round, led to the selection of only 36 teams after their display of knowledge regarding investment opportunities and decisions. The second round intensified further as a more challenging case had to be solved and presented in front of the judges. This led to seven of the best teams of Bangladesh to proceed to the final round after they proved their understanding regarding portfolio management. The final round was different from most of the finance-based competitions and threw a challenge that reflected the real-life scenario that market professionals face.
The finalists were given the daunting task to take part in real life stock trading simulation and create different types of strategic portfolios for different investors. As different investors have different risk appetites, making diverse portfolio strategies made the finalists quickly learn how to mimic the best concepts of fund management and trading.
Throughout the competition, the teams had to work hard and show financial number crunching skills to move forward. In the last round the finalist teams brainstormed and delivered amazing strategies as they tried to outperform.
After a month long display of brilliance and talent, Team Financial Fair Play from Institute of Business Administration, Dhaka University comprising Sartaz Bin Mustafiz Shupto, Shaera Sayeed, Manshiah Anis and Nafis Sadik emerged victorious as champions.
Team Murphy's Law from Faculty of Business Studies, Dhaka University that comprised Minhajur Rahman Joy, Md Foyez Alam, Md Riaj Morshed and Md Asfakul Islam and Team Capitalists from IBA, Dhaka University that comprised Md Towsif Nawaz, Ehsanul Karim Chowdhury, M Meraj Ahmed and Rahma Mirza succeeded in becoming dual first runner-ups of the competition. Total prize money of Tk 0.2 million was awarded to the winners of Optimity 2019. The champion team received Tk 0.1 million and the dual runner-ups teams received Tk 50,000 each.
"The challenging final round pushed us to our limits, as we had to be extremely precise with our calculations and financial analysis. In the end, it all claimed to be pivotal as we had to conduct proper portfolio management and practical stock trading simulation," Sartaz Bin Mustafiz Shupto exclaimed after clinching the champion's prize of Optimity 2019.
The finale judges were Ali Imam-- CEO of Edge Asset Management, Syed Adnan Huda-- vice president, UCB Capital Management, Md Nafeez Al Tarik-- head of research, City Brokerage Limited and Ayaz Mahmud-- deputy head of research, BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Limited.
The presence of Anisul Huq, minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs as the chief guest inspired the participants. The faculty advisor of NSU Finance Club Mohammad Nasiruddin expressed, "The Department of Accounting and Finance at North South University tries its best to expose its students for experiential learning. Competitions like Optimity will make sure our graduates will have tremendous impact in building and advancing our capital market here in Bangladesh."
Pro VC of NSU Professor Md Ismail Hossain, MD and CEO of Vanguard AML Waqar Ahmed Chowdhury, DMD and Chief Financial Officer of City Bank Mohammed Mahbubur Rahman, Acting Dean at School of Business and Economics of NSU Dr Jashim Uddin, Director of Student Affairs -NSU Parisa Shakur were also present as guests.
NSU Finance Club has successfully organised several national competitions and innovative programmes in the past since its inception in 2014, and they are grateful to acknowledge that Optimity 2019 triumphed in the same fashion with its incredible stature.
The writer is a second-year student of North South University (NSU). He can be reached at [email protected]
