- Business
WTAMU Student Wins First Place in National Foreign Exchange Trading Contest
CONTACT: Dr. James Owens, 806-651-2525
CANYON, Texas—Joey Ruiz, a graduate student in finance and economics at West Texas A&M University, won first place in the FXCM University Currency Contest with a gain of more than $100,000 in just one month. In his demo account, Ruiz actively traded the euro and finished the competition with $150,107.10, a gain of 200 percent. The first-place win earned Ruiz $1,000 toward his education.
Ruiz bested more than 150 other students from colleges and universities across the country. Universities represented in the competition included Baruch College—City University of New York, University of Wisconsin, University of Dayton, Texas A&M University and University of Texas at Dallas to name a few.
"I lost a lot of sleep trading," Ruiz said. "But the experience I gained was well worth it. I learned a lot about currency trading and how volatile currencies can be during uncertain economic times." Ruiz acknowledged that he was lucky, but he tried several trading strategies, which worked really well for him.
The month-long competition was hosted by FXCM (NYSE: FXCM), a global online foreign exchange broker, and Texas A&M University. Ruiz and five other WTAMU students participated in the national competition as part of the course requirement for Dr. Barbara Wang’s international finance class.
"We have a trading game in international finance," Wang, assistant professor of finance, said. "Students have the option to either participate in the FXCM currency contest or take a more laid-back approach of trading with Oanda’s practice account. Joey’s success in the competition is a testament to the global perspective and practical nature of our graduate business programs."
—WTAMU—