Bissett Insider

Bissett Stock Market Competition 2020 Winners Announced

Jim Fischer, Bisset Associate Professor of Finance, has announced the much anticipated results of the annual Bissett Stock Market Challenge:

The team of Varune Tillekeratne, Jamal Hussaini and Bidzina Mosiashvili has won the 2019-2020 Bissett Stock Market Competition with a stunning return of 78%.

The 14th edition of the annual competition began in September 2019 and concluded March 31, 2020. This year 14 teams of three students each started the competition with $1,000,000 in virtual money. Through the use of a simulator, they traded in Canadian and US markets, with the ability to sell short and use options. This year was characterized by five months of trading in what would become the end of the longest bull market in history, followed by a month that witnessed the quickest decline into a bear market in history. The TSX Composite Index ended the same time period down 20%.

The winners claim a record of their own. They beat the market by the highest margin achieved by a team since the competition started in 2005. The previous record was made in 2009 by the team of Nicole Rumley, Owen Watson and Brandon Thomson. That team posted a return of 25% when the market indexes were down 35% over the same time period, reeling in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis.

The winners will be presented with the trophy for the competition at a future date, when university operations return to normal.

Bissett would like to congratulate the winners and all participants as well as extend a thank you to Jim Fischer for his continued mentorship of the students and the running of this competition; not only an impactful learning experience, but a rite of passage for many of our finance students!

Four Bissett Finance students receive scholarships from the Risk Management Association scholarship program!

Congratulations to our four Bissett School of Business students who have received RMA scholarships for the 2019-20 academic year! Then recipients are Angelique Develle, Mohsen Esmaili, Alex Campbell and Luke McKinlay.

The application and winning of scholarships has been an indirect benefit of the RMA Commercial Lending Case Competition  as the competition has created awareness and promotion of the RMA Foundation student scholarships.  This scholarship program is based in the US, is open to Canadian and U.S. students who intend to pursue careers in banking. The selection process is competitive.
For the 2019-2020 academic year, The Foundation awarded scholarships to 92 new students totalling $154,000 USD, and to 22 repeat recipients totalling $55,000 USD. The Scholars represent 83 universities. Overall, The Foundation awards totalled $209,000 with individual awards in the $1,500 to $5,000 range.

 

Learn more about RMA’s Academic Program initiatives, including The Foundation Scholarship and free RMA Student Membership, on their Student Resource Center website.

Bissett finance professor, Tashfeen Hussain has research papers accepted for publication

Congratulations to Tashfeen Hussain,PhD, for having his research recognized. The first paper titled, Total productivity and cost efficiency dynamics of US merging banks:  a non-parametric approach (Jaml Ali, PhD;  Nacuer Essadam, PhD,  and Tashfeen Hussain, PhD), has been accepted to the Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance.

Abstract:   This paper investigates the productivity characteristics and cost efficiency dynamics of US acquiring banks over the period from 1992 to 2003. The findings show that large merging banks tend to have the same productivity scores compared to their peer banks. Small merging banks, on the other hand, experienced lower productivity than their peers. The source of the acquirers’ productivity seems to be the efficiency change rather than the frontier shift. Cost efficiency results show that small and large merging banks maintained higher cost efficiencies over their peers for the whole period motivated by higher technical efficiency scores, meaning that the large acquirers’ ability to maximize their outputs given fixed inputs is best relative to merging and non-merging banks of different sizes. The principal component analysis of the cost efficiency sub-components indicate that the merging banks principal cost efficiency components are mainly of technical and pure technical efficiencies but after the merger, allocative efficiency increased substantially at the expense of technical and pure technical efficiencies, while the peer banks cost efficiency remained totally dependent on technical and pure technical efficiencies.

Also, Tashfeen has recently presented his working paper, titled, Do credit default swaps impact lenders’ monitoring of loans? at the Academy of Economics and Finance Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, earlier this month. Tashfeen received FDC funding to attend the conference.

Congratulations Tashfeen, the faculty looks forward to more of your research.

Chair and finance professor, Reza Chowdhury has papers accepted for publication

Congratulations to Accounting and Finance, Chair and professor,  Reza Chowdhury, PhD, on having  his finance research recognized:
The first publication is titled,  Accessibility to External Finance and Entrepreneurship: A Cross-Country Analysis from the Informal Institutional Perspective. Reza H. Chowdhury and Min Maung (University of Saskatchewan), in the Journal of Small Business Management (2020)

Abstract: By using individual-level survey data from 97 countries, we investigate the effect of informal institutions on external financing and its impact on entrepreneurship. We find that a culturally-driven entrepreneurial environment allows entrepreneurs to obtain more debt, equity, and venture capital financing, and this, in turn, increases entrepreneurial activities. We further find that a culturally-driven entrepreneurial environment is more critical in determining entrepreneurship than formal institutional arrangements (such as investor protection). Our results provide evidence that cross-country variations in entrepreneurship can be explained by differences in cultural support to new venture financing across countries.

