Aliance Manchester Business School

Patricia Perlman-Dee, Senior Lecturer in Finance

“Pedagogically and from a teaching and learning point of view this platform is a valuable asset to the business school and can be used in numerous courses across a range of program levels. In my own teaching I will use it 12 times over the year across both MBA and UG level. Taking only the courses that I teach on, between 500-900 students will use this platform at some point over the academic year.

“Finance Lab Pro is unique and offers pedagogical possibilities that many other trading platforms do not through the use of the market settings functions. Here are some examples of what the simulation allows you to:

• decide within the market settings how many news stories you require in the trading session. The frequency of news tests students’ ability to identify and analyse relevant news. Students will learn that there is no typical set of market conditions and will have to conclude what actions to take accordingly

• from a teaching point of view you can plan the session thoroughly and effectively. The news is simulated and you have advance knowledge of the content before the session. So you know which companies will be featured in the news and how they will be affected and can adapt your teaching accordingly

• you can set the volatility or range of movement following a news story. This leads in to discussions around instant or delayed reaction, and efficiency of markets.”