IIM-L bulls reap rich dividends

IT ALL started two months back as a fun-contest in the run-up to IIM Lucknow’s annual extravaganza Manfest, which is set to get rolling on Friday.

But by Sunday when it ends, the bulls from top B-schools of the country would have done a business of over a crore of rupees on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange, reaping nearly 50 per cent profit in two months time.

The winning team – with the maximum profit in the stock market – would become richer still on Sunday, carrying a cheque of Rs 1 lakh as prize money and lifting the rolling trophy of ‘Karvy Young Fund Manager’ for their efforts at the stock market.

In an attempt to make Manfest more attractive this year, IIM Lucknow lads, with active support from Prof Dharmendra Sengar, chairman, students’ affairs, and in association with Karvy Stock Broking Limited, launched ‘Karvy Go Trade’ on November 28. It was to test the investment and portfolio management skills of B-school students in a competitive environment.

The 210 participating teams, comprising of five members each, got a chance to manage a portfolio of Rs 60,000 each between November 28 and January 20. Teams were required to pool in Rs 10,000 of their own with Karvy chipping in with Rs 50,000 for each team.

They were allowed to invest on both BSE and NSE through the online portal of Karvy. On the eve of Manfest, it was clear that business school students had taken the stock market bull by its horn. Most of the participating teams had earned  big profits, much to the surprise of many. 

Says IIM-L student Zerin Rahman, a Manfest core committee member and a co-ordinator of the ‘Karvy Go Trade’: “All the participating teams would get their Rs 10,000 back and allowed to keep 40 per cent of the profits they made on the investments when the contest formally concludes on Sunday.” Zerin, who just joined the stock game “to have a feel” himself, made a profit of nearly Rs 15,000 and would get to keep 40%of it. There were those who made losses too. For them the rule was simple. In case the loss was above Rs 10,000 they had the chance to rejoin the “game” by pooling their share of Rs 10,000 again. Not many made the mistake twice. With such an attractive build-up to their annual fest, IIM-L students were now contemplating getting an international certification from International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) for Manfest — a certification they hope would get their fest global recognition.  “It’s a long drawn process and we would apply for it after Manfest is over. The level of our planning, execution, celebs invited, logistics all are top class. And we definitely would like an international certificate for it,” says IIM student Kandarp, a Manfest core committee member. That Manfest is growing is well established.

From a budget of about Rs 32 lakhs to over Rs 60 lakhs this year, bigger and better sponsors and more excitement than ever, Manfest website has already got over 1.5 million hits already. And as Kandarp says, this is not the end.