North’s top business school opens ‘ethical’ trading room for Masters students

Bradford University School of Management has opened its own trading room for students doing MBAs and specialist finance MScs.  Not only will they be able to trade in real time without the risk of expensive mistakes but, in a first for Bradford, they will be given an insight into ethical dilemmas and the impact of insider trading.

Dr Abhijit Sharma says students will be able to simulate many of the City’s bad practices and learn from mistakes made in recent years, as well as develop technical skills in industry-standard software, Thomson Reuters Eikon.

“We will cover a whole range of trading challenges ranging from the consequences of selling insurance to people who don’t need it to doing trades based on insider information,” he said.  “Until now business schools have only covered ‘ethics’ in passing on finance and MBA degrees, but ethics are no longer a ‘nice to have’ but an attribute which is core to global financial success.”

The School is using the exact software used by traders, Thomson Reuters Eikon as well as a simulation software called Financial Trading System enabling students to practise dealing in real-time equities, bonds, foreign exchange and derivative instruments.

Zhanibek Demeuov, originally from Kazakhstan, has been working in a Dubai oil company for the last two years and just started on the MSc in finance:  “I have traded online in a personal capacity and I’m keen to learn more – at Bradford we can trade in real time, with real companies and real indices.  

Our database goes back five years so you can also see the history of a company and analyze them properly. ”

He adds:  “I think the ethics discussions will be really interesting and important- how do different cultures see different ethical challenges?  This programme will make us more aware of the risks and different attitudes to risk and how to manage them.  It’s a growing issue – look at Nick Leeson of Barings and Kweku Adoboli of UBS who gambled a record £1.4bn on unauthorized deals.  What has the financial world learnt from these?”

The MSc finance and the MSc global finance and banking cover core principles in banking and finance, as well as the specialist skills needed for careers, such as quantitative methods, statistical computing and trading simulation. 

After just a week on the programme, Demeuov said:  “Every part of this programme is going to help in decision making.  The modules all link up so that you get the whole picture of a financial situation.  I’m particularly interested in the financial modelling and gaining deep insights into financial statements.  It will help with analysis and predictions.”