The School of Accounting and Finance is exposing students to top-of-the-line technology used by Wall Street traders and other financial market professionals.

Known as the Bloomberg Terminal, the financial, regulatory, and market database is much more than a piece of hardware. The system is a lifeline for financial investors who can literally access, crunch, analyze, and store information on their favourite companies, while teleconferencing with a colleague on the same screen.

The new equipment helps solidify the Schools reputation for offering state-of-the-art resources, as well as giving students real world finance experience through realistic simulations and tools currently used by the profession.

“This equipment supports the fact that the School is trying to increase the finance brand,” explains Jonah Hu, third-year CFM student. “Having those machines shows a tangible aspect of our dedication to enhancing finance here at Waterloo”.

According to Ranjini Jha, Associate Director of Finance, the Bloomberg Terminal will enable students and faculty to access, track and analyze real-time and historical financial and economic data. 

“Examples of data that are accessible include: price quotes on stocks, bonds and options, company financial ratios, peer group company comparisons, and insider ownership. The system also provides access to news from around the world and analyst research reports,” explains Jha.

Students in three upper-year AFM courses will test the system during the Winter 2010/2011 school term. For now, only upper-year finance students will have access to the six Bloomberg Terminals; however, lower-year finance students will be given the same opportunity at a later date. 

“There’s a lot of excitement around these machines,” explains Hu, who attended the first Bloomberg training session in January. “There’s been a lot of demand from students who are off campus, who are disappointed that the Bloomberg terminals weren’t offered in their non co-op term.”

Due to the vocal outcry by students, the Accounting and Finance Student Association (AFSA) has decided to work with Bloomberg in arranging another training session to be held in downtown Toronto. This will give students who are currently completing their work-term off-campus the opportunity to gain insight and knowledge into the system. No date has been set as of yet, but it has been suggested training could take place in either February or March.