A simulated trading room has been developed at Bond University, with funding from Macquarie Bank, to give Finance and Commerce students practical experience in executing deals and managing portfolios.
The Macquarie Trading Room, which will be officially opened today by the Honourable Anna Bligh MP, Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for Infrastructure, will enable students to experience the latest trading room technology, with access to real time market information and software for simulated trading.
Funded by the Macquarie Group Foundation and Macquarie’s Investment Banking Group, it follows a Business Council of Australia report which argued graduates emerged from universities and TAFE colleges lacking the practical skills needed in the workplace.
In what is believed to be a world first, the trading room has been developed by Macquarie Bank information technology staff, ensuring students experience trading conditions almost identical to those encountered by seasoned financial traders.
Bond University’s Dean of Business, Technology and Sustainable Development, Professor Garry Marchant, said the facility would give students a practical setting in which to apply their classroom theory and allow Bond University to expand its commerce and finance programs.
“Students will be able to see and clearly understand the impact of events that occur at a micro-level, such as a company releasing new financial information into the market, and learn how that information filters through to the stock market,” he said.
“This will also allow us to offer a range of new financial-driven classes, such as market behaviour and market microstructures.”
Macquarie Group Foundation Chairman David Clarke said the facility would give students a competitive edge by equipping them with the necessary skills for a career in the financial services industry.
“The education programs supported by the Macquarie Group Foundation all seek to give students, at whatever level of achievement, the opportunity to reach their potential,” he said.
“Today’s finance and commerce students are potentially tomorrow’s business leaders and it is important that we ensure they have the skills to meet the challenges of our rapidly evolving business environment.”
Bond University has worked closely with Macquarie Bank to ensure the trading room will be the leading facility of its type in Australia, utilising the same data and technology currently used by financial institutions around the world.
It will feature state-of-the-art computer systems with dual screen technology and a data screen wall projecting a live feed, with price movements continually displayed on an overhead ticker.
An associated Research Centre will focus on the development of innovative trading technology.
Bloomberg, Reuters, IRESS and Factiva have all agreed to provide information services to Bond University at heavily reduced rates, while Reuters and Bloomberg have given free technical training to Bond University support staff.
One of Australia’s leading universities, the private, not-for-profit Bond University was established in 1989 with the aim of offering a personalised academic environment that enables graduates to exceed the outer limits of their potential.
The Macquarie Group Foundation is one of Australia’s oldest and largest corporate foundations and currently contributes more than $8.5 million a year to 500 community organisations.