Hofstra University HQT-Hofstra Quants & Traders Club, Columbia University SIPA Energy Association and University of Houston Bauer Finance Association sponsored the 2008 NYMEX Commodities Challenge together with the New York Mercantile Exchange and CQG.

Hofstra’s Quants & Traders and Columbia ’s Energy Association co-hosted the Northeast Open Outcry Competition at the NYMEX trading floor in New York City . Northeast Open Outcry Competition was held on Friday April 11, 2008.

 

School of International & Public Affairs, SIPA-Energy Association

 

Frank G. Zarb School of Business, HQT-Hofstra Quants & Traders

2008 NYMEX Open Outcry Competition

Friday, April 11, 2008 New York Mercantile Exchange, World Financial Center, One North End Avenue, New York, NY 10282-1101

Schedule of Events: 

Thursday, April 10, 2008, Visit to Bloomberg, LLP Headquaters (731 Lexington Ave. New York, NY 10022)

REQUIREMENTS: Government and/or state issued photo ID; cameras/camcorders CAN NOT be used inside; large backpacks are NOT allowed in the building. Business attire is preferred, business casual is sufficient.
Tour of Bloomberg HQ: 2:30-4:00pm (including an information session/seminar) Plan on arriving by Bloomberg building by 2:15pm.
Out of town visitors may enjoy New York City sights in the evening.

Friday, April 11, 2008, Lunch and Tour of NYMEX : 12:30-1:50pm Plan on arriving at NYMEX building by 12:15pm.

Open Outcry Training Class : 2:00-2:50pm
Competition on the NYMEX Floor: 3:00-6:00pm
Social meeting following the competition: 6:00pm-open

REQUIREMENTS: Government and/or state issued photo ID, large backpacks are NOT allowed in the building, cameras may be brought in. Business attire is preferred, business casual is sufficient.

Open Outcry Trading (Phase II)

Students traded Crude Oil contracts using Open Outcry method. NYMEX traders judged students based on their ability to fill their orders and proper trading technique. Finalists were awarded scholarship prizes, with first place in the Houston competition (hosted by University of Houston ) winning an internship with Ray Carbone (VOX) and Paramount Options in New York . The first place winner in the New York competition (hosted by Columbia and Hofstra) received an all expense paid internship with ConocoPhillips in the Houston office.

Electronic Trading (PHASE I)

Teams traded full size Crude Oil and Natural Gas front (possibly back) month contracts, on a mock $100,000 account using CQG Trading Platform. Teams were required to make a minimum of 3 trades per day. At the final round top four teams from round 1 competed for the scholarship prizes. The top 4 teams with the highest account balances earned scholarship prizes. The winning teams were announced in Houston & New York during Phase 2 of the competition.
Dates for Electronic Trading (Phase I)
Round 1: February 13, 2008 to March 14, 2008

Results of Round 1: NYMEX2008_Round1_results

Round 2: March 24, 2008 to April 8, 2008
Rules and Regulation:
Starting Balance is $100,000.00.
Teams must make at least 3 trades a day.
Only Crude (CL) and Natural Gas (NG) can be traded.
Any contract month can be traded.
NYMEX Margins will apply.
Only one team member can login at any one time.

Participating Universities

Azerbaijan State Oil Academy
Brown University
Columbia University
George Washington University
Hofstra University
Kent State University
Lehigh University
Monmouth College
Oklahoma State University
Penn State University
Quinnipiac University
Rice University
Syracuse University
Tulane University
University of Alberta
University of Houston
University of Rollins
University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Dallas
Yale University