Merrimack Student Team Named Top 10 Globally in Bloomberg Trading Competition

The student traders, named Team Bloomburgers, ranked high in the 2022 Bloomberg Global Trading Challenge.

Five Merrimack College freshmen traded their way to the top of the 2022 Bloomberg Global Trading Challenge.

The students – Sean Foster ‘26, Azariah Ehtesham ‘26, Ryan Barthelmess ‘26, Christopher Cappuccio ‘26 and Ryan Davis ‘26 – banded together as Team Bloomburgers in this year’s competition in New York City. Together, they placed No. 9 globally and third in North America.

Mary Papazian, managing director of Merrimack’s Mucci Capital Markets Lab, first introduced the competition to the College last year.

“It truly is amazing to see a group of students work together while learning new technologies and collaborating on strategies to beat the market and place in the top 10 internationally,” she said. “I am very proud of these students and look forward to seeing them advance their skill set over the next few years at Merrimack.”

Global Trading Challenge contenders have a month to outperform the Bloomberg World Large, Mid and Small Cap Index using Bloomberg Terminal software and a starting amount of $1 million. By the end, Team Bloomburgers earned $221,937, clearing the benchmark by $148,796.

“I would say my favorite part of the competition was getting hands-on experience with the terminals after getting my certification,” said Foster. “It allowed me to recognize the capabilities of the terminal within a practical scenario.” 

The team’s strategy involved betting on companies’ upcoming earnings calls and investing in stocks they believed would bounce off a strong earnings report. They also learned new Bloomberg functions, like Relative Strength Index, to make their investment decisions. The RSI function shows whether a stock is overbought or oversold, which lets investors know if it is a good time to buy a stock or not.

“What I learned from the experience is it is important to not only see how well a stock or company is doing but how well it is doing compared to a major index such as the S&P 500 or in the case of the competition, the WLS Index,” said Barthelmess.

Ehtesham learned not to get discouraged by losses, because “your biggest losses can be followed by your biggest gains…even though it’s extremely discouraging to lose money, you’ve got to keep at it.”

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Related News

Collage featuring Joeseph Kelley, President Christopher E. Hopey, Ph.D., and a group photo of trustees, donors and friends of the College.

Merrimack College Shows its Gratitude

The College’s Evening of Gratitude returned for the first time since 2019 and celebrated donors and supporters whose gifts have fundamentally altered the trajectory of the institution in a positive and impactful way. Additionally, Dr. Joseph Kelley, professor of religious and theological studies, received the Merrimack College Saint Augustine Medal.
Headshot of Andrew Tollison

Merrimack Communications Professor Continues to Expand Research Portfolio

Andrew Tollison, director of the Master of Arts in Communication graduate program, examines interpersonal communication within the healthcare system, specifically surrounding patients with terminal illnesses.
Photo of Lisa Perks running the 2021 Boston Marathon.

Merrimack College Professor Ready To Take In Boston Marathon Splendor

Lisa Perks, professor of communication, will toe the starting line in Hopkinton, Massachusetts on Monday, April 17, for the 127th Boston Marathon.