RITC2014 Package

Rotman International Trading Competition 2014 Copyright Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
Table Tableof ofContents Contents

3 4 6 8 11 14 19 About RITC Important Information Case Summaries Social Outcry Case Sales & Trader Case Quantitative Outcry Case Options Trading Case BP Commodities Case Algorithmic Trading Case CIBC Yield Curve Case Appendix
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About RITC
About RITC
The Rotman International Trading Competition is a one-of-a-kind event hosted annually at the University of Toronto. Now entering its 11th year, the three day competition brings together over 300 participants representing approximately 50 top universities across the world. Despite the technological improvements and continued shift towards remote electronic trading, the event continues to draw enthusiastic interest as our competitors and sponsors demonstrate that they value the face-to-face interaction encouraged by our conference format. The competition is predominantly structured around the Rotman Interactive Trader platform an electronic exchange that matches buyers and sellers in an order-driven market on which we run trading cases. The cases simulate potential scenarios for risks and opportunities with a focus on relevant investment, portfolio or risk management objectives. They are designed to test participants ability to handle a wide range of market scenarios. The following case package provides an overview of the content presented at the 2014 Rotman International Trading Competition. Each case has been specifically tailored to topics taught in university level classes and real-life trading situations. We hope you enjoy your experience at the competition.
See You in Toronto
Important Information
Practice Servers
Practice servers will be made available starting the week of January 27th. We will introduce the actual cases in a staggered manner - not all cases will be available on January 27th. Further information on release dates will be posted on the RITC website. Practice servers will operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week until 11.00pm EST Thursday, February 20th. Information on how to download and install the RIT v2.0 Client is available on the RITC website: http://ritc.rotman.utoronto.ca/casefile.asp The following table details the server IP and ports available for RITC practice environments: Case Name Sales & Trader Case BP Commodities Case CIBC Yield Curve Case Options Trading Case Algorithmic Trading Case Server 1 Algorithmic Trading Case Server 2 Algorithmic Trading Case Server 3 Algorithmic Trading Case Server 4 Server IP flserver.rotman.utoronto.ca flserver.rotman.utoronto.ca flserver.rotman.utoronto.ca flserver.rotman.utoronto.ca flserver.rotman.utoronto.ca flserver.rotman.utoronto.ca flserver.rotman.utoronto.ca flserver.rotman.utoronto.ca Port 16500 16510 16520 16530 16550 16560 16570 16580
To login to any server port, you can type in any username and password and it will automatically create an account if it does not exist. If you have forgotten your password or the username appears to be taken, simply choose a new username and password to create a new account. Multiple server ports have been provided for the Algorithmic Trading Case to allow teams to trade in either populated or unpopulated environments. For example, if you are testing your algorithm and there are 7 other algorithms running, you may want to move to a different port where there is less trading. Please note that the market dynamics in practice and in the competition cases will be the same. However, market parameters during the competition may be adjusted to better account for over 100 live traders. The Options Trading Case and the CIBC Yield Curve Case will be updated with a different set of news on February 7th at 7:00pm EST and on February 14th at 7:00pm EST. Teams wishing to trade against other participants are encouraged to login at this time. At each update, a new case file with different news items and randomized paths will be uploaded and will continue to run until the next update. As such, teams that continue to practise up to the competition will have traded 3 different iterations of each of the
aforementioned cases. The Sales & Trader Case, the CIBC Interest Rate Case and the Algorithmic Trading Cases have no news drivers but comprise new, randomized sets of security paths each time they are run. The BP Commodities Case will have practice sessions organized at a later date to better establish trading dynamics in a closed market. After organized practice sessions are completed, cases will be run iteratively for model calibration purposes.
Additional Support Files

Additional support files including the Algorithmic Trading Case Base Algorithm and other relevant support and documentation files will be provided on the RITC website (http://ritc.rotman.utoronto.ca/casefile.asp).
Scoring and Ranking Methodology

The Scoring and Ranking Methodology document will be released prior to the start of the competition on the RITC website. An announcement will be sent out to competitors when the document is available.
Competition Schedule
This schedule is subject to change prior to the competition. Competitors can check on the RITC website for the most up-to-date schedule. Each competitor will also receive a personalized schedule when s/he arrives at the competition.
Team Schedule
Competitors must submit a team-schedule by Monday, February 10th. This schedule will specify which team members will participate in certain RITC events and will specify each team members role in the BP Commodities Case. It is the teams responsibility to organize and schedule appropriately so that conflicts (for example, simultaneously trading 2 cases) are avoided. Schedules submitted by February 10th are considered final and substitutions following that date will not be permitted except under extreme circumstances. A form will be emailed to each team to complete withthe team schedule.
Competition Waivers
Each participant is required to sign a competition waiver prior to his/her participation at RITC. These will be e-mailed to you (to be signed and returned ahead of time) and will also be available at the registration desk when you arrive.
Case Summaries
Case Summaries
Social Outcry
The opening event of the competition gives you your first opportunity to make an impression on the sponsors, faculty members, and other teams in this fun introduction to the Rotman International Trading Competition. Trade against experienced professionals from the industry, try to make your case against the professors, and show everyone your outcry skills by making fast and loud trading decisions.
Sales & Trader Case

The Sales & Trader Case challenges participants to put their critical thinking and analytical abilities to the test in an environment that allows traders to have significant flexibility on the trading strategy they choose to implement. Traders will be faced with multiple tender offers requiring participants to make rapid judgments on the profitability and subsequent execution of these offers. Profits can be generated by taking advantage of pricing discrepancies, large tender offers, and market-making opportunities.
Quantitative Outcry Case

The Quantitative Outcry Case allows competitors to apply their understanding of macroeconomics to determine the effect news releases will have on the World economy as captured by the Rotman Index (RT100). The RT100 index is a composite index reflective of the worlds political, economic, and market condition. Traders will be required to interpret and react to both quantitative and qualitative news released when trading RT100 index based on their analysis of the news impact on the index.
Options Trading Case

The Options Trading Case gives traders the opportunity to generate profits by applying options trading strategies. The underlying asset of the options is an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) called RTM that mimics a major stock index. Traders will be able to trade shares of the ETF and 1-month call/put options with 10 different strike prices. Information including the stock price, option prices, and news releases will be provided. Participants are encouraged to use the information provided to forecast the future volatility of the underlying RTM and construct profitable options trading strategies.
BP Commodities Case
The BP Commodities Case challenges the ability of traders to interact with one another in a closed supply and demand market. Natural crude oil production and its consumption will form the framework for traders to engage in direct trade to meet each others goals. The case will test each individuals ability to assess market dynamics and optimally perform his/her role, while stressing teamwork and communication within the team. The case will involve crude oil production, refinement, storage, as well as the sale of its synthesized physical products.
Case Summaries
Algorithmic Trading Case

