The modern investment portfolio champions one thing—diversification. Diversification in risk, innovation, and sustainability. If you ask Peter Bai, now an Ivey HBA1, he’ll tell you that life before Ivey is exactly that: building your personal portfolio into a dynamic mix of core holdings, compounding growth, and alternative assets.
I first met Peter through Western AI, the largest tech club on campus. I was a first-year drifting through Clubs Fair, then drawn to the crowd gathered at the top of UC Hill for Western AI’s tech mixer. In the middle stood Peter, literally running the whole show. He’s the kind of person people naturally turn to for advice: incredibly accomplished and yet impossible to miss at the party.
The Portfolio’s Core
What separates a strong portfolio from a risky gamble? The “blue-chip” investments that are built to last. Think Coca-Cola, Apple, Canada’s major banks. Every investor needs that foundation. For Peter, those blue chips are Western and Ivey.
Offering an iconic, world-class education, culture, and network, Peter’s AEO years were defined by his achievements that extend far beyond the lecture hall. Pursuing Management and Organizational Studies (BMOS), Peter often slipped into random lectures that ignited his interest. He treated curiosity like a dividend. Encouraged by peers and family, he began experimenting with tech projects, automating small tasks just for the fun of solving problems. “A business background doesn’t limit you to business,” he told me.
Ivey’s community made Peter’s transition into the program feel natural, and he embraced the social side with equal enthusiasm. “You come to Western and Ivey for the network.” Whether suiting up for Western Hockey Intramurals, joining the laughter of Ivey’s Orientation Week and beach days, or tackling the intensity of the HBA1 BCG Case Competition, these moments have built the kind of loyal friendships and healthy lifestyle that, for Peter, is everything—the “hedges” in a bold portfolio.
Compounding Curiosity
Every investor needs a few high-growth positions. You’ve heard it – “high risk, high(er) reward”. For Peter, that’s technology. Leading Western AI (Western Artificial Intelligence) as Co-President, after previously serving as VP Development, WAI has transformed into a campus powerhouse. Under his leadership, teams built full AI projects, published research, and presented at CUCAI, Canada’s top undergraduate AI conference. They launched the DataQuest Hackathon, a 36‑hour machine-learning sprint where teams build a working project, as well as the Career Fair, with local AI start-ups, exposing young talent to Canadian innovation.
And none of that came from a computer science major.
He treats mentorship as another form of investment. “Find someone in the role you want,” he says. “Talk to them. Learn from them.” He believes the best partnerships come from complementary skills, like his Western AI Co-President, who brings deep technical expertise while Peter contributes a business lens. Every conversation with industry professionals and every passion project serves the same goal: growth. In markets and in life, volatility is the cost of growth. Peter embraces it.
An Emerging Market
If you ask where Peter’s placing his biggest bet now, it’s in quantitative finance. Specifically, market microstructure and execution quality. Sounds technical, right? At its core, it’s about trust. At TMX Group, home of the Toronto Stock Exchange, and later at University Pension Plan Ontario, Peter worked on private investments and macro trading for a fund managing over $12.8 billion, always with a focus on making markets serve all. Students, seniors, or everyday investors saving for their first home or family.
At Ivey, the professors are the greatest asset. Peter often says that’s Ivey’s true advantage. For example, he gains inspiration from Assistant Professor George Malikov, whose research on price formation and asset management compounded Peter’s learnings in data-driven finance. After all, the beauty of modern investing is that your portfolio can hold anything. While some assets mature slowly and others swing with volatility, all appreciate with time and care. Peter’s motto? “Just do it,” (like Nike!). He laughs: “So what if no one replies to your email? Whatever idea you have, just do it.”
In the end, the AEO and Ivey experience is its own kind of portfolio. An invaluable one. Across more than 34,000 Ivey alumni, scattered from the trading floors of New York to the startups of San Francisco and the true Canadian innovation we experience every single day, one thing stands above all: determination. I have no doubt Peter will join them.
For that reason, if for no other, I am proud to call him my friend.