Illinois Tech Team Advances to Semifinals of Global Finance Competition

A team of four Illinois Institute of Technology finance students has advanced to the semifinals of the prestigious McGill International Portfolio Challenge (MIPC)—the world’s largest buy-side university finance competition—and will travel to Montreal to compete on November 4, 2023, for $50,000 (Canadian) in cash prizes that are awarded to the competition’s top-performing teams and individuals. 

MIPC challenges student teams to take on the role of asset managers at large, institutional investors, such as pension plans, and work to devise innovative portfolio solutions to address complex socio-economic issues. This year, the teams were charged with creating inflation-resistant investment strategies aimed at increasing sustainability while also satisfying the needs of a broad range of stakeholders with competing interests. 

Team Yolo Moto from Illinois Tech is among 24 teams whose written proposals for the challenge were chosen for the semifinals; a total of 86 teams representing universities in 27 countries on six continents took part in this year’s competition. Panels of prominent industry professionals serve as judges and will select teams to compete in the finals, also held on November 4.

Team members Ruxin Huo, Jay Patel, Andrew Sokolov, and Franklin Zheng are all enrolled in the nationally ranked M.S. in Finance program at Stuart School of Business. Huo and Zheng are Accelerated Master’s Program students who are also completing bachelor of science degrees in business administration and computer science, respectively. Clinical Associate Professor of Finance Michael Rybak serves as the team’s faculty adviser.

As part of the competition weekend, the students will have opportunities to interact with industry experts and C-suite professionals from sponsoring companies and organizations at MIPC events, including a symposium featuring a panel of high-profile executives, small group discussions, networking events, and individual company information and recruiting sessions.

Since the MIPC began in 2017, Illinois Tech teams have made their mark by reaching the semifinals every year. In addition, the 2017 and 2019 teams earned places in the finals and the most recent two teams brought home team and individual awards: Exceptional Quantitative Analysis and Best Speaker in 2021 and Best Storytelling and Best Speaker in 2022.

Photo: [From left] Franklin Zheng, Jay Patel, Ruxin Huo, and Andrew Sokolov.