Posts Tagged ‘Tulane Energy Institute’
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
Twenty-eight of the nation’s best student traders met up in New Orleans on Nov. 14 to test their skills trading simulated live oil and gas futures, but unlike most competitions, the winners of this event weren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest profits.
 Brian Allen (MBA '11), left, and Daniel Sadik (BSM '10) discuss results during the inaugural Tulane Energy Trading Competition. The Tulane Energy Trading Competition was the first university trading competition to reward participants for using strategies to minimize risk. While other competitions award prizes based solely on profits, the Tulane Energy Trading Competition used a method for measuring risk—the so-called Ulcer Index—to penalize students who took on too much risk. Serving as judges were executives from top energy and trading firms, who quizzed students on their strategies and watched closely as they executed their trades.
“The idea was to create a trading competition that is more aligned with what employers want in the marketplace,” says Joe LeBlanc, assistant director of the Tulane Energy Institute and organizer of the competition. “We think that by adjusting for risk, combining several different performance measures and using the best trading software from Trading Technologies and Thomson Reuters, we’re creating a competition that rewards responsible trading and more accurately reflects the way trading is truly practiced in today’s energy firms.”
Aneal Tenjarla of the University of Texas at Austin won first place in the competition, Stephen Cacioppo of the Freeman School came in second, and Matt Gitelis of the University of Illinois took third place. The Freeman School’s Kellen Hayes and Carnegie Mellon’s Alexander Kirov placed fourth and fifth respectively. Top winners could choose between a cash prize and internships with trading firms such as Webster Capital, Mirant Corp. and TXU/Luminant.
Tenjarla said the contest was a great opportunity to learn trading strategy from industry insiders in a realistic environment that felt like an energy trading firm.
“This is probably the closest thing you can get to actually trading besides committing actual value and risking actual money,” says Tenjarla, who plans to work as a financial analyst after graduation. “Before this competition, I really didn’t know much about different trading strategies, different patterns of trading or how to use this technology. By the end of this, I felt like I got a good education.”
 Stephen Cacioppo (MFIN '10) earned an internship with Chicago-based Webster Capital for his second-place finish in the competition. The event’s judges gave the competition high marks for helping to teach students the importance of managing risk.
“They are trying to show people how to take risks properly and that there actually are downsides to how you approach trading,” says Parker Drew, managing director of RBS Sempra Energy and a competition judge. “They are trying to make people have to make cogent risk decisions or what I call ‘skin in the game.’”
In addition to Drew, the competition featured judges from Mirant Corp., TXU/Luminant, Geneva Trading, Sequent Energy, Webster Capital, Aardvark Energy, ConocoPhillips, CitiGroup, Entergy Corp., Shell Trading, LIM, Johnson Rice and Goldman Sachs.
The competition took place in the Trading Center, the Freeman School’s state-of-the-art electronic trading classroom. Participants used Trading Technologies’ X_TRADER platform and Thomson Reuters’ 3000xtra software, the same tools used by professional traders at leading energy firms.
“The bulk of energy trading activity has moved from the trading pits in New York and Chicago to computer screens,” says Leo Murphy, university program manager with Trading Technologies, one of the event’s sponsors. “For this reason, we felt it imperative to arm students with the same software that is used everyday by professional traders.”
The 28 students who competed earned the right by participating in a team-based remote competition in October. Twenty-one teams from 13 business schools competed online over two weeks, using a mock $100,000 account to execute at least five trades per day. The top seven teams based on risk-adjusted return qualified to participate as individuals in New Orleans.
The Tulane Energy Trading Competition was presented by the Tulane Energy Institute and the Tulane Energy Club and sponsored by CME Group, Trading Technologies, Thomson Reuters and LIM. For more information about the competition, visit http://trading.tulane.edu.
Tags: Joe LeBlanc, Trading Center, Tulane Energy Institute
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Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
The Freeman School has earned a national reputation in recent years for its use of cutting-edge technology to teach energy trading. Next month, Freeman takes another step toward establishing itself as one of the nation’s leading institutions for the study of energy with the first Tulane Energy Trading Competition.
The Tulane Energy Trading Competition will take place on Nov. 13 and 14 in the Freeman School’s trading center. Twenty-eight students from five top business schools will travel to New Orleans to put their skills to the test in a unique competition with highly coveted internships at top trading firms on the line.