Brand and Firm Values in Distinct National Cultures, Reza H. Chowdhury, Wootae Chun (UNBC), Sungchul Choi (UNBC) and Kurtis Friend (Scotia Bank) in the Journal, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics (2019)

Abstract: The objective of this article is to investigate the moderating role of national-based cultural attributes in the relationship between brand value and firm value. This article examines the topic in the context of different national cultural dimensions, including individualism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, power distance, and long-term orientation. We use brand values of the Financial Times’s Global 500 companies and national cultural values reported by Hofstede, GLOBE, and Schwartz. Results exhibit that brands are more value-additive to companies in highly individualistic cultures. In addition, a valuable brand contributes more to firm value in low uncertainty avoidant, high masculine, low power distant, and short-term oriented cultures.National cultural attributes are therefore important determinants in explaining the magnitude by which highly valued brands contribute to the firm value of the companies that own the respective brands. The evidence suggests that while a valuable brand contributes to firm value, the level of its effect on firm value varies by distinctive characteristics of each national cultural dimension.

Congratulations Reza, we look forward to more research!

Bissett professor Jim Fischer busy mentoring students in the annual Stock Market Competition and with his research projects

The academic year is always an exciting time of year for finance students as the much anticipated Annual Bissett Stock Market Competition is well underway! The 14th edition of the annual competition has thirteen teams of three competing for the right to have their names added to the revered trophy which resides in the Bissett office. Teams have until the end of March to test themselves in both Canadian and US stock markets. With a variety of strategies in play, including buy-and-hold, frequent trading, and the inclusion of options and margin in the mix, it is shaping up to be an exciting time for participants. This is another great example of how Bissett School of Business offers students impactful learning opportunities through experiential opportunities. Thanks for your leadership Jim!
In terms of his research endeavors, Jim Fischer was in Minneapolis during reading week to present his paper “Modern Portfolio Theory and the Efficient Markets Hypothesis: How Well Did They Serve Canada’s Baby-boom Generation? to the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Financial Services. The meeting is held annually in conjunction with the Annual Conference of the Financial Planning Association, attracting a large number of academics as well as industry practitioners.
Abstract: Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and the Efficient Markets Hypothesis (EMH) have influenced portfolio management strategies for an entire generation. Taking the example of an average Canadian family from 1977 to 2016, this paper examines how well MPT and EMH served the baby-boom generation of investors. A model investing strategy was constructed based on the principles of MPT and EMH. The strategy was evaluated for its ability to adequately provide for the subject couple in retirement. Results of this portfolio were compared to other popular investment alternatives. Using generally-accepted rules-of-thumb in financial planning, the MPT strategy was found to have provided an adequate retirement income for the subject couple. Some of the other strategies moderately exceeded the returns of the MPT strategy, while others under performed this benchmark. Analysis of these discrepancies reinforced the significance of diversification and of re-balancing portfolios through dynamic asset allocation.

Bissett professor Tashfeen Hussain active in various research projects

Bissett School of Business congratulates Assistant Professor, Tashfeen Hussain for being selected to contribute a chapter to the upcoming book titled, “Corporate Fraud Exposed”.  The title of the chapter that Tashfeen  will be writing is “The Spillover Impact of Corporate Fraud on Peer Firms”.  The selection process has been quite intensive.  The book will be edited by Dr. Kent Baker, Dr. Lynnette Purda and Dr. Samir Saadi.  The book will be published by Emerald Publishing. Tashfeen expects to have the final draft of the chapter ready by June, 2020.  The book is intended to be used at PhD programs in Finance.

 

As part of the faculty’s  Apaat tsi kani takiiks initiative, Tashfeen and Associate Professor Allan Dwyer have had their proposal approved for developing  a teaching case focusing on indigenous related issues.    The focus of the case will be “Estimating the cost of capital for an indigenous business and evaluating strategies to reduce the cost of capital”.

“The Apaat tsi kani takiiks project is an initiative from Bissett School of Business and the School of Communications  that aims to produce and promote Indigenous-centered curriculum and programming for the next generation of leaders, working to increase access to education for Indigenous students in an attempt to address reconciliation. The three-year initiative began in May 2017 as a continuation of the Suncor Aboriginal Business Education pilot project”. – MRU Media

 

 

2nd Annual MRU RMA Commercial Lending Case Competition was a huge success

The Risk Management Association of Alberta, in conjunction with the MRU Financial Student Organization (FSO) hosted the second edition of the MRU RMA Alberta Commercial Lending Case Competition this past September. The competition is modeled after RMA competitions held in the United States and MRU is currently the only western Canadian University to offer a case competition in this format.

