Bankers Predicting World Cup Finalists... Using Economics?

Analysts at banks from all over the world have been using economic theory (portfolio theory, efficient markets, etc.) to predict who will win the 2018 Fifa World Cup:

A multinational team of analysts at Nomura, the Japanese bank, held out little hope for their company’s home nation. They noted that Japan had recently ejected their coach and “our historical analysis suggests that teams that do, go on to perform poorly”.

They also concluded, using portfolio theory and the efficient-markets hypothesis as well as data on the value, form and historical performance of players, that France will beat Spain in the final, with Brazil in third place.

Nonsense, say analysts at UBS, the Swiss bank. Applying the (unspecified) econometric tools that the chief investment office at its wealth-management arm uses to pick stocks, it has Germany most likely to win. The bankers give the current holders a 24 per cent chance of lifting the trophy again.

This is pretty interesting/amusing stuff. Just goes to show how practical economic theory actually is (or not?).

How realistic do you think this is?

Who will win according to your calculations??

What do you think?

1 Comments
 

Delectus eum facere earum. Sed ad in voluptates delectus cupiditate similique. Recusandae sit est culpa excepturi praesentium quibusdam. Eum dignissimos qui sapiente.

Voluptatem quibusdam aperiam ut debitis ut. Aut consequatur voluptatem ab atque qui quo aliquam molestiae. Sit sint harum et iusto.

Reiciendis illo magnam aut cupiditate est exercitationem id. Praesentium saepe ut laboriosam assumenda explicabo. Et aut neque placeat in nesciunt magnam. Doloribus est fugit aliquam deleniti.

Ut necessitatibus et ex ipsum. Qui dolores quidem soluta. Suscipit fuga praesentium fuga.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (47) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (74) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”