The Algorithmic Trading Case is designed to challenge participants programming skills since they are required to develop algorithms using Excel VBA to automate the market-making process and react to changing market conditions. Throughout the case, these algorithms will submit orders to create and unwind positions in response to market conditions. In addition, teams should attempt to maximize profits from the bid-ask spread and any arbitrage opportunities that may arise. Due to the high-frequency nature of the case, traders may face challenges in developing algorithms to adapt to changes in market dynamics.
CIBC Yield Curve Case

The CIBC Yield Curve Case challenges participants understanding of bond pricing based on news and benchmark interest rates derived from 4 non-tradable government zero-coupon bonds. Participants are required to price 3 tradable government coupon bonds (with fixed maturity dates) based on the benchmark rates and news. The news, which will be released throughout the case, may have an impact on the benchmark rates, and thus on the fair prices of the tradable coupon bonds. Participants should forecast the impact of the news on the benchmark rates and exploit any bond mispricing opportunities to generate profits.
Social Outcry Case
Social Outcry
Overview
The objective of the Social Outcry Case is to allow competition participants to interact (to break the ice) and to understand the progression of market technology. This segment of the competition is not included in the cumulative team score because scores are based on individual performance. The Social Outcry will be an exciting way for you to introduce yourself to the participants at RITC as well as great preparation for the Quantitative Outcry. You will be ranked based on your Net Liquidation Value at the end of the case.
Description
Each participant will start the session with a neutral futures position. Participants are allowed to go long (buy) or go short (sell). All trades will be settled at the closing spot price.
Market Dynamics
Participants will trade futures contracts on an index, the RT100. The futures price will be determined by the markets transactions while the spot price will follow a stochastic path subject to influence from qualitative news announcements that will be displayed on the ticker. One news announcement will be displayed at a time, and each news release will have an uncertain length and effect. Favourable news will result in an increase in the spot price while unfavourable news will cause a decrease in the spot price. These reactions may occur instantly or with lags. Each participant is expected to trade based on how s/he interprets the news and his/her anticipation of the market reaction.
Trading Limits and Transaction Costs

There are no trading limits or trading commissions for the Social Outcry Case. Participants are only allowed to trade a maximum of 5 contracts per trade/ticket.
Rules and Responsibilities

The following rules apply throughout the Social Outcry Case: Market agents are RITC staff members at the front of the outcry pit collecting tickets. Once parties have verbally committed to a trade, they are required to transact. All tickets must be filled out completely and legibly and verified by both parties with no portion of the ticket left blank. Illegible tickets may be ignored by the market agents! Both transacting parties are responsible for making sure that the white portion of the ticket is received by the market agent. The transaction will not be processed if the white portion is not submitted. Both trading parties must walk the ticket up to the market agent for the ticket to be accepted. Only the white portion of the ticket will be accepted by the market agent; trading receipts (pink and yellow) are for the teams records only. RITC staff reserve the right to break any unreasonable trades.
Social Outcry Case
Any breaches of the above stated rules and responsibilities are to be reported to the market agent or floor governors immediately.
Position Close-Out and Case Scoring

Each persons trades will be settled at the close of trading based on the final spot price. The ranking is based on the total P/L (profit/loss) from the trading session. Example: Throughout the trading session, one trader has made the following trades: Buy 2 contracts @ 998 Sell 5 contracts @ 1007 Buy 1 contract @ 1004 The market closed out @ 1000. The P/L for the trader is then calculated as follows: 2 long contracts @ 998 P/L: (1000-998)*2*10 = $40 5 short contracts @ 1007 P/L: (1000-1007)*(-5)*10 = $350 1 long contract @ 1004 P/L: (1000-1004)*1*10 = ($40) There are no commissions or fines in the Social Outcry. The trader has made a total P/L of $350. Complete Transaction and Social Outcry Language Example To find the market, traders simply yell Whats the market? If someone wants to make the market on the bid side, s/he can answer bid 50 meaning s/he wants to buy at a price ending with 50 (1050, 1150), whichever is closest to the last trade. If someone wants to make the market on the ask side, s/he/ will yell at 51 meaning s/he wants to sell at a price ending with 51 (1051, 1151) closest to the last price. Note that so far, no quantity has been declared. Only two digits are required when calling the bid or ask. To complete a trade, someone willing to take the market price can simply say bought two to the person selling. The sellers response must then be: sold two (or any other quantity below 2, but not 0, at the sellers discretion) . After the seller and the buyer fill out the trade ticket and submit the white part to the ticket taker, the trade is complete. Please note that the market maker (trader announcing the price) gets to decide the quantity traded up to a maximum of the quantity requested by the market taker.
Social Outcry Case
A complete transaction could run as follows: Trader 1 Trader2 Trader3 Trader 1 to Trader 3 Trader 3 to Trader 1 Trader 1 or Trader 3 Whats the market? bid 70, at 72 or 70 at 72, (bid 1070, ask 1072, this trader wants to buy and sell) at 71 (the new market is 1070 to 1071) Bought 5 (he/she wants to buy 5 contracts at 1071) Sold 3 (Although Trader 1 wanted to buy 5 contracts, Trader 3 only wants to sell 3 contracts so Trader 1 must accept the three contracts). S/he fills out the trade ticket with initials from both Trader 1 and Trader 3. The white portion of the ticket is submitted to the market agent by both traders (both traders walk the ticket up to the front of the trading floor). Trader 1 (Buyer) keeps the yellow portion of the ticket and Trader 3 (Seller) keeps the pink (red) portion of the ticket.
There will be a brief outcry practice and demonstration before the Social Outcry on the first day of competition.
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Sales & Trader Case
Sales & Trader Case

