XLRI Students Get Perspective of a Practitioner's Take on Portfolio Management

XLRI Students Get Perspective of a Practitioner's Take on Portfolio Management

The Finance Association @ XLRI (FINAX) organized a workshop on 'A Practitioner's Take on Portfolio Management' on 5th October. An intensive workshop on 'Security Analysis' was by Mr. Sanjay Mansabdar, currently with Allegro Advisors, Bangalore,

and co-founder of Azura Capital Advisors. Mr. Mansabdar's 16+ years of experience in trading FX, Interest Rates, Equity Indices, Commodities in the International Markets, gave the students the much-needed real-time trade perspectives. His expertise in setting-up and managing financial markets businesses at JP Morgan, Bank of America and Azura Capital Advisors gave students a peek into a career in finance.

As part of the workshop, Mr. Mansabdar covered the various aspects of the finance-related courses during the two years of the Business Management Program, giving a practitioner's perspective throughout. The workshop was split into four sessions. The first session covered the framework and various aspects to be integrated into a well-managed portfolio. He gave insights into the essential metrics used in Security Analysis. While the other session discussed the various financial instruments actively used and traded currently. The arbitrage / hedging techniques used for Bonds, Contracts, and Securities. In view of the troubled waters the current financial markets are in, the session on Risk-Management and Control gave the students important take-aways.

The two-day workshop ended, with a simulation game of 'Trading Financial Instruments'. The game involved teams comprising students taking up the roles of CEO, risk manager, middle market, etc., and Mr. Mansabdar himself played the role of a 'market maker' - made bids / asked quotes to the team depending on the position size. The simulation consisted of 20 products including Equities, FX, Swaps, Options, and Bonds, etc. Second year students battled through the game with a dual purpose of learning through practice and the excitement of a real-time market trading till they earned the last buck. Interestingly, the discussion session after the game, brought our several strategies the participants had adopted during the game. Here again, the inputs from Mr. Mansabdar enabled students hone their skills and evolve better strategies. The simulation game was conducted by the first year students of XLRI.

"This session with Mr. Mansabdar, was a consolidation of the learning across several finance courses with the much-needed real-time perspective," says Shrikant Thunga, a 2nd year student. The first year students who conducted the workshop also found the workshop very exciting and useful as their first exposure to the world of real-life trading.

The idea for this workshop was carried out by FINAX in collaboration with Mr. Mansabdar. FINAX is an active student body at XLRI that takes up various such initiatives with the support of the professors and students.

Concluded.

Contributed by -
Gayathri Krishnan,
Executive Member,
External Linkages,
XLRI, Jamshedpur.

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