McGill-FIAM

Asset management

Developing the Next Generation of Finance Talent
Through the Fusion of Data Science.

October 23rd and 24th, 2024

McGill Desautels' Finance Area in partnership with FIAM are thrilled to announce the inaugural Asset Management Hackathon, a cutting-edge event that brings together the brightest minds in finance, technology, and innovation from all around the world. Dive into the realm of Big Data and AI as we tackle finance challenges with creativity and technical expertise.

The Innovation Challenge: AI in Bottom-Up Portfolio Construction. An exciting and innovative challenge centred around bottom-up portfolio construction using US publicly traded equities, Big Fundamental Data, alternative data, and cutting-edge Machine Learning (ML), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques.

Evaluation Criteria: Teams will be assessed based on their innovative ideas, creativity of leveraging big data, technical proficiency and preliminary back-test results.

1 Case

10 Finalist Teams

3 Winners

Why should you participate?

Real-World Problem Solving: Immerse yourself in authentic finance challenges, providing a platform to innovate and validate solutions in a dynamic, real-time setting.

Access to Cutting-Edge Tools: Gain exclusive access to workshops and resources, including Big Data analytics and advanced AI technologies, empowering you to elevate your solutions and drive innovation forward.

Expert Guidance and Networking: Connect with industry leaders, academics, and peers from universities around the world who share your passion for finance and technology, all while benefitting from invaluable mentoring sessions and forging connections that fuel innovation in the financial sector.

Get ready to revolutionize finance through collaboration, creativity, and cutting-edge technology.

Prizes

$15,000
1st Place

$10,000
2nd Place

$5,000
3rd Place

What to expect?

Challenge Release: The challenge details will be sent to registered teams via email on September 10th.

Submission of Reports/decks Deadline: October 3rd, 2024. This is your chance to showcase your innovative concepts and get a head start on the competition.

Scope of Innovation: Teams will leverage their creativity to select or develop alternative data sets and tailor ML/AI algorithms for portfolio construction.

Task: Create a portfolio of 50-70 stocks and make asset allocation decisions using Long Only, Long-Short, or Market-Neutral strategies.

More details and guidelines will be provided during actual challenge release.

Final Phase Participants Announcement: We will announce 10 finalist teams by October 9th, 2024. The finalists will come to Montreal for the 2-day Hack on October 23 and 24, 2024. During the 2-day hackathon, teams will receive a curated set of US publicly traded stocks and specific investment styles for portfolio management.

Academic advisors and industry coaches will provide expertise in alternative data utilization, ML/AI algorithm applications, and investable portfolio strategies.

Final Presentations and Prize Giving Ceremony: The culmination of the hackathon will take place on October 24th, where each team will present their solutions. A panel of industry and academic judges will evaluate teams based on innovative strategies and ideas, and select three finalist teams. The event will conclude with an exciting prize-giving ceremony from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm (EST), where we'll announce the winning teams.

Location

Our Partner

Founded by finance industry veteran Claude Perron, this Montreal-based non-profit organization operates at the intersection of the finance industry and various professional organizations, driving advancements in AI/ML within finance and asset management. FIAM leverages its extensive network and industry connections to provide important support for the success of this event.

Organizing committee

Committee Chair

Russ Goyenko
Associate Professor, Finance
McGill University

Committee Members

Jiro Kondo
Assistant Professor (Teaching) and Area Coordinator, Finance; Academic Director, Investment Management Program (HIM)
McGill University

David Schumacher
Associate Professor, Finance
Director, Desmarais Global Finance Research Centre
McGill University

Katrin Tinn
Assistant Professor, Finance
McGill University

Raphael Duguay
Assistant Professor of Accounting
Yale University, SOM

Evan Jo
Assistant Professor, Finance 
Queen's University

Chengyu Zhang
Assistant Professor, Finance
Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Adlai Fisher
Professor, Finance Division
UBC Sauder

Julien Palardy, CFA
Managing Director, Head of Quantitative Equity
TD Asset Management

Claude Perron
Founder of FIAM
FIAM

Sabatino Delli Compagni
Associate Director, Digital Communications
McGill University

Registration is now closed

Early Bird Rate Extended
July 15, 2024 | August 09, 2024

Final Deadline
September 9th, 2024