Overview
The Sales & Trader Case challenges participants to put their critical thinking and analytical abilities to the test in an environment that allows traders to have significant flexibility on their trading strategy. Traders will be faced with multiple tender offers requiring participants to make rapid judgments on the profitability and subsequent execution of these offers. Profits can be generated by taking advantage of pricing discrepancies, large tender offers, and market-making opportunities.
Description
There will be 2 heats with 2 team members competing for the entire heat. Each heat will consist of 5, independent sub-heats with each sub-heat representing one month of calendar time. Each sub-heat will have a unique objective and could involve multiple securities with different volatility and liquidity characteristics. Parameter Number of trading sub-heats Trading time per sub heat Calendar time per sub heat Value 5 600 seconds (10 minutes) 1 month (20 trading days)
Tender offers will be generated by computerized traders and distributed at random intervals to random participants. Traders must evaluate the profitability of these tenders when accepting or bidding on them. Trading from Excel using Rotman API will be disabled. Real time data (RTD) links will be enabled.
Market Dynamics
There are 5 sub-heats per heat, each with unique market dynamics and parameters ranging from changes in the spread of tender orders to the liquidity and volatility of various stocks. Details regarding each sub-heat will be distributed directly before the trading period, allowing participants to formulate trading strategies. An example of sub-heat details is shown below. Starting Price Commission/share Max order size Trading Limit (Gross/Net) Liquidity Volatility Tender frequency RITC $10 $0.01 25,000 250,000/250,000 High Medium Medium COMP $25 $0.02 25,000 250,000/250,000 Medium High Low
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Sales & Trader Case
During each sub-heat traders will occasionally receive one of three different types of tender offers: private tenders, competitive auctions and winner-take-all tenders. Tender offers are generated by the server and randomly distributed to traders at different times. Each participant will get the same number of tender offers with variations in price and quantity. Private tenders are routed to individual traders and are offers to purchase or sell a fixed volume of stock at a fixed price. The tender price is influenced by the same pre-generated path that the liquidity traders follow in an attempt to drive the market price towards that path. Private tenders will give a spread based on the pregenerated path price when the order was provided. No trading commission will be paid on private tenders and traders will have a fixed time window to accept or decline any offer. This time window will be indicated in the details distributed prior to each sub-heat. Competitive auction offers will be sent to every participant at the same time. Traders will be required to determine a competitive, yet profitable price to submit for a given volume of stock from the auction. Any trader who submits an order that is better than the base-line reserve price (hidden from traders) will automatically have his/her order filled, regardless of other traders bids. If accepted, the fills will occur at the price that the trader submitted. Winner-take-all tenders request traders to submit bids to buy or sell a fixed volume of stock. After all prices have been received, the tender is awarded to the single highest bidder or lowest offer. The winning price however must meet a base-line reserve price. If no offer meets the reserve price, then the trade may not be awarded to anyone (i.e. if all traders bid $2.00 for a $10 stock, nobody will win).

Each trader will be subject to gross and net trading limits to be specified in the case description distributed prior to the trading period. The gross trading limit reflects the sum of the absolute values of the long and short positions across all securities; while the net trading limit reflects the sum of long and short positions such that short positions negate any long positions. Trading limits will be strictly enforced and traders will not be able to exceed them. The maximum order size will be 25,000 shares, restricting the volume of shares transacted per trade to 25,000. Transaction fees will be specified in the case description distributed prior to the trading period.
Position Close-Out
Any non-zero position will be closed out at the end of trading based on the last traded price. This includes any long or short position open in any security. Computerized market makers will increase the liquidity in the market towards the end of trading to ensure the closing price cannot be manipulated.
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Sales & Trader Case
Key Objectives
Objective 1: Generate profits by market making in order to capture the bid-ask spread. Develop trading strategies based on the case descriptions to be distributed prior to the trading period in order to customize profitable trading strategies to each sub-heat. Objective 2: Evaluate the profitability of tender offers and accept those that will generate positive profits while rejecting those that will create losses. Submit competitive, yet profitable, bids and offers on above reserve and winnertake-all tenders in order to maximize potential profits. Objective 3: Limit market risk by managing open positions and optimally utilizing the gross and net trading limits to maximize profits. Maintaining large short or long positions may result in the market trading away from your transaction price, resulting in losses. Use a combination of limit and market orders to mitigate any liquidity and price risks from holding open positions.
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Overview
The Quantitative Outcry Case allows competitors to apply their understanding of macroeconomics to determine the effect news releases will have on the World economy as captured by the Rotman Index (RT100). The RT100 index is a composite index reflective of the worlds political, economic, and market condition. Traders will be required to interpret and react to both quantitative and qualitative news released when trading RT100 index based on their analysis of the news impact on the index.
Description
There will be 2 heats with 4 team members competing for the entire heat. The 4 team members will be 2 analysts and 2 traders who will switch positions for the second heat. For instance, team members acting as traders in the first heat must act as analysts in the second heat and vice versa. Each heat will last 30 minutes representing six months of calendar time. Traders will be trading futures contracts on the RT100 index. Parameter Number of trading heats Trading time per heat Calendar time per heat Value 2 30 minutes 6 months
The Rotman Atrium will serve as the trading pit for the traders, while the analysts will share a computer in the Rotman Finance Lab. Analysts will have access to detailed news releases, while traders in the pit will only have access to news headlines. It will be the role of the analysts to quantify the impact of news releases on the RT100 index while traders will be required to react and trade according to the analysts instructions. As analysts and traders will be on separate floors, it will be essential to develop non verbal communication strategies. Electronic devices are not permitted during this case.
Market Dynamics
The value of the RT100 index is determined by the quarterly GDP growth, in billions of $ of the following 4 economies: the United States, Saudi Arabia, China and the United Kingdom. Economic statistics for each of the countries are collected and released throughout the trading session, and will determine the exact trading level of the RT100 at the midpoint and at the end of the trading period (3 months and 6 months in real calendar time). Please note that all the values will be expressed in $ and there is no exchange rate risk. The value of the RT index is calculated by the following formula: 100 =15 = 1000 + ( 1 1 ) + + ( 1 1 )
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In other words, every $1 billion of actual year-over-year GDP growth will cause a 1 point increase in the RT100 index. Consequently every $1 billion of actual GDP shortfalls will cause a 1 point decrease in the RT100 index. The contract size of RT100 Futures is $10. Therefore, 1 futures contract is worth $10*RT100 Index. The Spot trades will have the same contract multiplier as the Futures, which is set at $10. The quarterly GDP for each country is comprised of aggregate production in three independent sectors: Manufactured Goods, Services, and Raw Materials. At the beginning of the outcry case, estimates for the aggregate quarterly GDP of each country and sector will be released. Throughout the quarter, news releases will provide estimates and information that will allow analysts to construct expectations for each country and each sector. The following is a sample series of data for Q1 U.K.: U.K. Q1 GDP last year was $100 Billion. This year, the market sees manufactured goods of $30B, services of $60B, and raw materials of $10B. General workers protest hits U.K. manufacturing sector, causing minor production delays. Strong global commodities prices lift raw materials output across the globe by as much as 10%. New policies cause $7B increase in services spending. RELEASE U.K. Manufacturing for Q1 : $28B RELEASE U.K. Raw Materials for Q1 : $11B RELEASE U.K. Services for Q1 : $67B The sum of the independent sectors, and thus the resulting Q1 U.K. GDP, is $106B. This is $6B above last years Q1 GDP of $100B and would cause the RT100 to increase by 6 points. This, in addition to the effects of the other 3 countries, will determine the RT100 Index value at the 15 minute mark (which corresponds to the end of Q1) and then the 30 minute mark. Aside from the transactions done by traders in the Rotman Atrium, analysts in the Rotman Finance Lab are allowed to make up to 3 spot trades during each heat, with up to 50 contracts in each trade. The spot trades will be executed at the current spot price of the RT100 index posted on the screen. These trades allow each team to have an opportunity to close out their positions in a timely manner. Moreover, since the futures market will be driven by trader activity while the spot market is based on the actual economic indicators realized, there may be arbitrage profit opportunities due to inefficiencies in the two markets. These trades are added to the aggregate futures position of the team. The soft and hard trading restriction limits discussed below will apply to trades made by analysts in the Rotman Finance Lab.
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Cash Bonuses
Analyst Estimates Throughout the trading heat, analysts will be required to submit a point estimate of where they believe the RT100 will settle at the 15 and 30 minute marks. These estimates are due by 10 and 25 minutes of trading, respectively (i.e. 5 minutes before the end of the quarter). These time limits will be tracked solely based on the trading software. Participants should refrain from using external devices (online timers, cell phones, watches, etc.) to track the time limits. Analysts will be graded based on their prediction accuracy and bonus cash will be allocated to the teams with the most accurate analysts. Counterparties At the end of trading, all submitted tickets will be reviewed and each team will be given a counterparty score based on the number of different trading counterparties they transacted with throughout the trading session. Teams will be awarded bonus cash based on the number of counterparties with which they transacted. Bonus Cash Calculations For both of the two bonus calculations mentioned above, each team will be ranked based on its performance and split into quintiles, except for the last team for each respective bonus pool. The top quintile for each bonus pool will be assigned a 5% bonus, the second 4%, and so on until the last quintile is assigned a 1% bonus, while the last placed team is assigned a 0% bonus. Bonuses are never negative, and they are applied at the end of the heat based on the teams absolute performance throughout the heat. Trading P&L Trading P&L will be calculated in a similar fashion as the social outcry case (with trading fines described below). Trading P&L will then be modified by all bonuses (Analyst Estimate and Counterparties). The following is an example of a P&L calculation: Bought 5 RT100 Futures at $1,000 Close out the position at $1,100 The team is ranked at the top quintile for the bonus pool of Analyst Estimates and the third quintile for Counterparties Profit Before Bonuses = (1100-1000)*$10*5-$11*5 = $4,995 Bonuses = |$4,995|*5%+|$4,995|*3% = $399.60 Total P&L = $4,995+$399.60=$5,394.60
Brokerage commission explained in Trading Limits and Transaction Costs
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The following is an example when a trader has a negative P&L: Bought 5 RT100 Futures at $1,000 Close out the position at $900 The team is ranked at the top quintile for the bonus pool of Analyst Estimates and the third quintile for Counterparties Profit Before Bonuses = (900-1000)*$10*5-$1*5 = -$5,005 Bonuses = |-$5,005|*5%+|-$5,005|*3% = $400.40 Total P&L = -$5,005+$400.40 = -$4,604.60

