ICMA Centre
Encyclopedia
The ICMA Centre is a centre of higher education based in the English
town of Reading
, Berkshire
. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education tailored to the capital markets industry.
Established in 1991 with funding provided by the International Capital Market Association
(ICMA) in Zurich
through a partnership with the University of Reading
, the Centre is housed in a purpose-built modernist building, and was formally opened in March 1998 by Sir Brian Unwin, then President of the European Central Bank
.
The Centre's facilities include three dealing rooms where students learn how markets really function and apply theory through simulations. The Centre also provides two lecture theatres, several seminar rooms, information seating area and café bar. The upper floor of the Centre houses the administrative and academic staff and doctoral researchers.
In 2008, ICMA invested a further £5 million, which funded an expansion to the building. The extension includes the flagship 40 seat dealing room - the largest in Europe – which is sponsored in part by Thomson Reuters
, as well as a 170 seat lecture theatre, new seminar rooms and a dedicated research area. The building is fitted with audio and visual technology allowing the podcast
ing and webstreaming of lecture content. The new building opened for students at the start of the 2009-2010 academic session.
ICMA's investment in the Centre now totals over £10 million, making it the largest single corporate investment in any European business school.
products – 3000 Xtra and the new Reuters Traders product. These are complemented by a Bloomberg terminal
, which provides an ideal tool for fixed income
research.
Research and project work are further supported by economic and financial data from Datastream, ICMA and other sources and a host of analytical, mathematical and statistical software. Reuters I also features a plasma screen displaying live market prices and news.
The ICMA Centre is the largest non-investment bank Thomson Reuters populated facility in the world, having a total of 112 workstations, which is the size of a medium sized investment bank's dealing floor.
These rooms are not merely training centres for traders of the future; they enable staff to combine theory and practice across a whole range of activities, whether in derivatives trading, portfolio management
, risk management
, financial engineering or corporate finance
.
The dealing rooms are also used for a wide range of computing work throughout the programmes, including Excel spreadsheet modelling, Monte Carlo simulation, financial econometrics
and sessions on market microstructure
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
town of Reading
Reading, Berkshire
Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate and executive education tailored to the capital markets industry.
Established in 1991 with funding provided by the International Capital Market Association
ICMA
The International Capital Market Association is a unique organisation and an influential voice for the global capital market. It represents a broad range of capital market interests including global investment banks and smaller regional banks, as well as asset managers, exchanges, central banks,...
(ICMA) in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
through a partnership with the University of Reading
University of Reading
The University of Reading is a university in the English town of Reading, Berkshire. The University was established in 1892 as University College, Reading and received its Royal Charter in 1926. It is based on several campuses in, and around, the town of Reading.The University has a long tradition...
, the Centre is housed in a purpose-built modernist building, and was formally opened in March 1998 by Sir Brian Unwin, then President of the European Central Bank
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...
.
The Centre's facilities include three dealing rooms where students learn how markets really function and apply theory through simulations. The Centre also provides two lecture theatres, several seminar rooms, information seating area and café bar. The upper floor of the Centre houses the administrative and academic staff and doctoral researchers.
In 2008, ICMA invested a further £5 million, which funded an expansion to the building. The extension includes the flagship 40 seat dealing room - the largest in Europe – which is sponsored in part by Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters Corporation is a provider of information for the world's businesses and professionals and is created by the Thomson Corporation's purchase of Reuters Group on 17 April 2008. Thomson Reuters is headquartered at 3 Times Square, New York City, USA...
, as well as a 170 seat lecture theatre, new seminar rooms and a dedicated research area. The building is fitted with audio and visual technology allowing the podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
ing and webstreaming of lecture content. The new building opened for students at the start of the 2009-2010 academic session.
ICMA's investment in the Centre now totals over £10 million, making it the largest single corporate investment in any European business school.
Dealing rooms
The ICMA Centre provides three dealing rooms to complement theoretical learning. In 1994, a 20 terminal dealing room was opened and then on completion of the new building in 1998 a further two dealing rooms (Reuters I and II) opened with 62 workstations running the latest ReutersReuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
products – 3000 Xtra and the new Reuters Traders product. These are complemented by a Bloomberg terminal
Bloomberg Terminal
The Bloomberg Terminal is a computer system provided by Bloomberg L.P. that enables financial professionals to access the Bloomberg Professional service through which users can monitor and analyze real-time financial market data movements and place trades on the electronic trading platform...
, which provides an ideal tool for fixed income
Fixed income
Fixed income refers to any type of investment that is not equity, which obligates the borrower/issuer to make payments on a fixed schedule, even if the number of the payments may be variable....
research.
Research and project work are further supported by economic and financial data from Datastream, ICMA and other sources and a host of analytical, mathematical and statistical software. Reuters I also features a plasma screen displaying live market prices and news.
The ICMA Centre is the largest non-investment bank Thomson Reuters populated facility in the world, having a total of 112 workstations, which is the size of a medium sized investment bank's dealing floor.
These rooms are not merely training centres for traders of the future; they enable staff to combine theory and practice across a whole range of activities, whether in derivatives trading, portfolio management
Investment management
Investment management is the professional management of various securities and assets in order to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors...
, risk management
Risk management
Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities...
, financial engineering or corporate finance
Corporate finance
Corporate finance is the area of finance dealing with monetary decisions that business enterprises make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions. The primary goal of corporate finance is to maximize shareholder value while managing the firm's financial risks...
.
The dealing rooms are also used for a wide range of computing work throughout the programmes, including Excel spreadsheet modelling, Monte Carlo simulation, financial econometrics
Financial econometrics
People working in the finance industry often use econometric techniques in a range of activities. For example in support of portfolio management, risk management and in the analysis of securities...
and sessions on market microstructure
Market microstructure
Market microstructure is a branch of finance concerned with the details of how exchange occurs in markets. While the theory of market microstructure applies to the exchange of real or financial assets, more evidence is available on the microstructure of financial markets due to the availability of...
.