Commercium, the commerce society of St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai conducted a number of various events and activities in 2020. We conducted various webinars and workshops detailing the economic, political, social and financial issues faced due to the pandemic and lockdown. We also had workshops in collaboration with the IRM and CCS.
With the insights of our esteemed speaker, the event was successful in discussing a variety of subsections under the broad umbrella of the term ‘Investment Banking’. Initiating with demarcating the difference between a traditional banker and an investment banker, the session moved on to delve into Mergers and Acquisitions, Capital Markets, Equity Capital Markets, Debt Markets and so on. The speaker then shed light upon the nature of clients in investment banking, using Deutsche Bank as a model example. Furthermore, the changing dynamisms of Banking post the 2008 crisis were discussed. Moving on, Our Speaker gave us a glimpse of a typical day for a banker and thus, he piqued the interest as well as gave a real world picture to all those aspiring to be one. Lastly, the Speaker laid out constructive steps, for our undergraduate and graduate audience, to work towards the journey of becoming an Investment Banker and beyond. In all, the enriching session was definitely a value addition for the participants and the 1st event was a huge success.
Considering the uproar of cryptocurrency in the market with limited accessibility to people with the at knowledge about the same, this event was crucial for our participants to get the right knowledge from the appropriate resource person. Our Speaker and our alumnus started the session right from the fundamental question, what is a cryptocurrency. Furthermore, the session elaborated the historical background of cryptocurrency like its origin, its jump into the mainstream and the widespread popularity in a short span. Connecting on a personal level with our audience, the session touched upon how early investors can start their crypto journey. In addition, our speaker also shed light upon topics such as mining, dollar cost averaging, etc. Lastly, the Speaker answered all the doubts from the audience and guided them towards the right awareness and knowledge. The Foundation Day Event was a huge success.
Wear to Care Webinar was an insightful journey of how an idea of contributing to the environment was churned and reformed into a successful business. The brother duo explained the journey right from the initial stages shedding light on the challenges, the risks which scripted their success story.
The Case Study Competition was launched at the end of the webinar. The Case sent to the participants was a real life case concerning the Price Sponsorship Company, TreeWear. The participants were given ample time to study the case and chart out their solutions in a 2 page report. The top 5 reports were shortlisted for the final round after the perusal of the judges based on criteria like creativity, applicability, research, originality, etc. The 3 winners were provided a gift hamper and a certificate.
The Corporate Sustainability Webinar with Mr Tyagi focused on how sustainability thrives in the corporate conglomerates. With the centre of discussion being the corporate giants, the session revolved around the measures and drives conducted for sustainability. The session also gave an insight to the students regarding what will be expected of them who wish to join the corporate world in the coming future.
Financial Control is one of the most important requirements for an individual. The Event Commenced by a brief discussion on the importance of Financial planning. The speaker went on to explain her life story, how she spent her early 20’s and how she became a lecturer at HR College from an investment banker at JP Morgan, Australia. The webinar then delved deeper into understanding what exactly is financial planning. She defined the crucial nature of goals and the real meaning of Savings and Investment. She laid down the steps for making a financial plan. Furthermore, she put forward various instruments to meet short term financial goals as well as long term financial goals. The session gave valuable insights on NPS, Liquid Funds, Index Funds. The Q/A session at the end was essential in clearing the doubts of the participants and also to make the session interactive.
Commercium: The Commerce Society 2021-2022 organized the Annual Flagship Event of the Commerce Department, “Pitch Tank”, from the 28th of February to 6th of March, 2022.
With an influx of interest into the stock market amongst the current generation, a new breed of analysts has emerged with a whole new outlook on the market. In order to provide such stock savants a platform to showcase their finance acumen and pitching skills, Commercium organized a webinar with Mr. Amit Khandeparkar as the esteemed speaker.
Mr. Amit laid down the foundation of stock pitching by answering the most basic question of stock pitching; Why this stock? Elaborating on this front, Mr. Amit went on to highlight the importance of emerging trends in the market, the stage and maturity at which the industry finds itself as well as the regulatory environment scenario. All these factors exert a profound impact on the decision to pitch any stock.
