Long Term Capital Management

Approximately 20 Delegates - Single Delegate

Welcome to LTCM! This committee centers on the 1998 collapse of Long-Term Capital Management, a hedge fund once celebrated for its brilliance and success under Nobel Laureates and top Wall Street traders. Rather than focusing on complex financial theory, delegates will explore how interconnected financial institutions and conflicting government actions can trigger systemic crises. Set just weeks before LTCM’s downfall, participants represent key federal and financial entities deciding whether to intervene or let the fund fail. The committee will debate the trade-offs between market stability, moral hazard, and the limits of regulation while negotiating between private and public interests. As the scenario unfolds, delegates must manage the escalating fallout of LTCM’s failure and determine how their decisions will shape the global financial system.

Dear Delegates,

Welcome to ILMUNC XLII! I’m Lisel Ndrecka and I’ll be your chair for this Crisis Committee on Long Term Capital Management. On behalf of me and your staffers, I would like to express how excited we are to welcome you to the conference!

Unlike your ordinary crisis topic, the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management is surrounded by secrecy, high-stakes decision-making, and unanswered questions about the stability of global markets. While this incident may seem like an extraordinary financial failure, I urge you to dig deeper to uncover what truly occurred. Look beyond the hedge fund itself and ask whether factors such as overreliance on complex financial models or excessive leverage played a role in the downfall of an institution once thought “too big to fail.” Camron and I are excited to see how each of you tackle unforeseen challenges and crisis breaks that arise in committee!

A bit about me: I’m currently a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences studying Economics and data analytics. On campus, I am also involved in INTERCOL, Penn’s Model UN team, and I was the former Chief of Staff of UPMUNC, the University’s collegiate conference. Outside of campus, you’ll find me running on various city paths around Philadelphia, volunteering, and travelling.

I love my home-city of Philadelphia (go Birds) and have grown to love Penn (go Quakers) so I’m incredibly excited to extend a warm welcome to you all at ILMUNC this January. Please feel free to email me, Camron, or any of your staffers regarding questions about committee. We look forward to seeing you in January!

Lisel Ndrecka

Crisis Chair

liselndr@sas.upenn.edu