Each team has a starting position of 0 contracts, a soft trading limit of 200 contracts and a fixed hard trading limit of 500 contracts on its net positions. On a best-efforts basis, each team will be notified as it approaches its soft and hard limits. If a team exceeds its soft limit, it will be charged a fee proportional to how much it exceeded the soft limit. The amount by which a team exceeds the initial soft limit of 200 will become its new soft limit. The fee per contract above the soft limit is $100. For instance, if Team As net position is at 220, it will be charged a fee of $100 * 20 = $2000 (it has exceeded its soft limit of 200 by 20 contracts). For Team A, 220 is now the new soft limit. As long as Team As position remains below 220, there will be no additional fees. If Team A bought more and had a new net position of 280, then it would be charged an additional fee of $100 * 60 = $6000 (The difference between the new net position and new soft limit). If a team does not exceed its soft limit, it will not be charged any fees. Any team that exceeds the hard limit of 500 will be automatically disqualified from the outcry. They will be given a rank equal to that of last place for that outcry. In addition, there is a zero tolerance policy regarding electronic communication. Any trader or analyst seen (by an RITC staff member) using or holding a cell phone during the trading heats will be immediately disqualified. RITC staff will be positioned throughout the pit and the Rotman Finance Lab to police this. Each futures contract has a maximum volume of 50 contracts per trade (same as the spot contracts). Once more, analysts in the Rotman Finance Lab are allowed to make up to 3 spot trades during each heat, with up to 50 contracts in each trade. Each contract will be charged a brokerage commission of $1 per contract.
Position Close-Out
Each teams position will be settled at the end of the trading session by closing out its remaining positions at the final spot price.
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Key Objectives
Objective 1: Traders can generate profits by interpreting news headlines and communicating effectively among team members to discern price movements. Try to trade with many counterparties to capitalize on the bonus scheme. Objective 2: The analyst should track news releases and attempt to estimate accurately the value of the RT100 index in order to develop a profitable trading strategy, deliver it to the traders and submit spot trades to profit from inefficiencies in the markets.
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Overview
The Options Trading Case gives traders the opportunity to generate profits by applying options trading strategies. The underlying asset of the options is an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) called RTM that mimics a major stock index. Traders will be able to trade shares of the ETF and 1-month call/put options with 10 different strike prices. Information including the stock price, option prices, and news releases will be provided. Participants are encouraged to use the information provided to forecast the future volatility of the underlying RTM and construct options strategies that will profit from this volatility.
Description
There will be 2 heats with 2 team members competing for the entire heat. Each heat will consist of 5 independent sub-heats with each sub-heat representing one month of calendar time. Parameter Number of trading sub-heats Trading time per sub-heat Calendar time per sub-heat Value 5 600 seconds 1 month (20 days)
During the case, news will be released and traders will be able to transact shares of RTM or options. Trading from excel using Rotman API will be disabled. Real time data (RTD) links will be enabled.
Market Dynamics
Traders will be able to trade the RTM stock index, or twenty separate options contracts on the RTM. Sample Option Prices Price $5.05 $4.11 $3.22 $2.42 $1.72 $1.16 $0.74 $0.45 $0.26 $0.14 Call Ticker RTM45C RTM46C RTM47C RTM48C RTM49C RTM50C RTM51C RTM52C RTM53C RTM54C Strike Price 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 Put Ticker RTM45P RTM46P RTM47P RTM48P RTM49P RTM50P RTM51P RTM52P RTM53P RTM54P Price $0.05 $0.11 $0.22 $0.42 $0.72 $1.16 $1.74 $2.45 $3.26 $4.14
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All securities are priced by a very large market-maker who will always quote a bid-ask spread of 2 cents (i.e. $50.00*50.02 for the RTM, or $4.14*$4.16 for the RTM46C). The bids and asks are for an infinite quantity (there are no liquidity constraints in this case). The price of the underlying stock index, RTM, is a random-walk and the path is generated using the following process:
, = ,1 (1 + ); = (0, )
The price of the stock is based on the previous price multiplied by a return that is drawn from a normal distribution with a mean of zero and standard deviation (volatility) of sigma. Sigmas starting value is 20% (on an annualized basis). The trading period is divided into 4 weeks, with t=1...150 being week one, t = 151300 week two, and so on . At the beginning of each week, the volatility value (sigma) will shift, and the new value will be provided to traders. In addition, at the middle of each week (i.e. t=75) an estimate of next weeks volatility value will be announced. The observed and tradable prices of the options will be based on a computerized market-maker posting bids and offers for all options. The market maker will price the options using the Black-Scholes pricing model. The volatility forecasts made by the market maker are uninformed and therefore will not accurately reflect the future volatility of the underlying RTM. Mispricing will occur, creating trading opportunities for market participants. These opportunities could be between specific options with respect to other options, specific options with respect to the underlying, or all options with respect to the underlying. Sample Information Release Schedule Time 1 75 150 . 450 Week Week 1 Week 1 Week 2 Week 4 Release The volatility of RTM for this week is 20% The forecast for RTMs volatility next week is 24-27% The volatility of RTM for this week is 25% The volatility of RTM for this week is 32%
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Each trader will be subject to gross and net trading limits specific to the security type and specified below. The gross trading limit reflects the sum of the absolute values of the long and short positions across all securities while the net trading limit reflects the sum of long and short positions such that short positions negate any long positions. Trading limits will be strictly enforced and traders will not be able to exceed them. Security Type RTM Equity RTM Options Gross Limit 50,000 Shares 2,500 Contracts Net Limit 50,000 Shares 1,000 Contracts
The maximum trade size will be 10,000 shares for RTM equity and 100 contracts for RTM options, restricting the volume of shares and contracts transacted per trade to 10,000 and 100 respectively. Transaction fees will be set at $0.02 per share traded for RTM stock and $2.00 per contract traded for RTM options. As with standard options markets, each contract represents 100 shares (purchasing 1 contract for $0.35 will actually cost $35 plus a $2 commission, and settle based on the exercise value of 100 shares).
Position Close-Out
Any outstanding position in the RTM ETF will be closed at the end of trading based on the last-traded price. There are no liquidity constraints for either option or for the ETF. All options will be cash-settled based on their exercise value.
Key Objectives
Objective 1: Build a model to forecast the future volatility of the underlying stock based on known information and given forecasts. Traders should use this model with an options pricing model to determine whether the market prices for options are currently overvalued or undervalued. They should then make trades in the specific options accordingly. Objective 2: Consider using option Greeks to calculate the portfolio exposure and hedge the position to reduce the risk of the portfolio while capturing volatility differentials across options. Objective 3: Traders should also look for arbitrage opportunities across different options strikes/series.
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BP Commodities Case
BP Commodities Case
Overview
The BP Commodities Case challenges the ability of traders to interact with one another in a closed supply and demand market. Natural crude oil production and its consumption will form the framework for traders to engage in direct trade to meet each others goals. The case will test each individuals ability to assess market dynamics and optimally perform his/her role, while stressing teamwork and communication within the team. The case will involve crude oil production, refinement, storage, as well as the sale of its synthesized physical products.
Description
The BP Commodities Case will comprise 2 heats with 4 team members competing together for the assigned heat (i.e. half of the teams will compete in the first heat and half in the second heat). Each heat will consist of four 16-minute sub-heats to be independently traded that represent two months, or 40 trading days. Each sub-heat will involve five tradable securities and three assets. Trading from Excel using the Rotman API will be disabled. Real time data (RTD) links will be enabled. Parameter Number of trading sub-heats Trading time per sub-heat Calendar time per sub-heat Maximum order size Mark-to-market frequency Value 4 16 minutes (960 seconds) 2 months (40 trading days) 10 contracts Daily (24 seconds)
Team Roles
In this case, each trader will have one of three specific roles: 1. Producer 2. Refiner 3. Trader Each team will have 1 producer, 1 refiner and 2 traders. The team will determine the position of each member.
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BP Commodities Case
Example: The team ROTMAN will have four trader-IDs (ROTMAN-1, ROTMAN-2, ROTMAN-3, ROTMAN-4), and roles have been assigned according to the list below. Trader-ID ROTMAN-1 ROTMAN-2 ROTMAN-3 and ROTMAN-4 Role Producer Refiner Trader
Please remember to submit each members role in the team schedule by Monday, February 10th as specified in the Important Information section above. If a team misses this deadline, the roles will be randomly assigned between the team members by competition staff. Producer: The producer owns an oil rig that has an average production of 2,000 barrels of oil per day, or 10,000 barrels per week (neglecting weekends). Oil is produced at a fixed cost of $35/barrel, and the producer will receive all of his or her weekly production at the end of each week. All oil rigs are identical, and production variance affects all oil rigs equally. Producers start with an initial endowment of crude oil and will have a total storage capacity of 20,000 barrels. A producer cannot shut down the production of his/her oil rig. In the event a producer exceeds the storage limit, s/he will be forced to lease the storage for the remainder of the simulation at an expensive distressed price of $50/barrel (charged in 10,000 barrel increments). Refiner: Each refiner has access to two separate facilities: New Refinery (N-Refinery) and Old Refinery (O-Refinery). The New Refinery is more efficient and costs $25/barrel to run crude oil through the refinery. On the other hand, the Old Refinery costs $40/barrel and generates the same synthesized products as the New Refinery. The refineries turn two barrels of Crude Oil into one barrel of Heating Oil and one barrel of RBOB Gasoline. Heating Oil and RBOB Gasoline are traded in gallons, where one barrel equals 42 gallons. Both N-Refinery and O-Refinery will have a refinery time of 108 seconds and a refinery lease time of 120 seconds. However, the lease function will be disabled when the remaining time is less than 108 seconds. Refiners generally should be running their N-Refinery the entire time since it is likely always profitable to do so. With the higher cost structure, the profitability of O-Refinery largely depends on the market conditions. Refiners have to decide whether or not to utilize both refineries. Refiners start with an initial endowment of 10,000 barrels of oil and will have a total storage capacity of 20,000 barrels. Heating Oil and RBOB Gasoline do not require storage. Traders: Traders have access to Crude Oil, Heating Oil and RBOB Gasoline markets. During the trading period, traders will receive institutional orders from overseas clients who wish to buy or sell crude oil. Traders act as the
23
BP Commodities Case
shock absorber for the market. They balance the supply and demand and help markets achieve equilibrium by naturally filling up their storage tanks when crude prices are very low and sell them back to the market when prices are relatively high. Traders are limited to at most 2 units of CL-storage (20,000 barrels) at a time.
Market Dynamics
Producers, Traders, and Refiners will be able to trade the securities according to the table below. Commodities Contract Size 1,000 Barrels 42,000 Gallons 42,000 Gallons 42,000 Gallons 42,000 Gallons
Securities CL HO-2F RB-2F HO RB
Description Crude Oil Spot Month 2 futures contract for HO Month 2 futures contract for RB Heating Oil RBOB Gasoline
Accessibility Producer, Refiner, Trader Trader Trader Refiner Refiner
Shortable No Yes Yes No No
Participants will be able to utilize the following assets which are required for storing and refining physical crude products. Capacity (in Barrels) 10,000 10,000 6,000
Assets CL-STORAGE N-Refinery O-Refinery
Description Storage for Crude Oil New Refinery Old Refinery
Cost Free* $250,000 per 5 trading days $240,000 per 5 trading days
Conversion period N/A 4.5 trading days 4.5 trading days
*All starting endowments of storage are free. Subsequent storage leased (due to overproduction) will be charged at a price of $500,000 per unit. Industry-specific news will be released to participants based on their roles. Producers will receive expected production reports of their oil rigs (which are subject to change throughout the simulation). Refiners will receive market information on the downstream Heating Oil and RBOB Gasoline markets. Traders will receive The International Tender Report which describes the expected institutional orders activity.
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BP Commodities Case
The interaction between different market participants, including their maximization objectives and teamwork, is what will largely influence the overall profits of each team. Thus, participants have to optimize the dynamics of each role. The following is a simplified example of the case: Assume HO and RBOB are currently trading at $2.1/gallon and $1.9/gallon respectively, giving a refined value of $2.0/gallon. If you convert this value into barrels: 42,000 * $2.0/gallon = $84,000 per 1,000 barrels, or $84/barrel. Refiners have bought two contracts, agreeing to buy 1,000 barrels of crude oil from the producers and 1,000 barrels of crude oil from traders at a price of $60/barrel. In this scenario, refiners choose to operate only the new refinery and not the old refinery. Traders initially bought crude from producers at a spot price of $45/barrel. Profit generated by each member (per barrel): Producers: Price per contract - cost of producing oil per barrel = $60- $35 = $25 Refiners: Value of refined oil - cost of buying and refining oil = $84- ($60 + $25) = -$1 Traders: Price of contract sold - spot price of oil bought = $60 - $45 = $15
Cost of producing: $35/barrel Contract sold at $60/barrel
Cost of refining: $25/barrel HO
Producers
Refiners
RBOB
Contract bought at $45/barrel
Contract sold at $60/barrel
Traders

