What’s my key takeaway from the NUS MBA programme so far? Learning the art – or is it a science – of prioritizing. That explains this rather late post on an event that was held what seems like a decade ago.
The Finance Quiz, the subject on which I hope to engage you over the next few hundred words, happened on October 2. A decade, you might argue, is highly exaggerated, but the advantage of attending a school where there are at least three events to choose from every day, makes this one look rather distant.
Anyway, that there were less than ten teams to register meant the probability of sharing prize money worth $100 with my teammate looked attractive. After all, $50 means a dozen pints of beer at the weekend bacchanalia, the sole
The preliminary elimination round, in which each team had to answer a set of 15 uniform questions, was a breeze, or so we (my buddy and I) thought till the answer sheets were returned. We figured we’d got as many as seven wrong. That the others hadn’t fared much better lent the only consolation.
From the next round, in which teams was randomly allotted names of investment banks and bank holding companies, our team began to be called Barclays. The stars were beginning to get aligned favorably, if not for a win, at least for an honorable exit, I thought. Being called Lehman or Bear Stearns would really not have meant the ideal start. For, didn’t someone clever once say that well begun is half done!
Yet, we were also aware that the recent wave that had wiped out the weak of heart and mind had left us to face off against tougher competition – Nomura, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, UBS and Lazard, as the other teams were christened.
As all of us quizzers settled into our rhythms, the quiz masters kept ’em coming at us.
And here’s why Barclays was not crowned the ultimate champion…
I am a Blue
Which company replaced AIG as shirt sponsor for Manchester United?
As a
Right answer: AON Corp
Oh come on, that was close enough
In 1995, Barings Bank was sold to ING for ___________.
My teammate almost nailed this one, but for a minor gaffe.
Right answer: £1, not $1 as my buddy had answered
Not Peter Lynch yet
What is enterprise value of a company?
Hello, we’re just two months into our MBA, and haven’t distinguished IRR from NPV.
Right answer:
It’s the energy trader’s problem, not ours
Historically, why does WTI trade at a premium to Brent?
Surely, it can’t be so simple. There must be something more than the following.
Right answer: WTI is lighter, sweeter and of better quality, thus more expensive
Geez, we’re students
Where did the Dow close last night?
For Chrissake, we’re extremely risk-averse students, worried only about whether our long-term investments are bearing fruit. We don’t have a trading mindset and don’t look at daily movements of the benchmark.
Right answer (then): 9509.28
That was ours
A Wharton graduate, notoriously known as “Junk Bond King”, known as
Blistering Barnacles! I swear I knew this one. But it wasn’t a direct question to our team, and some smart cookie from another came up with the answer.
Right answer: Mike Milken
I could go on endlessly, but that’ll be imprudent considering I’ve become a prioritizer. There seems to be a lot more to learn from this busy existence, and I need to run.
