For optimal performance, each team must consist of 5 members. You may submit your final deck with a minimum of 3 team members, but if selected for the finals, a full 5-member team is mandatory. All team members must be full-time undergraduate or master’s students at the time of the finals, scheduled for November 5–6, 2025.
Given the nature of the hackathon and its challenges, a solid understanding of finance fundamentals is essential. Therefore, a strong foundation in basic finance principles is a prerequisite for all participants.
While not mandatory, we recommend teams be composed of approximately 50% finance majors (or equivalent financial analysts) and 50% data science or computer science majors. This balance of expertise helps ensure a comprehensive and effective approach to the hackathon’s challenges.
Each team is encouraged to engage an academic advisor from their home university. During the finals, industry coaches will be assigned to provide mentorship and guidance.
Teams will develop investable portfolio strategies as use cases, with a focus on originality and creativity in leveraging large datasets and applying machine learning. Although the strategies are not expected to be operational, evaluations will prioritize the novelty of ideas and innovative use of technology.
Registration Fee
Take advantage of our promotional rate at CAD $200 per team.
The final deadline to register is September 4, 2025.
Please note that the registration fee is non-refundable. A team’s registration will only be considered complete once payment has been made and all five team members’ information has been fully submitted.
Register Now
Challenge Release — September 5, 2025
The official challenge will be sent via email to all registered teams. It will include detailed instructions, datasets, and evaluation guidelines.
Submission Deadline — October 5, 2025
Teams must submit their reports and decks by this date. This is your opportunity to showcase innovative concepts and gain an early edge in the competition.
Scope of Innovation
Teams are encouraged to demonstrate creativity by selecting or building alternative data sets and applying ML/AI algorithms tailored to portfolio construction.
Task
Construct a portfolio of 50 to 70 Global publicly traded stocks and make asset allocation decisions using one of the following strategies:
- Long Only
- Long-Short
- Market-Neutral
Further technical guidelines will be shared with the official challenge release.
Finalist Announcement — October 10, 2025
The top 10 finalist teams will be announced and invited to participate in the in-person Hackathon on November 5-6, 2025 in Montreal.
Final Hackathon — November 5 & 6, 2025
Finalist teams will receive a curated universe of Global stocks along with predefined investment styles. Academic advisors and industry coaches will be available to support teams in the use of alternative data, machine learning applications, and investment strategy development.
Final Presentations & Awards — November 6, 2025
Each finalist team will present their solution to a panel of industry and academic judges. Evaluation will focus on the originality of strategies and innovative use of technology. The hackathon will conclude with a prize ceremony from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM (EST), where the top three teams will be announced.
Note: Dates and time are subject to change with prior notice.
Innovation Challenge
Build a Portfolio with a Bottom-Up Approach Powered by AI. Tackle this exciting and innovative challenge by leveraging Global Markets publicly traded equities, fundamental big data, and alternative data, while applying advanced machine learning, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence techniques to construct a robust investment portfolio.
All registered teams will receive the official challenge on September 5, 2025. It will include detailed instructions, datasets, and evaluation criteria. In the meantime, take a look at last year’s challenge to get a sense of what you will be tackling.
View the 2024 Challenge
Prizes Awarded
The top five teams will be awarded a total of $35,000 in prize money in recognition of their outstanding performance in the 2025 Asset Management Hackathon.
Prizes will be distributed as follows:
1st place — $15,000
2nd place — $10,000
3rd place —$5,000
4th place — $3,000
5th place — $2,000
These awards are made possible through the generous support of our sponsors and partners.