Separate limits will be maintained for Crude Oil (CRUDE) and HO/RBOB Products (PRODUCT). Each participant will be subject to gross and net trading limits of 60 contracts and 40 contracts, respectively. The gross trading limit reflects the sum of the absolute values of the long and short positions across the limit category securities and cannot exceed 60 contracts. The net trading limit reflects the sum of long and short positions such that short positions negate the long positions and has an upper bound of 40 contracts of crude equivalent products. Trading limits will be strictly enforced and traders will not be able to exceed them by trading. However, production and refining assets can and will cause limit breaches if they are not managed properly.
25
BP Commodities Case
For example, for heating oil or RBOB gasoline, a long position of 1 RBOB contract (42,000 gallons) and short position of one HO (42,000 gallons) contract will result in a PRODUCT net limit usage of 0/40 and a PRODUCT gross limit usage of 2/60. The maximum trade size will be 5 contracts, restricting the volume of the contracts transacted per trade to 5.
Position Close-Out
All futures positions will be marked-to-market every 24 seconds with any profits and losses reflected in the traders cash balance by the mark-to-market operation. Each security position except crude oil will be closed out at the last traded price. Crude oil will be closed out at $60 per barrel regardless of the market price.
Key Objectives:
Objective 1: Maximize profits as a team of producers, refiners and traders by reacting to the news headlines and going long crude oil and its related products during supply shortfalls and shorting them during times of supply excess. This will create profits from changes in the price of the crude oil, futures and products. Objective 2: Design a model to calculate the effect of news releases on the prices of Crude Oil, Heating Oil and RBOB Gasoline in order to maximize trading profits. Using information gleaned from news releases and trading data, track the supply and demand of oil throughout the simulation to determine optimal storage usage and trading strategies. Note: Since this simulation requires a large number of participants to contribute to establish supply/demand, practice sessions for this case will be organized and held at specified times. After organized practice sessions are completed, cases will be run iteratively for model calibration purposes (trading skillfully cannot be practised unless there are 20+ users online.)
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Overview
The Algorithmic Trading Case is designed to challenge participants programming skills since they are required to develop algorithms using Excel VBA to automate the market-making process and react to changing market conditions. Throughout the case, these algorithms will submit orders to create and unwind positions in response to market conditions. In addition, teams should attempt to maximize profits from the bid-ask spread and any arbitrage opportunities that may arise. Due to the high-frequency nature of the case, traders may face challenges in developing algorithms to adapt to changes in market dynamics.
Description
There will be 4 heats with 1 team member competing in each heat. Any team member may represent the team in any one or all of the heats. Each heat will consist of three 5-minute sub-heats representing one hour of trading. Each team will be trading with up to 13 additional teams at a time. Parameter Number of trading heats Number of trading sub-heats Trading time per sub-heat Calendar time per sub-heat Value 4 preliminary heats + 1 final heat 3 300 seconds (5 minutes) 1 hour of trading
All trades must be automatically executed by a trading algorithm. Traders will not be allowed to trade through the RIT Client once the case begins. However, traders are allowed to and indeed are encouraged to use and modify their Excel spreadsheets in response to prevailing market conditions and competition from the algorithms of other teams. In addition, they will have 3 minutes in between each sub-heat to alter their algorithm. A base template algorithm will be provided for traders and can be directly modified for use in the competition. Alternatively, traders can create their own algorithm using Excel VBA. It is strongly suggested that each team have a working version of its algorithm available on a USB or storage device. An internet connection will not be provided for the workstations trading the Algorithmic Trading Case.
Market Dynamics
This case will involve 3 stocks and 1 ETF with varying levels of volatility and liquidity. This dynamic exposes traders to the basics of market microstructure in the context of algorithmic trading. Participants can manage the market price impact of trades and automate market making operations by dividing larger volume orders into smaller trades and submitting pairs of trades electronically. The ETF pricing will reflect the following weighted sum of the 3 stocks traded, subject to periodic shocks to its price. WALL = 5 GEORGE + JORDAN + MIKE
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Each trader will be able to trade 4 securities for which the details are shown below.
Ticker Starting Price Fee/share (Market orders) Rebate/share (Limit/Passive orders) Max order size Annualized volatility Liquidity Type
GEORGE $10 $0.01 $0.005 10,000 37% High Stock
JORDAN $10 $0.01 $0.005 10,000 19% Low Stock
MIKE $10 $0.01 $0.005 10,000 25% Medium Stock
WALL $70 $0.02 $0.015 5,000 27% Medium ETF
Traders will be given endowments during each sub-heat following the schedule below. Note that these endowments are priced at the market price at each endowment time (i.e. the market prices of each security at tick 75, 150, or 225). Tick of Endowment 75 150 225 GEORGE 6,000 -3,000 0 JORDAN 1,000 0 -1,500 MIKE -1,800 4,500 0 WALL 0 2,000 3,000
There will be no information provided that will allow teams to predict the future price or direction of any security. In addition, each team will start with the same initial position at the beginning of each sub-heat. While unwinding its position, a team may choose to simultaneously have its algorithm automatically generate and execute orders in other markets. A fee-rebate structure will be instituted to compensate traders for the addition of liquidity through limit orders. As such, traders will have the opportunity to generate returns by market making. Traders will be penalized for having an open position at the end of any individual sub-heat. This penalty will be levied against the final Net Liquidation Value for that sub-heat. The calculation of the penalty is as follows: Penalty for Stocks A = (# of shares open of Stock A * $0.50) Please be aware that this penalty applies to each of the 4 securities separately which emphasizes the importance of closing out your position across all securities. Furthermore, although RIT automatically closes out your position at the conclusion of the case, this is not considered a valid closeout. Any positions closed out by RIT are considered to be an open position at the close.
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Time of Sub-heat (tick) Gross/Net 0 ~ 240 200,000/50,000 240 ~ 299 100,000/50,000 300 100,000/0
Each trader will be subject to gross and net trading limits which will change over each sub-heat. The gross trading limit reflects the sum of the absolute values of the long and short positions across all securities and the net trading limit reflects the sum of long and short positions such that short positions negate any long positions. Trading limits will be strictly enforced and traders will not be able to exceed them. Each position in stock will be counted towards trading limits with a multiplier of 1, while each position in the ETF will be counted with a multiplier of 7 (i.e. if you long 100 shares of any stocks, your gross and the net trading limits will increase by 100. If you long 100 positions of WALL, your gross and net trading limits will increase by 700 (100 positions * multiplier of 7). The maximum trade size will be 10,000 shares for stocks and 5,000 shares for the ETF, restricting the volume of shares transacted per trade to 10,000 shares for stocks and 5,000 shares for the ETF. Transaction fees will be set at $0.01 per share for stocks and $0.02 per share for the ETF on all market orders filled. Subsequently, a rebate of $0.005 per share for stocks and $0.015 per share for the ETF will be given for all submitted limit orders that are filled. Due to this rebate structure, it is possible for a trader to be profitable after buying and selling a security at the same price, provided that the trader uses limit orders.
