Shippensburg University’s Investment Management Program (IMP) wins first place at investment competition
SU team members were: (front row from left) Benjamin Shenk, Chelsea Scomak, Marie Smith, Lisa Robbins, and Dave Calambas. (Back row from left) Jeremie Patrick, Mike Kuder, Chad Brooks, John Dickson, Hong Rim, Spencer Haines, and Colin Ward.
Shippensburg University’s Investment Management Program (IMP) students claimed a first-place award at this year’s Quinnipiac University Global Asset Management Education Forum, held March 19-21 in New York City.
The forum features a student-managed portfolio competition, according to Dr. Hong Rim, professor of finance and supply chain management. More than 1,200 students from 140 colleges in 40 countries and 39 states participated.
“The competition is divided into six categories,” Rim said. “The category we took first place in was the undergraduate hybrid investing style.”
Rim said members of CFA Institute, a global association of investment professionals, served as judges for the competition, screening each team’s performance based on the 2014 annual risk-adjusted return of their real-dollar portfolios.
“This is another excellent example of the preparedness of our students,” said Dr. John Kooti, dean of the John L. Grove College of Business. “Thanks to support from the Wisman Endowment in our college, the Investment Management Program has given our students firsthand experience in managing financial portfolios. I also am very thankful to Dr. Rim and other finance faculty for working with our students to apply financial theories and concepts in the real world.”
According to Lisa Robbins, IMP president and accounting and finance major, the forum also includes keynote panels that consist of investors who appear regularly on CNBC and CNN. In addition, students attend breakout sessions to discuss such topics as the global economy, global markets, alternative assets and equities, corporate governance, asset management and investment strategies.
“Attending the forum was an incredible learning experience that I, along with the rest of the IMP class, am grateful to have had,” Robbins said. “Not only did it provide us with new knowledge to bring back to our portfolio management, but it also was a great bonding experience for our class.”
SU team members were Lisa Robbins of Philadelphia, Chad Brooks of Enola, Dave Calambas of Shippensburg, John Dickson of Harrisburg, Mike Kuder of Flemington, N.J., Spencer Haines of Eldersburg, Md., Jeremie Patrick of Manheim, Chelsea Scomak of Mechanicsburg, Ben Shenk of Newburg, Marie Smith of York, and Colin Ward of Royersford.
Seniors in the Grove College of Business apply for selection to the IMP class, in which they serve as the sole portfolio managers, with oversight by finance professors, of a real-dollar endowment.
“The [IMP] is a student-run course. We do have a faculty advisor who oversees everything that we do, but we ultimately make all of the investing decisions,” Robbins said. “We manage a real-money portfolio, which is awesome. It makes for a realistic experience.”
Because of the success of the portfolio, the Wisman Endowment has reached the $100,000 mark and is now able to provide scholarships for students interested in majoring in finance at Shippensburg University.
Click here for more information on the Investment Management Program