Desjardins Group Sponsors Trading Room at Desautels Faculty of Management

Students at McGill University's Desautels Faculty of Management will soon have a state-of-the-art trading room installed in the Faculty's building, thanks to funding and expertise provided by Desjardins Group, Canada's leading cooperative financial group.

Desautels has begun construction of a novel Business Intelligence Centre on the second floor of its Sherbrooke Street building, replacing the conventional business library that previously occupied the space. A centerpiece of this innovative centre will be the Alphonse-Desjardins Trading Room.

Desjardins will provide a total of $1 million in funding for the Trading Room over five years, and is sharing its expertise in design, securities trading and technology.

"This new partnership with one of the best commerce programs in the world underscores Desjardins' commitment to provide expertise in developing the next generation of financial professionals and to make significant investments in Quebec's educational sector," said Monique F. Leroux, Chair of the Board, President and CEO of Desjardins Group.

Heather Munroe-Blum, McGill's Principal and Vice-Chancellor, said that "we are delighted that our outstanding management students will have the opportunity to deepen their understanding of financial markets in such a sophisticated, cutting-edge learning facility."

Desautels' Bachelor of Commerce and MBA programs are the most academically selective in Canada -- approximately 300 of these top students study finance each year. The Alphonse-Desjardins Trading Room, expected to be completed at the latest by April 1, 2012, will provide all these students with an unparalleled opportunity to learn complex analytical tools needed to succeed in financial services today. 

Desautels Faculty of Management Dean Peter Todd explained, "This cements an existing relationship which has seen Desjardins Securities executives collaborating with us to offer innovative finance courses, such as our Applied Investment Banking course." It also complements Desautels' Honours in Investment Management program, which recently launched Desautels Capital Management Inc., the first registered investment management firm founded by a university in Canada.