Position Close-Out
Any non-zero position in either stock will be closed out at the end of trading based on the last traded price. It is strongly suggested that traders close out their positions prior to the end of trading period since open positions will be subject to the penalty described above.
Key Objectives
Objective 1: Edit the template provided and optimize the trading parameters such that the algorithm efficiently balances a) trading frequently and large positions while b) minimizing price risk. Successful algorithms manage to transact large amounts of shares while keeping their position (and risk) very small. Objective 2: Consider rewriting and redesigning the algorithm using your own logic. Since the same template is being provided to all participants, there is a limitation on your ability to differentiate yourself by simply modifying the base template.
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Overview
The CIBC Yield Curve Case challenges participants understanding of bond pricing based on news and benchmark interest rates derived from 4 non-tradable government zero-coupon bonds. Participants have to price 3 tradable government coupon bonds (with fixed maturity dates) based on the benchmark rates and news. The news, which will be released throughout the case, may have an impact on the benchmark rates, and thus on the fair prices of the tradable coupon bonds. Participants should forecast the impact of the news on the benchmark rates and exploit any bond mispricing opportunities to generate profits.
Description
There will be 2 heats with 2 team members competing for the entire heat. Each heat will consist of 5 independent sub-heats. Each sub-heat represents one year of calendar time and involves 3 tradable coupon bonds and 4 non-tradable zero-coupon bonds. Parameter Number of trading sub-heats Trading time per sub-heat Calendar time per sub-heat Number of periods per sub-heat Trading time per period Calendar time per period Value 5 624 seconds (approximately 10 minutes) 1 year (252 days, 52 weeks) Assume to be December 31st 2015 to December 31st 2016 2 312 seconds (approx. 5 minutes) 6 months (126 days, 26 weeks)
During the case, news will be released and traders will be able to trade the government coupon bonds. Trading from Excel using the Rotman API will be disabled. Real time data (RTD) links will be enabled. Securities At the beginning of the case (December 31st, 2015), the Canadian Government will issue 4 zero-coupon bonds for which the maturity dates are specified below: Securities ZC2016 ZC2017 ZC2020 ZC2025 Maturity Date December 31st 2016 December 31st 2017 December 31st 2020 December 31st 2025
The annualized yields to maturity for the zero-coupon bonds (compounded on a weekly basis) will be quoted. The zero-coupon bonds are not tradable and their yields to maturity comprise a zero-coupon benchmark
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curve for the pricing of the coupon bonds. The benchmark rates are exogenous and should be considered risk-free rates. For the purposes of this case, the 4 bonds described above are the only zero-coupon securities issued by the Canadian Government. It is possible to infer the zero-coupon yield curve (henceforth zero-coupon curve) by interpolating the 4 benchmark rates2. At the beginning of the case, the Canadian Government will also issue 3 coupon bonds with different maturity dates. Each bond has a 5% coupon rate paid out semi-annually (at the end of June and December), and a face value of $100.00. Details of these securities are presented below. Securities CB2017 CB2020 CB2025 Maturity Date December 31st 2017 December 31st 2020 December 31st 2025 Coupon Rate 5% (paid semi-annually) 5% (paid semi-annually) 5% (paid semi-annually) Face Value $100.00 $100.00 $100.00
The coupon bonds are tradable and short selling is allowed.
Market Dynamics Trading will occur over 2 periods, each lasting 312 seconds. Each period simulates 26 weeks of calendar time, or 12 seconds per week. Interest will not be earned on cash sitting on the traders accounts because the overnight rate is zero. Traders begin the case with an endowment of $10,000,000 CAD and will have to price the 3 tradable government coupon bonds (with fixed maturity dates) according to the benchmark rates. News will be distributed throughout the case which may or may not affect the slope, level, and/or the curvature of the zero-coupon curve. The effect of the news might not be reflected in the zero-coupon curve, allowing the traders to buy/sell the appropriate mispriced bonds. Moreover, when the zero-coupon curve incorporates the effect of the news, the fair price of the tradable coupon bonds will change. Liquidity traders are only partially informed so there might be a discrepancy between the quoted and the fair prices of the coupon bonds. Traders are encouraged to use Excel as a support tool to help make decisions given the uncertainty. They should build a pricing model to identify mispriced coupon bonds.
A linear interpolation will be used.
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Parameter Starting Endowment Compounding Period
Value $10,000,000 CAD Weekly (12 seconds)
Valuation
Valuation of a bond involves calculating the present value of the future cash flows: the periodic coupon payments and the face value. Summing the present values of the cash flows, traders will calculate the fair price of the coupon bonds as shown below: = + + + + (1 + 6 ) (1 + 1 ) (1 + ) (1 + )
where = coupon payment = face value = discount rate for the cash flow paid in The discount rates for the different cash flows maturities will be derived from the zero-coupon curve using a linear interpolation. For example, given the benchmark rates provided below: Securities ZC2016 ZC2017 ZC2020 ZC2025 Annualized YTM 2.00% 3.00% 4.50% 5.00%
The interpolated zero-coupon rate for December 31st 2018 would be 3.50% [=3.00% + (2018-2017)/ (2020 2017)*(4.50%-3.00%)]. The interpolated zero-coupon rate for December 31st 2019 would be 4.00% and so forth. Using the table above, at the start of the case with 52 weeks remaining, the discount rate for the cash flow paid for December 31st 2016 will be equal to 2.00% [=(1+2.00%)(52/52)-1]. At tick 141, when there are 41 weeks remaining in the case, the discount rate for the cash flow paid in December 31st 2016 will be equal to 1.5736% [=(1+2.00%)(41/52)-1]. Given the above, at tick 141, the price for CB2017 will be $104.60 and the table below provides the details on how to calculate the present value for each of the cash flows.
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Date of payment Jun 2016 Dec 2016 Jun 2017 Dec 2017
Weeks remaining before payment 15 41 67 93
Annualized YTM 1.00%3 2.00% 2.50% 3.00%
Discount rates 0.2874% 1.5736% 3.2327% 5.4287%
Cash Flows $ $ $ 2.50 2.50 2.50
PV of Cash Flows $ $ $ $ $ 2.49 2.46 2.42 97.22 104.60
$ 102.50
If a trader wished to purchase this bond, s/he would have to pay $1,046 (=$104.60*10). Between two coupon payment periods, the buyer needs to pay to the seller accrued interest4 in addition to the clean price of the bond. Accrued interest is calculated using the following formula: = where = coupon payment. For example, if a trader purchased a bond 141 seconds after the start of the case for $102.12 (clean price), the accrued interest would be $ 1.13 [= (141/312) * $2.5]. The total amount that the trader will pay per bond is $102.12 + $1.13 = $103.25. The dirty price of the bond is obtained as the sum of the accrued interest and the clean price. The transaction log will display two entries for every purchase or sale of a bond: the transaction amount (clean price * quantity), and the accrued interest amount.