 Twenty-eight students from five top business schools will visit the Freeman School's trading floor in November to participate in the first Tulane Energy Trading Competition. What makes the Tulane competition unique is that participants will be judged not solely on profit but on risk-adjusted returns and the ability to articulate and execute a logical trading strategy, a crucial distinction according to Joe LeBlanc, assistant director of the Tulane Energy Institute and organizer of the event.
“The idea was to create a trading competition that is more aligned with what employers want in the marketplace,” says LeBlanc. “We think that by adjusting for risk, combining several different performance measures and using the best trading software from Trading Technologies and Thomson Reuters, we’re creating a competition that rewards responsible trading and more accurately reflects the way trading is truly practiced in today’s energy firms.”
The competition began on Oct. 12 with a two-week remote phase for 21 teams from 13 business schools. Each team was given a mock $100,000 to trade and was required to execute at least five trades per day. While most trading competitions reward the team or individuals who generate the highest profit, the Tulane Energy Trading Competition uses a method for measuring investment risk known as the Ulcer Performance Index to penalize teams that take on too much risk.
At the end of the two weeks, the members of the top seven teams qualified to participate as individuals in the final round in New Orleans.
Another innovation of the competition is the prize structure. Rather than cash prizes, the Tulane Energy Trading Competition will offer internships with Webster Capital on the CME/NYMEX, Luminant Energy and Mirant Energy to the top three participants. While most trading competitions award cash prizes to students, LeBlanc says that sends the wrong message to the public at a time when many people blame high energy prices on speculation.
“We think awarding internships is the right thing to do because students want jobs and internships more than anything,” says LeBlanc. “It also supports the mission of the Freeman School by providing an opportunity for students to further their education through an opportunity with a top energy trading firm.”
The Tulane Energy Trading Competition is presented by the Tulane Energy Institute and the Tulane Energy Club and sponsored by CME Group, Trading Technologies and Thomson Reuters. For more information about the competition, visit http://trading.tulane.edu or contact Joe LeBlanc at 504-314-2662 or jleblan@tulane.edu.
Tags: Joe LeBlanc, Trading Center, Tulane Energy Institute
Posted in Announcements, Events, News | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
Entergy Corp. has awarded the Tulane Energy Institute a grant of $100,000. The gift, which Entergy officials presented at a reception in Goldring/Woldenberg Hall II on Nov. 17, will fund energy research and course development within the institute, which spans the Freeman School and Tulane’s School of Sciences and Engineering.
(more…)
Tags: energy, Entergy, Tulane Energy Institute
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Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
While drivers nationwide revel in lower gasoline prices, many in Louisiana are anxiously watching the cost of oil fall to its lowest levels in 18 months. In a state whose economy has for more than a half-century been closely linked to the petroleum industry, prosperity has been measured by the barrel, and some fear that as oil goes, so goes Louisiana.
(more…)
Tags: energy, Eric Smith, Louisiana, Oil, Tulane Energy Institute
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Tuesday, October 28th, 2008
On Oct. 27, 2008, ConocoPhillips presented a check for $25,000 to the Tulane Energy Institute. The gift, one of the first in the company’s new Faculty Sponsorship Program, will support professor of practice Joe LeBlanc, who teaches the Freeman School’s energy trading courses.
ConocoPhillips targeted the Tulane Energy Institute for the gift as part of its effort to build strategic relationships with schools whose programs meet the recruiting needs of its commodity trading business.
LeBlanc, former treasurer with the independent oil and gas exploration and production company Energy Partners Ltd., has taught Energy Fundamentals and Trading at the Freeman School since 2007, and he has been instrumental in enhancing the course with industry-leading simulation, trading and financial software from Advantage Futures, FEA, Oracle, Reuters and Trading Technologies.
Tags: ConocoPhillips, energy, Joe LeBlanc, Oil, Tulane Energy Institute
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Tuesday, July 29th, 2008
America’s energy policy took center stage at a special congressional debate hosted by the Freeman School’s Entergy-Tulane Energy Institute, but despite the organizers’ goal of fostering a constructive dialog between parties, the participants in large part stuck to familiar partisan scripts.
“America is addicted to oil, but instead of developing new energy sources, the Republicans are demanding more drilling,” proclaimed Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich). “We can’t drill our way out of high prices. We need to develop alternative energy sources beyond drilling to reduce energy prices and provide a long-term solution.”
