UM Business Investment Program Offers Big Returns
MISSOULA – Students from the Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ College of Business received over $2,800 from D.A. Davidson for their success in the firm’s Student Investment Program, which provides teams at 21 universities each with $50,000 to invest in the stock market.
The investment program is designed to provide hands-on experience in finance, stock research, portfolio management and investment topics. For many Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ it’s their first experience investing real money, and the program lets them manage a diversified investment portfolio under the guidance of a financial adviser and the class professor for a semester.
At UM Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ analyze and discuss investment opportunities and implement their decisions as part of a College of Business course – $50,000 Portfolio – taught by Brad Cederberg, a 2006 UM College of Business graduate and vice president and financial adviser at D.A. Davidson in Missoula. Not only do Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ learn the skills and techniques of investing, the course also encourages collaboration, teamwork and communication among Ñý¼§Ö±²¥.
The top-performing teams receive a check for their college, earning half of any portfolio gains above 5%. This year, UM finished 13th, earning $2,894 for its student-run portfolio performance. In 2017, UM won the Fred Dickson Memorial Award for having the top-earning program. Five UM business Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ then were invited to attend the Davidson Institute event.
Montana-based D.A. Davidson provides $1.05 million each year for its investment program across 21 participating western and midwestern colleges. The company absorbs any losses on the student-run portfolios. Over the past 27 years, and including this year’s total scheduled payment of $91,771, D.A. Davidson has shared $834,125 with participating programs.
The Student Investment Program was started by UM alumnus Ian B. Davidson in 1985 at a lone university but quickly expanded it to include many throughout the state and region. Considered highly innovative at conception, the program has proved invaluable for Ñý¼§Ö±²¥ considering careers in finance.
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Contact: Garrett Finke, UM College of Business director of marketing and communications, 406-243-4436, garrett.finke@umontana.edu.