Department of Economics and Finance, University of Canterbury

Meet Olivia Blanchard, a Master of Applied Finance and Economics student at University of Canterbury and the COO of The Investment Society. Olivia is shown in the photo alongside a University of Otago student Oliver Worker, a fellow intern. Olivia completed her UC Bachelor of Commerce degree at the end of last year, double majoring in Finance and Economics. Last summer, Olivia interned with the Transactions (corporate finance) team of Deloitte. What drew her to this role was the opportunity to work in Deloitte’s fast-paced environment and its global reputation in M&A, financial advisory and other financial services. Throughout her time at Deloitte, Olivia gained exposure to a variety of areas within the corporate finance field, which significantly expanded her knowledge and skill set. A particularly rewarding aspect of her role was learning how to conduct detailed financial analysis using Excel and other modelling tools. She also had the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the team by participating in client meetings. A key takeaway from her internship was learning to trust in her knowledge while embracing problem-solving tasks daily. Olivia is grateful for the chance to work with such a welcoming and supportive team, and is excited to have accepted a graduate role with the team starting in February 2026! Congratulations, Olivia - we are so thrilled about the news! Deloitte will be on campus this week, courtesy of the Investment Society. Deloitte will deliver the "Career Panel" on Wednesday 5th of March at 5-7 pm in John Britten. The session covers internships and grad roles, CVs & applications, recruitment insights and, as the icing on a cake, a panel that includes our own Olivia! Jump on the Instagram page of the Investment Society to sign up. UC Business School

Huge congratulations to Professor Jedrzej Bialkowski, and his co-authors Arman Eshraghi and Xiaopeng Wei (a former colleague of ours), who recently won the overall best paper award- BLR Outstanding Research Award- for their paper “Investors Gambles and Political Signal” at the 29th New Zealand Finance Colloquium (https://nzfc.ac.nz). The paper provides evidence that investors tend to ‘gamble’ more when the quality of political signals deteriorates, and there is a divergence in trading volume between lottery-like and non-lottery-like stocks leading to a considerable 17% annual return differential. This paper is a part of a wider project that studies the impact of the quality of political signals in the US on investor behaviour. If you are interested in their unique data on quality of political signals, you can visit the research team's website: https://lnkd.in/gtnR-VW7.

This past summer, two University of Canterbury students interned at Jarden - Jack Buckingham (back right) and Eleanor Paxie (second from left in the back - the rest are Australian interns). We talked to Jack about what it was like to intern at Jarden, and we all now want to become Jarden interns, too! According to Jack, the internship started with a week in Jarden's Sydney office, where Jack and Eleanor met the Australian interns and received financial modelling training. Jack then spent eight weeks working in the Auckland office in the Investment Banking team on live deals and various projects, including a dedicated intern project that he presented to the team at the end of the internship. For Jack, the highlight was gaining insight into investment banking processes and New Zealand's leading companies. The wealth of knowledge within the team allowed him to learn simply by being in the room, and the team was always more than willing to answer his questions. Jack thought that the internship was invaluable in providing experience in a corporate environment and taught him many technical skills that will be useful in both the rest of his studies and his career. You may have heard that Jarden will be on campus this Tuesday, brought to you by The Investment Society. If you are interested in careers at Jarden, make sure that you go and listen to their presentation on 25 February at 10:30-11:30 in Rehua 702. For further details, jump on the Instagram page of the Investment Society. If you want to be just like Jack and Eleanor, don't miss the opportunity to hear from the Jarden team! UC Business School

Congratulations to Professor Philip Vermeulen on his appointment to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Board! Philip will serve for a five-year period. Philip was first appointed to the RBNZ Board in June last year as a ‘Future Director’, participating as an observer on the Board, and this latest announcement confirms him as a full member of the RBNZ board. For a full announcement, please see https://lnkd.in/g7Qb9Zia UC Business School

At the start of the academic year, we are buzzing about all the great things our students got involved with during the summer! Rosie Sunckell, a third-year Bachelor of Commerce student majoring in Finance and minoring in Entrepreneurship, is just back from Napier, where she was a Private Business Intern with PwC Financial Advisory Services. The internship allowed Rosie to gain practical experience in preparing financial statements, tax returns and client documents. She was also able to contribute to a team project focused on developing AI-driven prompts to improve staff efficiency in analyzing economic reports and delivering high-quality commercial advice. Her team presented the project to a panel of senior partners, including the CEO, and secured first place among all PwC interns in New Zealand! Congratulations on this achievement, Rosie! Rosie particularly enjoyed working closely with colleagues and deepening her understanding of accounting by applying it in her jobs. She believes that this internship has been instrumental in her personal and professional growth, allowing her to strengthen her financial skills and deepen her understanding of the industry. Working alongside a supportive team at PwC’s Napier office gave her valuable insights into real-world financial processes and further sparked her interest in problem-solving and analytical thinking. Rosie believes that this experience will be highly valuable as she works towards building a career in finance, allowing her to apply her skills and grow within the industry. Thank you, PwC, for such a valuable and rewarding experience for Rosie! UC Business School 