“We depend on oil, gas, coal, wind, hydro and nuclear,” countered Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.). “Which of these is the answer to the energy challenge? All of the above and more. Leave no stone unturned.”
The debate, which took place on July 28 in the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life, was part of “Congress Debates,” a series of bipartisan national policy discussions sponsored by the House Democratic Caucus, the House Republican Conference, the Democratic Leadership Council and the Congressional Institute. Joining Stupak and Rehberg in debating the nation’s energy policy were Reps. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.). The event was moderated by Jeanne Cummings of politico.com.
Throughout the debate, Democrats argued in favor of increasing funding for alternative and renewable energy, cracking down on excessive energy speculation, and improving fuel efficiency standards. The Democrats also voiced strong opposition to lifting the federal ban on offshore oil drilling, noting that 82 percent of the natural gas and 79 percent of the oil in the outer continental shelf is already available to energy companies through existing leases.
“The Democrats are for drilling, but you’ve got to drill responsibly,” Stupak said. “Of about 44 million acres [currently leased], we’re drilling on about 10 million acres. Use it or lose it.”
The Republicans argued for an all-of-the-above, market-driven approach to energy policy including new nuclear plants and tax credits to promote conservation and the development of alternative energy sources, but increasing domestic oil and gas capacity was clearly a priority.
“In the 14 years I’ve been in the House, we’ve cast 24 votes to increase oil and gas capacity in this country, and 85 percent of the time the Democrats vote no,” said Wamp. “The consequences of not having that new oil and gas capacity today are very painful for the people we represent.”
There was one bright spot in all the partisan bickering. When Upton complained that Democrats had voted against an amendment to build the transmission lines necessary to get renewable energies like wind and solar power to the national grid, Inslee invited Upton to become the first Republican cosponsor of his bill to create a national high-capacity grid system to accomplish that goal.
“If there’s not some hidden provision in there, I’ll be on board,” Upton responded. “I’ll be glad to work with you.”
While that pledge may not have been the “minor miracle” that moderator Cummings wryly described it as, it was an encouraging sign that bipartisan solutions to the nation’s energy crisis are at least possible.
Tags: Bart Stupak, debate, Denny Rehberg, energy, Oil, Tulane Energy Institute
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Thursday, February 21st, 2008
Sequent Energy Management hosted a reception in the Lavin-Bernick Center on Tulane’s Uptown campus on Feb. 20 to announce the recipients of two scholarships for students interested in pursuing careers in energy. Freeman students Michael Pearson (BSM ‘08) and Walker Weston (MFIN ‘08) each received a scholarship of $2,500 to further their pursuit of energy-related studies. In addition, Sequent awarded the Entergy-Tulane Energy Institute a gift of $25,000 to support research and programming. The awards were presented by Sequent President Doug Schantz.
Sequent Energy Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of AGL Resources Inc., is an energy company focusing on asset management and optimization, producer services, wholesale marketing and risk management.
Tags: AGL Resources, Doug Schantz, Michael Pearson, scholarships, Sequent Energy, Tulane Energy Institute, Walker Weston
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Tuesday, January 8th, 2008
In a recent news segment, CNBC highlighted the Freeman School’s trading room and its unique approach to training students for careers in energy trading.
“They may be a long way from the NYMEX in New Orleans and at Tulane University,” said CNBC’s Rebecca Jarvis, “but that is where the next generation of traders is training to take on today’s pit bulls.”
Rebecca Jarvis and students in Freeman’s Energy Fundamentals and Trading course.
The segment focused on Freeman’s Energy Fundamentals and Trading course, which uses the Reuters Market Data System and Reuters’ ReplayService to replay actual historic commodity data in real time to simulate true-to-life market conditions. Freeman is the first and only business school to combine industry standard applications from Reuters and Trading Technologies with the ReplayService in the classroom. Using the system, instructors can program data to simulate virtually any market condition they choose, whether it’s the events leading up to Hurricane Katrina or the aftermath of the latest announcement from OPEC.
“So many people are coming out of school without the basic knowledge of the fundamentals and then how to move from that into a trading strategy and to be able to execute it,” said Joe LeBlanc, adjunct professor of business and instructor in the course. “This group has a leg up with that combination.”
To see the segment in its entirety, visit CNBC.com.
Tags: CNBC, Joe LeBlanc, Trading Center, Tulane Energy Institute
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