Danish actuarial students finalists in MIPC 2024
The McGill International Portfolio Challenge (MIPC) is the pioneer of case competitions that target innovative portfolio design and institutional asset management. The Danish solution was selected among the top five out of 98 submissions.
The Danish team (named themselves Bæsterne, the beasts) were Tobias Larsen, Nicolaj Thomsen, and Thor Kragh-Asbæk. All master’s students at the Department of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen.
They met at the course “Asset Allocation”. The objective of the course was to give students theoretical and hands-on experience in developing investment strategies and external lecturer Michael Preisel urged the students to participate in the MICP competition and mentored their work.
The competition was organised by McGill University in Montreal, Canada. The MIPC 2024 Grand Challenge was “Liquidity in retirement savings”.
Hundreds of students - 98 teams from 17 countries and 6 continents – presented their solutions to MIPC's sponsors from the investment and pension industry. The competition had a 50,000 CAD prize pool available. The Danish team were selected finalists and won 5.000 CAD (25.000 DKK).
The competition
The participating teams received the competition case "Florida Saves" on 16 September and submitted their presentations three weeks later. This year's case focused on creating a savings and retirement solution for low-income gig workers in Florida. A complex challenge that required balancing the need for short-term liquidity with the goal of long-term savings.
“When launching a new pension scheme, the challenge is to convince workers that might already be economically challenged to postpone some of their income to later in life. Participants in the competition therefore should answer the question: What incentives will convince this group of workers to start saving in the first place – and what is the best investment strategy for their savings until they are repaid as a pension in the future”, says Michael Preisel.
The Danish team were among the 25 teams selected for the semi-finals. They could choose between participating physically in Montreal or virtually. They had some exams in Copenhagen, so they had to present virtually.
"We presented on Friday 8 November in the afternoon and were informed that we had made it to the final during the night on Saturday. Here we had to present again at 8 pm. The result was announced on the night of Sunday. We were thrilled to have secured a shared third place," says Tobias Larsen, one of the Danish participants.
“Presenting our proposal to industry experts was both challenging and rewarding. Their feedback gave me valuable insights into applying financial theories to real-world problems. I would like to thank UCPH for supporting our participation, and Michael Preisel for invaluable mentorship and guidance throughout the competition,” says Tobias.