Each trader will be subject to gross and net trading limits. The gross trading limit reflects the sum of the absolute values of the long and short positions across all securities; while the net trading limit reflects the sum of long and short positions such that short positions negate any long positions. Trading limits will be strictly enforced and traders will not be able to exceed them. A commission of 2 cents per contract is charged on every transaction. There is a maximum order size of 1,000 contracts per order.
3 4
Please note that the overnight rate is zero. Accrued interest is the fraction of the coupon payment that the original holder has earned prior to the settlement of the bond.
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Liquidity Traders
Liquidity traders are labelled ANON in the order book. They actively trade the coupon bonds by continuously submitting market and limit orders to cause price fluctuations.
Settlement and Position Close-Out

Any non-zero position in the coupon bonds will result in coupon receipts or payouts at the end of the first period. All the non-zero positions at the end of the second period will result in settlement at the last traded price and the coupon receipts or payouts. Computerized market makers will increase the liquidity in the market towards the end of trading to ensure the closing price cannot be manipulated.
Key Objectives
Objective 1: Traders will be able to observe the yield to maturity of 4 government zero-coupon bonds with maturities of 1, 2, 5, and 10 years. Based on these yields, they will be able to calculate the fair price for each of the 3 tradable government coupon bonds and profit from any mispricing that they observe on the market. Objective 2: Qualitative news will be distributed to traders throughout the case. Traders are required to analyze the news, and determine how they will affect the slope, level, and/or the curvature of the zero-coupon curve, and thus, the price of the tradable bonds.
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Appendix
Appendix
Supplementary files will be released prior to the competition as they become available. Announcements will be made on the RITC website when these files are released. Please refer to the RITC website for more information on the release dates for cases. The website will be updated periodically to reflect estimated upload dates. Please send any case-related questions to ritc@rotman.utoronto.ca. To ensure the fair dissemination of information, responses to your questions will be posted online for all participants to see. Information regarding BP Practice sessions will be updated on the RITC website at a later date. In addition, emails to each team with notification of practice sessions will be sent.
Good luck and see you in Toronto!
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Rotman International Trading Competition 2014 Copyright Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

