Ateneo wins 1st runner-up in MART Bonds Trading Competition

Students from the Ateneo de Manila University placed first runner-up in the inaugural Money Markets Association of the Philippines Inter-collegiate Bonds Trading Competition (MART Cup) held from March to May 2022. 

Ateneo’s MART Cup team, Braus Investment Group, is composed of Management Engineering seniors Joseph Emmanuel O. Argayoso (Team Captain), Veronica Renee G. Carlos, Matthew M. Cortez, Adrian Jarebb Y. Ong, and Harold Stanley S. Sy. They were mentored by faculty advisor Armin Paul D. Allado (BS ME ’12) from the Department of Quantitative Methods and Information Technology.

The MART Cup is a competition between university-sponsored teams where participants manage a virtual seed fund of Php 1 billion and invest in government securities. Participants were given the option to invest in the overnight deposit facility, treasury bills, fixed rate treasury notes, and retail treasury bonds. Teams were given nine weeks to realize the highest total return for their portfolios while adhering to proper trading behavior, report quality, and ethical standards.

This year’s MART Cup was the first to be organized by the Money Markets Association of the Philippines, in partnership with Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Society Philippines.

Braus Investment Group competed with teams from Cavite State University, De La Salle University, Far Eastern University, San Beda College Alabang, University of the Philippines Diliman, and University of Santo Tomas.

For being first runner-up, the team took home a trophy and a cash prize of Php 25,000. Braus Investment Group was also given special awards, namely ‘Alpha’ Team for being the team with the highest total returns and Best in Cherry-Picking for being the team that recognized the highest realized trading gains from a single trade.
 

In addition to winning first runner-up, Ateneo’s Braus Investment Group also received special awards: The ‘Alpha’ Team and Best in Cherry-Picking.

The inaugural MART Cup was made possible through the competition’s sponsors: China Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines, Bank of the Philippine Islands, Maybank, and the Philippine Digital Asset Exchange.