For the analysis part of pitching, Mr. Amit focused on the importance of competitive landscape, giving insights into certain industry jargons such as 'Industry Moat' and 'Key Industry Drivers'. Focusing on the key players in the market and taking into account the market share of the top 3-5 players are crucial pieces of advice that Mr. Amit imparted on the attendees. Another crucial aspect that Mr. Amit touched upon was the product and management team, and how imperative it was for analysts to consider the historical track record and stability of the management team leading the company. The quality of management is key in determining the performance of the stock in the long term.
Pitch Tank was conceptualized keeping in mind all the young investment geeks and enthusiasts who needed a platform to showcase their skills and market savviness. The event was organized in two rounds. The first round was the Pitch Submission.
The participants were required to pick one stock over which they had to prepare a maximum of 2 page pitch report. The contesting teams had to justify a Strong Sell/ Hold/ Buy/Strong Buy recommendation on any stock from the NIFTY 50 or BSE SENSEX basket. The analysis of stock was restricted to just the fundamental variant. The top 5 teams, adjudicated on the basis of depth of research, quality of data, formatting, etc., advanced to the second and final round.
The second round was the final presentation to the judge, Mr. Amit, wherein the final 5 teams had to present a 10-minute presentation based on the previous report in order to justify their stance on the chosen stock. The winners were provided with a cash prize and certificates.
ThinkBizz: The Official Blog of Commercium has only scaled newer heights this year. The Blog has not only rebranded itself thoroughly but has also new additions to it. The Blog has continued to serve its very purpose of demystifying the dynamisms of Commerce for its viewers and has ceaselessly contributed to their learning.
Jargon Reel
The Jargon Reel on Instagram was one of the easiest and most attractive ways to break down concepts into smaller parts and explain it to our audience. The reels were a hit among our readers with an average clocking of 300 views at least per reel.
The Monthly Newsletter
The Monthly Newsletter provided the perfect read at the month end with its compelling components such as ‘Marketing Mavericks’, ‘Show up, Step up, Start up’, ‘Chutes & Ladders’, ‘For People, not Profit’ and ‘Policynomics’. The Newsletter also curated a special list of books for our audience under the section, ‘The Reading Room’.
Insightful Articles
The Blog Editors and Writers toiled relentlessly to present engaging, informative and quality articles for the blog readers. Ranging on various topics like Entrepreneurship to Crypto, from Supply Chain Managements to IPOs, from cyber security to workforce management, we had everything for our readers to relish upon.
Mastering Money: Personal Finance
This Personal Finance component was the latest addition to our ThinkBizz blog. The write-ups focused on imparting basic yet necessary financial knowledge to the students which were then expected to use this teaching to at least understand the financial jargons and concepts. This included topics like Debt, Interest, Understanding Job Offer, Stock by Stock by investing, etc.
Weekly Market Briefs
The Weekly Stock Market Briefs were the substitutes we provided for those who weren’t able to read/consume stock market related data. The Stock Market Data was provided with Benchmark Indices and Major Headlines of the Week which helped the reader get a holistic view of the market. Apart from that, the team also provided Crypto Updates of the week, thus, balancing both the forms of investment and also catering to the curiosity of the crypto-investing audience.
Fin-Fiend’s Playbook: The Official Podcast of Commercium was the biggest feather in the cap of the team. Starting right from the scratch, the team has worked tirelessly over the past 8 months to give the best auditory experience which is enriching and knowledge widening at the same time. The Podcast was available om Spotify, iTunes, Stitcher and much more. Being the premier and the pilot year for the podcast series, the team has been successful in covering a range of interesting topics over the 5 episodes. The team has set up the base for the future teams to improvise and scale better heights in the upcoming years.
Javeri sir, our senior faculty member retired on 30th April 2021 after completing more than 35 years of service. We wish him a happy and healthy retired life.
We are extremely proud to carry out the department work efficiently and effectively to reach to an enhanced level. We also congratulate the students who have actively participated in team Commercium this year. We the department members are looking forward to the coming year eagerly.