Table Tableof ofContents Contents

See You in Toronto

Additional Support Files

Scoring and Ranking Methodology

Sales & Trader Case

Quantitative Outcry Case

Options Trading Case

Algorithmic Trading Case

CIBC Yield Curve Case

Social Outcry Case

Trading Limits and Transaction Costs

Rules and Responsibilities

Social Outcry Case

Position Close-Out and Case Scoring

Social Outcry Case

Sales & Trader Case

Sales & Trader Case

Sales & Trader Case

Trading Limits and Transaction Costs

Sales & Trader Case

Quantitative Outcry Case

Quantitative Outcry Case

Quantitative Outcry Case

Quantitative Outcry Case

Brokerage commission explained in Trading Limits and Transaction Costs

Quantitative Outcry Case

Trading Limits and Transaction Costs

Quantitative Outcry Case

Options Trading Case

Options Trading Case

Options Trading Case

Options Trading Case

Trading Limits and Transaction Costs

Securities CL HO-2F RB-2F HO RB

Accessibility Producer, Refiner, Trader Trader Trader Refiner Refiner

Shortable No Yes Yes No No

Assets CL-STORAGE N-Refinery O-Refinery

Description Storage for Crude Oil New Refinery Old Refinery

Conversion period N/A 4.5 trading days 4.5 trading days

Cost of producing: $35/barrel Contract sold at $60/barrel

Cost of refining: $25/barrel HO

Contract bought at $45/barrel

Contract sold at $60/barrel

Trading Limits and Transaction Costs

Algorithmic Trading Case

Algorithmic Trading Case

Algorithmic Trading Case

GEORGE $10 $0.01 $0.005 10,000 37% High Stock

JORDAN $10 $0.01 $0.005 10,000 19% Low Stock

MIKE $10 $0.01 $0.005 10,000 25% Medium Stock

WALL $70 $0.02 $0.015 5,000 27% Medium ETF

Algorithmic Trading Case

Trading Limits and Transaction Costs

CIBC Yield Curve Case

CIBC Yield Curve Case

CIBC Yield Curve Case

The coupon bonds are tradable and short selling is allowed.

A linear interpolation will be used.

CIBC Yield Curve Case

Parameter Starting Endowment Compounding Period

Value $10,000,000 CAD Weekly (12 seconds)

CIBC Yield Curve Case

Weeks remaining before payment 15 41 67 93