Brainstorming, analysis pay off at Finwitz

The first investment management competition for students of Bangladesh, Finwitz 2017, concluded on December 22, after thrilling two months of intense contest.

Organised by Institute of Business Administration Communication Club (IBACC) of University of Dhaka and sponsored by LR Global Bangladesh, Finwitz 2017 was launched with an aim to enhance the knowledge of investment management among the students and give them an opportunity to learn about this industry.

Finwitz 2017 started with roadshows in many private and public universities across the country. The first round was the online round where the teams were tested for their ability to make well-informed decisions within a short span of time. The top 42 teams qualified for the next round.

Round one, 'The Fund Manager's Conundrum', put the teams in the shoes of a fund manager and were given the responsibility to allocate funds to different assets. The teams also had to provide sufficient reasoning and analysis to back their decisions. The top 18 teams moved to the next round.

In the next round named, 'Know Your Entrepreneur', the teams had to take up the role of venture capitalists. They were given sessions with startup companies where they had to collect every possible information regarding the business, its market, growth potentials, revenue streams, etc. and finally decide which company to invest on. The top six teams from this round made it to the grand finale.

The final round, also known as, "The Winning Pitch", took place at Dhaka Regency Hotel and Resort on December 22, 2017. Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, MP, of the Standing Committee on Ministry of Finance graced the event as the Chief Guest. President of the Ceremony, Prof Dr A K M Saiful Majid, Director of IBA, University of Dhaka and Mr Reaz Islam, CEO of LR Global Bangladesh Asset Management Company Ltd. were also present in the event.

The teams in the grand finale carried out an equity research on the given publicly listed companies and conducted an in-depth analysis to recommend which stocks to invest on. The teams presented their solution in front the judges and went through a rigorous question and answer session.

After a tense competition, the judges finally came up with the much-anticipated result. Finatics from IBA, University of Dhaka emerged as the Champions and won the first edition of Finwitz. Beta Bots from IBA, University of Dhaka and No Name Consulting from FBS, University of Dhaka were the 1st and 2nd Runners-Up respectively. The champion team won Taka 0.15million while the first and second Runners-Up received Taka 75,000 and Taka 50,000.

Team Finatics from IBA-University of Dhaka, consisting of Mustafid Raiyan Khan, Syed Sameem Shahriyar, Mohammad Sohrawardy and Abu Tousif Zubayer Ishti, shared their experience about the competition.

"Finwitz was a challenging experience indeed. In each round, we had to learn something new and apply it to the solution. The hours of brainstorming and analysis finally paid off as we managed to lift the trophy." said a cheerful Mohammad Sohrawardy.

All the rounds of Finwitz were designed in a way that the participants had to dive deep into the topics and come up with rational recommendations. Syed Sameem Shahriyar added, "Since this was the first ever investment management competition in Bangladesh, we had no structured format to look back upon, giving us the freedom to think differently and put our analytical skills to the test."

Another member of Finatics, Mustafid Raiyan Khan, gave importance to the learning aspects of the entire competition. He said, "I did not think the outcome of Finwitz for me was ever winning, but just to use it to learn a bit more about the world of Finance, which I thought was just all about numbers. However, the truth could not be far from it. Every round was a challenge, and every phase of the competition proved to me how the numbers were just a small part of a world full of exciting dynamics."

All the members stressed the importance of the feedback from the highly experienced judges, which helped them grow stronger as a team and perform even better in the following rounds.

Organising the first ever investment management competition was not an easy task. The content and tasks of each round were designed carefully ensuring the quality and novelty. The organisers arranged workshops to assist the participants and give them an idea of the rounds.

Meftahul Arnob, President, IBA Communication Club (IBACC), said, "IBACC tried to come up with a new platform where the undergraduate students will get to challenge themselves with the real-life business drama that takes place in the industry. That is where the idea of Finwitz came in. We tried to build a bridge between the students and the investment industry and tried to give the students a sneak peek into this industry and how exciting it can be."

IBACC always tries to create a memorable experience for the participants through its events and Finwitz was no different from that. This very first edition of IBACC's Finwitz was sponsored by LR Global Bangladesh, with Gazi TV as Media Partner, The Financial Express as Print Media Partner and Dhaka FM 90.4 as Radio Partner.

The writer is a final year student of BBA programme at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka. He can be reached at

[email protected]