In this article, Bochen LIU (Queen’s Smith School of Business, BCom 2023–2027; ESSEC BBA Exchange Program, Fall 2025) analyzes how the famous Chinese strategic quote “知己知彼，百战不殆” (know yourself and know your opponent, and you will never be defeated), derived from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, functions as a foundational principle in modern Business strategy, … Read more
In this article, Anirudh KUMAR (B.S. Economics, IIT Kanpur, with a minor in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning) shares his experience as a machine learning research intern. From February to August 2024, he worked under the supervision of Professor Swagato Chatterjee on a study of how people respond to Facebook communication about hydrogen fuel cell … Read more
In this article, Isaac FAINSTEIN, Director at Petrini Valores and Visiting Lecturer at IESEG School of Management (Lille), shares his professional experience as a trader in illiquid fixed income and emerging markets — and what practitioners know that most finance courses never cover. About Petrini Valores Petrini Valores is an Argentine broker-dealer specializing in fixed … Read more
In this article, Axel RUDLOFF (founder and President of Koragence, and a student at ESSEC Business School, Grande Ecole Program – Master in Management (MiM), 2025–2029) shares observations drawn from building and managing software engineering projects involving system integration, artificial intelligence (AI), DevOps and custom business applications. The article explains why a software project is … Read more
In this article, Frédéric VALOGNES, lecturer, author and Certified European Financial Analyst (CEFA®), examines whether the dynamics of the implied volatility surface may provide a decision-support framework for systematic cash-secured put strategies. Abstract The Black-Scholes-Merton model remains one of the most influential developments in modern financial economics. Whilst its mathematical formulation continues to provide the … Read more
In this article, Saral BINDAL (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, 2024-2028 & Research assistant at ESSEC Business School) explains the implied volatility surface: its characteristic shapes, static arbitrage constraints, and application using S&P 500 index options data. Introduction In financial markets characterized by uncertainty, volatility is a crucial factor in the … Read more
In this article, Marco SIMONETTI (ESSEC Business School, Master in Finance, 2025-2026) shares his founder experience building, scaling, and exiting Cristoforo Travel (2021-2025), a traveltech venture focused on B2B software and analytics for travel agencies and tour operators. About the company I founded Cristoforo Travel in early 2021 to help travel providers rebound after the … Read more
In this article, Saral BINDAL (Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, 2024-2028 & Research assistant at ESSEC Business School) explains how option prices can be used to build an implied risk-neutral distribution. Introduction Derivative markets provide a rich source of information for market expectations. For example, a futures price is the market’s … Read more
Is there ever a “safe” time to invest money in financial markets? Many investors spend their careers searching for the perfect seasonal window, waiting for “calmer” months to risk their capital, or fearing specific periods like the infamous “October effect”. However, Mark Twain, as a cynical observer of human nature, suggests that our search for … Read more
Most Read Articles about Bonds on the SimTrade Blog This monthly selection highlights key articles on bond markets, chosen based on their pedagogical value, practical relevance, and readership engagement. Bond markets have been selected as a central theme due to their critical role in the transmission of monetary policy, the formation of interest rates, and … Read more
In this article, Alexandre LANGEVIN (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (BBA), 2022-2026) explains how duration and convexity allow investors and risk managers to measure and anticipate how bond prices react to changes in interest rates, and why the distinction between the two matters in practice. Introduction Bond markets sit at the heart … Read more
Is it possible to be right too early? In the world of finance, the answer is often yes. We frequently assume that if our analysis is sound, and if the data is on our side, profit is inevitable. However, history is littered with brilliant minds who correctly identified a market bubble, but got crushed by … Read more
In any asset management class, students are taught that diversification is a key to unlock mathematically optimal risk-adjusted returns. However, Warren Buffett, one of the world’s most successful investors, would beg to disagree: to him, “diversification is protection against ignorance. It makes little sense if you know what you are doing.” In this article, Hadrien … Read more
In this article, Bochen LIU (Queen’s Smith School of Business, BCom 2023–2027; ESSEC BBA Exchange Program, Fall 2025) explains how corporate risk is understood, managed, and priced in practice, drawing on concrete experience from consulting frameworks and financial analysis at the Agricultural Bank of China. What is corporate risk? Corporate risk refers to the uncertainty … Read more
In this article, Ian DI MUZIO (ESSEC Business School, Master in Finance, 2025–2027) examines how investment banks structure consideration in M&A deals through earn-outs, rollover equity, and other forms of contingent consideration, and how these tools redistribute risk and return between buyer and seller. Context and objective In most introductory valuation courses, M&A is presented … Read more
In this article, Bochen LIU (Queen’s Smith School of Business, BCom 2023–2027; ESSEC BBA Exchange Program, Fall 2025) shares his professional experience as an Investment Intern at Kylin Hall Capital. About the company Kylin Hall Capital is a Beijing-based venture capital firm investing in early- to growth-stage technology companies in China. The firm focuses on … Read more
Investing is often a battle with our own emotions. We see prices rise sharply and crash just as fast, and this can lead to very bad investment decisions. However, Charlie Munger’s wisdom comes once again handy, to remind us to avoid overlooking at prices all day-long, because “Investing is stupid if you’re more worried about … Read more
Financial markets move every second, reacting to every new piece of information, every financial statement, every geopolitical event. Prices rise, fall, move too far, come back again, and for anyone observing from the outside, this constant motion can easily appear chaotic. Yet, behind this apparent disorder lies a deeper structure, a logic shaped by the … Read more
Financial markets move with a constant rhythm, shaped by news, expectations, and the psychological impulses that influence investors every day. Prices advance, decline, accelerate suddenly, or pause without warning, and to the untrained observer this flow can seem arbitrary or even irrational. This can make it hard for investors to resist the urge of buying … Read more
In this article, Maxime PIOUX (ESSEC Business School, Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA) – 2022-2026) explains the importance of international accounting standards and highlights the key differences that finance and business students should be aware of. Why International Accounting Standards Financial statements are the primary source of information used by investors, managers, and other … Read more