During the The C.T. Bauer College of Business’ commodity outcry competition Saturday, where more than 20 universities from around the nation competed, a UH student won first place.
Francis Dorrego and Laurentino Rangel won first and fourth place, respectively. The Finance Association trained the UH team since the start of the semester. The competition also served as a challenge for another national competition that will be held in New York City next weekend.
The competition consisted of trading different commodities on an outcry marketplace.
“We are given simulated market orders and it’s the contestant’s job to execute the orders in the best way possible,” said Phillip Bannon, director of research and trade of the Finance Association. “They have to monitor the price at all times, they have to understand the lingo, they have to understand the words used, and then they have to execute those orders fast.”
Because more than 120 students participated, the commodities outcry was very loud since the participants yelled the prices they wanted to get.
“You have to learn how to make quick decisions in a chaotic environment and make it cohesive and coherent,” said Tony Nguyen, president of the Finance Association.
Contestants were graded by a group of judges who wrote down the initials that the students had on their tags. The judges were all experienced floor traders, current energy traders and analysts from the energy industry.
The first ten places won prizes in cash because of the different sponsors participating in the competition. The prizes ranged from $1000 for the first place to $100 for sixth through 10th place.
“We are really grateful for all the money that they are sponsoring and giving to the participants,” Nguyen said.
Wallis Paez, a finance and accounting senior, liked the competition and the real-world exposure she got during the outcry.
“It’s been great, it’s chaotic, but it’s really fun. You get to learn a lot, you get a lot of experience, and it helps you when you get out there in the real world,” she said.
Paez took home the 10th place and is looking forward to participating in New York City.
“It makes me more confident for next week that we have to compete in New York,” Paez said.
Bauer students Kristen Mayell and Rong Yu also won prizes in the competition.
The great memories of practicing in large groups the whole semester then the competition itself. It was a great learning opportunity, networking event and an even better insight to the trading world.