Strategy II Case - Ben and Jerry's

This morning we completed our Strategy II Case, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. Previously (last Thursday), our class began the discussion and during the break, a few of my friends (Monika and Uzair) recommended that we should have ice cream at the class to lead into the discussion. That was all the motivation I needed.

We had a "good night" yesterday at the Super Bowl, but there were certain priorities that had to be looked after. This morning, the Metro just beyond Spadina and Bloor is probably out of Ben and Jerry's. I picked up a couple pints of ice cream (only 5 different flavours). There were some flavours that came up in our previous discussion (Chunky Monkey, Half Baked, and Chocolate Therapy), however I was only able to find the first two of the three.

Prof. Silverman was a good sport, allowing us a few moments before the discussion to help ourselves to some ice cream. Proceeds collected in the tip cup will be donated to the Haiti relief fund.

Our class had a discussion about the "current" (1995) state of Ben and Jerry's, what challenges they were facing, and what strategy we would recommend moving forward based on the positioning of their product along several dimensions of value. It was interesting to talk about what people value in the product and brand, their image as being socially responsible and how they decided to proceed.

Inter MBA Social - Haiti Relief - Cheval Nightclub

Last night was a great night out. Several MBA schools: DeGroote (McMaster) invited Rotman, Ryerson, Schulich, and Laurier down to Cheval Night club for an Inter MBA Social with ticket proceeds going to benefit Haiti.

Strange night, I saw a good friend of mine from McMaster Engineering who is now apparently a manager at TD as well as my old roommate from UCC who I haven't seen in 10+ years. It's a small world.

Rotman was out celebrating in force. The major banks had just released their offers and I'm proud to say that Rotman has swept almost all of the IB jobs on the street. This is a testiment to the support we received. To celebrate, we polished off a few bottles and had a great time.

Financial Modeling with Ian Schnoor

On Wednesday, Rotman hosted Ian Schnoor to do a free course through PACE, Financial Modeling 1 - Building a Financial Model.

He's style was very organized and structured, with an emphasis for presenting the model in physical printed paper format as well as on Excel on a computer. Before I had come to Rotman, I was recommended by a friend to take his course. He offers his course with his company, the Marquee Group, is also offered through the CFA (which is much more expensive than at Rotman).

There is a lot of interest generated for his next related course: Financial Modeling 2 - Valuation Analysis. I'd recommend a financial modeling course for anyone who is serious about getting into finance.

CFA Level II - Study Begins

I was studying for the CFA Level II on Sunday and I noticed that some of the topics covered in the Equity Analysis portion were items that I was pondering earlier including: alternate method of including the value of risk in DCF, inflation as a reasonable proxy for long term sustainable growth in a GGM or DDM, the constant relationship between ROE, k, PE, Dividend payout / retention, growth rate etc.

I'm very excited to be starting my study for the CFA Level II. Already, I'm learning a lot and getting confirmation and validations on some of the ideas I had pondered earlier as well as correction on some misconceptions.

So far, I'm particularly impressed with the integration of macro economic factors on valuations and approximating growth rates and factor variables in valuations via economic indicators (GDP growth, inflation, CPI etc). I am absolutely fascinated at the interplay and relationships for how different disciplines of study interact and how the mechanics of economics and strategy affect the mechanics of finance. Also, I think that the topics covered are pragmatic and absolutely brilliant in terms of applying theory in practice.

International Exchange Program - London Business School

On Monday, students at Rotman heard news as to the status of their international exchange program applications. There was a bit of chatter as we heard which students would be going to which schools. Some of my good friends will be going to National University Singapore (NUS), Melborne Australia, Capetown South Africa, and a variety of schools all over the world.


Personally, I was very lucky to learn that I was accepted to attend LBS in the spring (second half) of my second year in the MBA program.


There are many considerations students must make when applying, including finding a school that meets their career goals, geographic preference and how they will represent Rotman when away. Specifically, students consider what jobs they want "out of the gate", what electives they want to take and what part of the world they want to live in.

It was a friend of mine (Rotman '08) who was attending NUS and visiting me in Malaysia who convinced me to go to Rotman to do my MBA and I am forever grateful for the conversation.

I'm looking forward to continuing my blog when I'm over there for Spring of my second year (Jan to Apr 2011) and I'm hoping to have plenty of visitors (in the same manner as my trip to NYC) during my stay.

The Growing Potential of Islamic Finance in Western Economies

On Friday of last week, our professor, Walid Hejazi, was acting as host to a panel of speakers discussing "The Diversification of Global Finance and Opportunity: The Growing Potential of Islamic Finance in Western Economies".

Panelists included: Michael Ainley, Head of Wholesale Banks and Investment Firms Dept., UK Financial Services Authority (London, UK), Dany Assaf, Partner, Bennett Jones LLP, David Dodge, Senior Advisor, Bennett Jones LLP and former Governor, Bank of Canada, Mohammad Fadel, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

One of the interesting take aways came in the form of a question at the end of the session. The background was that one of the common lessons we had learned in the Middle East study tour is that Islamic finance is not exempt from the mechanics of finance (requiring a reasonable rate of return proportional to the risk of the investment - the foundation of finance).

As a result, there are many Islamic financial transactions which mirror or replicate similar instruments in "conventional" finance. While there are some issues which arise: UK law requires that deposits are guaranteed and insured, however Islamic finance doesn't not permit the guarantee of loans (provisions against default penalities) there are some unique solutions which arise: Depositors can waive their right to guaranteed deposits.

This raises an interesting question: Is Islamic Finance only for Muslims? And the answer is unequivocally: "No". The principles of Islamic Finance, while rooted in teachings from the Koran, are only intended to drive the moral thought process behind why the instruments are so structured. However, there is no reason why someone from a "western" culture wouldn't be interested in buying "stable, asset backed securities which happen to be Sharia compliant". It's like humus. It's a tasty, healthy and convenient snack which people buy without concern for the fact that it also happens to be Halal.

In fact, based solely on their merits as financial instruments, greater demand for Islamic products through improved due diligence and stable, equity and asset based transactions would improve their marketability by providing another high quality asset class in the market.

Legacy: The Million Dollar Question

I look at my classmates, what rock stars they will be in the future and I ask them: "What do you want your legacy to be? 10 years from now, when you make heaps of money and your tax accountant suggests you need to make a million dollar contribution to a charity, where will you put your money? Would you want your name on a junior highschool? A cancer ward in a hospital? A park bench?"

I used to ask my friends at McMaster Engineering to remember McMaster in their donations (Mac Lab Endowment comes to mine) in a half joking attempt to "keep DeGroote out of McMaster" (Micheal DeGroote has been buying up parts of McMaster including the business school and life sciences department... We've been wondering when they'd rename the school DeGroote University).

Joking aside, the question is intended to provoke introspection. Most people will give to something they feel is a worthy cause or something which helped define them as a person. When presented with the prospect of where to make a significant contribution (the amount itself is trivial, whether people feel their ambition would be better accomplished with 10k or a billion dollars is not important - increasing the fictitious sum of money is an easy enough task) people think a little harder about what's important to them and you get some surprisingly personal answers. I'd also like to think that people learn a little bit more about themselves when confronted with the altruistic challenge.