By: Jorge Concha and Felipe Quaassdorff, McDonnell Scholars
During the first weekend of November, McGill University, a prestigious university from Montreal, Canada, hosted its new version of the McGill International Portfolio Challenge (MIPC), in which each year there is a unique case to solve the most important challenges pension funds are facing. Universities worldwide send students to represent and show their most innovative and strong proposals. The topic of this year was to solve a significant social issue that has been impacting society globally: inflation and the decision of retirement. The case was about building an investment portfolio for a local pension fund with decumulation wealth features. At the same time, the design needed to be a persuasive and helpful tool for future retirees. When building this product, we take into account their needs, the decision-making process leading up to retirement, and factors such as longer life expectancy.
This year, 86 teams participated globally, and 24 made it to the semifinals, which included students representing their universities and presenting the report to experienced professionals in the industry and top-level managers.
Two McDonnell Scholars, Jorge Concha and Felipe Quaassdorff, Olin MBA students from University of Chile, alongside two other Olin MBA students, participated in this contest and qualified for the semifinals with a proposal that not only considered the portfolio and decumulation rules but also a different approach for dealing with the future pensioners’ difficulties when making their decision to retire.
Although the WashU team did not make it to the finals, they described the experience as incredible and rewarding as they met students from all around the world and with some of the most important financial companies in Canada, including Pension Funds, Banks, and Government Institutions. Additionally, Felipe was selected among the six best speakers in the competition.
Jorge and Felipe expect to continue participating in activities like this one to contribute to placing WashU, Olin, and McDonnell Scholar names at the top and always appreciate the support of the Academy and the WashU faculty.