Building upon the success of  last year’s inaugural event, the organizers were happy to  report a 40% increase in student involvement for this year.  This year’s competition seen  10 teams comprised from 38 Bissett BBA student participants  plus six student volunteers to handle the logistics throughout the event. There were also nineteen RMA commercial credit professional-executives and ten faculty and senior management members in attendance. Each of the teams were provided with a dedicated industry mentor to give individualized advice on their analysis.

It was an outstanding few days of learning, mentor-ship and networking! ” – Cathy Roy-Heaton

Each team was evaluated on their written and oral summary, identification of key risks, mitigation of risks, key ratio and financial analysis of the case, as well as their ability to professionally and concisely communicate their findings and defend their recommendations. The teams were extremely competitive as all ten teams placed within 15% of the first place team and there was only 1.2% differential between the 1st and 3rd placed team!

FIRST: $1400 prizeMatt Carson, Kyle McDonald, Riley Lyster, Connor Studer
SECOND: $1000 prize:  Jacob Frank, Deynira Calderon, Ivonne Abarca, Mohsen Esmaili
THIRD: $600 prize:  Alex MacLean, Alex Campbell, Leutirm Bajraktari, Jared Benoit
The RMA raised funds from several financial institutions and provided a prize pool of $3000.00, exceeding the organizers expectations.
Cathy reports that the RMA partners, the judges, the organizing committee and the mentors were impressed with the quality of the analysis, the students’ eagerness to learn and their professionalism.
Bissett congratulates all of the student participants and sends special thanks to our industry partners that made this event possible. A special thanks to Associate Professor, Cathy Roy Heaton for her leadership and mentoring of the students as well as Associate Professor, Carleton Osakwe,   Associate Professor, Tashfeen Hussain and Chair, Reza Chowdhury.
“Many of the students thanked me for the opportunity to be engaged in this experience. No question this is at the heart of what we stand for in the Bissett School of Business. Thank you for making this an impactful learning experience for our students”  – Dean, Elizabeth Evans

Bissett Assistant Professor, Tashfeen Hussain completes oral defense for his PhD

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Tashfeen Hussain who recently completed his oral defense of his thesis! Tashfeen’s thesis has been approved without revision through the Smith School of Business, Queen’s University. The title of the thesis: “Implications of firms’ interactions with debt markets”.

Tashfeen has also been selected to write a chapter on an upcoming book on Corporate fraud. The chapter is titled: “The spillover impact of corporate fraud”.

 

 

Bissett Finance Professor Osama El-Temtamy has paper accepted to conference in Greece

Bissett School of Business would like to congratulate Osama El-Temtamy on having his paper accepted for presentation at the the 7th Spring Conference of the Multinational Finance Society in Chania, Crete, Greece in April 2019. Osama’s paper is entitled: Oil Price Plunge: Are Conventional and Islamic banks equally vulnerable?

Abstract:

“Oil Price Plunge: Are Conventional and Islamic Banks Equally Vulnerable?”
Ghulame Rubbaniy – Zayed University, United Arab Emirates
Osama El-Temtamy – Mount Royal University, Canada
A. W. Khan – University of Evansville, USA
Abida Perveen – Comsats University Islamabad, Pakistan

In response to the recent debate on the vulnerability of the banking industry to oil price plunge, this article investigates the effect of oil price plunge on credit and insolvency risks of banking industry at aggregate level, across banks’ specializations and at country level. Our findings show that falling oil prices significantly increase the credit risk for the banking industry in the GCC region and particularly for banks operating in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates; however, falling oil prices do not affect credit risk of Islamic banks. Our analysis shows that black gold’s price plunge does not increase the insolvency risk of GCC banking industry nor across bank specializations and across Gulf countries using both accounting-based and market-based proxies of insolvency risk. We argue that bailout packages by the wealth funds to the GCC banks is a probable reason for counter intuitive protection against solvency risk due to negative oil price shocks.

Bissett CFA Ethics Team has won again!

For the second year in a row, the Bissett School of Business team has won the CFA Societies of Canada Ethics Challenge regional round!  The Bissett team beat out teams from  the University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge and SAIT.

The Bisset team will advance to Nationals which are to be held in Calgary this coming May. Representing the Prairies Region,  they will compete against the top schools from the other Canadian regions: BC, Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.

The Bissett team is comprised of Aliza Carrol (BBA – Financial Services 2020, Houston Higgins (BBA – Financial Analysis 20190, Gurdit Khatra (BBA – Financial Analysis 2019), Alaina Magnusson (BBA -Financial Analysis 2020) and Allana White (BBA – Finacial Analysis 2020).

As faculty advisor, Bissett Professor Cathy Roy-Heaton would like to mention how proud she is of their efforts and the quality of their analysis of a very complex governance -ethical scenario.

Their success is a direct reflection of the quality of our Finance program! Congratulations Team!