Our first Erskine visitor of the year, Professor Dieter Nautz, Chair of Econometrics at Freie Universität Berlin, will give a seminar this Friday, 21 February, at 3-4:30 pm in Meremere 236. The title of his talk is "Asymmetric inflation target credibility". Everyone is welcome and there is no need to book tickets. See you there! UC Business School

We have been very lucky to have Dr Alice Henriques Volz visit us for a few months from the Federal Reserve Board, where Alice is the Chief, Microeconomic Surveys. Alice will give a seminar this Friday, 14 February, at 3-4:30 pm in Meremere 236. The title of her talk is "Private business wealth and rates of return in the United States". Everyone is welcome and there is no need to book tickets. UC Business School

Meet Taylor Mitchell, a recent Bachelor of Commerce graduate from University of Canterbury with a double major in Economics and Finance. Taylor is currently interning with KPMG Indonesia in Jakarta through the Asia New Zealand Foundation internship programme! After spending a semester on exchange at one of our partner universities, WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business), Taylor was inspired to live overseas and gain further international experience. Therefore, when she saw the chance to intern at KPMG Indonesia, she jumped at the opportunity. She has really enjoyed working in this global, diverse environment whilst learning about transfer pricing! A highlight of her time so far has been experiencing the vibrant Indonesian culture - from trying new foods and meeting new people to travelling on weekends and even attending Indonesian weddings, the experience has been nothing short of life-changing. Working in a fast-paced environment combined with living in a busy, dynamic city has pushed Taylor out of her comfort zone, given her new perspectives and helped her grow both professionally and personally. Are you interested in a summer internship in Asia? The Asia New Zealand Foundation internship opportunities in China, India, Malaysia and South Korea, for the summer of 25-26, are now open for application! The deadlines are approaching soon, so don't miss out on these life-changing experiences! https://lnkd.in/gUp7NtXJ UC Business School

Meet Tom Stephens, a Bachelor of Commerce student double majoring in Finance and Economics, soon to finish his journey with the University of Canterbury. Tom is one of the many students we have who have had amazing summer internships this summer. His internship was with ZURU, which the kids inside us are very excited about! What drew Tom to this internship was ZURU’s strong presence across international markets and the opportunity to engage daily with international clients. Some of the activities Tom did as a part of his internship were Profit and Loss Statement analysis on key products, such as Bunch O Balloons and X-Shot (both featured in the photo of Tom below), focusing on forecasting sales and meeting margin requirements. He also performed pitches to the wider international ZURU team, providing them with key information to effectively push products through their channels. Internships are not only a great way to learn new technical skills and put into practice what you have learned in your classes but also an opportunity for personal growth. Tom said that the internship has taught him to back himself, even when facing daunting tasks. Approaching challenges with confidence is the best way to advance. That is very good advice, Tom! Internships can also lead to graduate role offers, and this was true for Tom as well. Tom will be the commercial executive for Zuru’s Seasonal (spring/summer) products, including Bunch O Balloons, X-Shot water and Bunch O Bubbles. Huge congratulations, Tom! We are all super excited for you and look forward to following your career! UC Business School

Huge welcome to our newest staff member, Sophie Wang, who started at University of Canterbury as a Senior Lecturer in Finance two weeks ago! Prior to her appointment at UC, Sophie worked as Lecturer at Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China and with Fonterra before that. She has a PhD from Massey University. Sophie started her employment with a bang, landing an acceptance in the Journal of Business Ethics, a Financial Times 50 [FT50] journal, just days after starting her role. The paper is called 'Social Credit and Trade Credit: A Coevolutionary Perspective,' and its working-paper version (with a different title) won the NZX-CGI Best Paper Award in Corporate Governance at the New Zealand Financial Colloquium last year. You will get to know Sophie this year if you are taking ACCT102 - Introduction to Accounting, where Sophie will teach the Finance part, or MFIN601 - Corporate Finance. In the picture below, Sophie shows her willingness to roll up her sleeves by taking on the BBQ master role at the recent MAFE BBQ, along Jeremy Clark, just 3 days after starting at UC! We know we can look forward to great things from our new superstar! UC Business School