Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/133826
While it is a for-credit class at UWOshkosh, students must apply and be accepted to the class, which is advised by experienced faculty members. The students work in the "trading room" in Sage Hall, which includes many of the same tools and technologies – real time market and news feeds – that professional investors use. Students working as analysts track various sectors, such as energy or utilities, make recommendations to the team, and if the team agrees, they make the investment within the guidelines established for the fund. There are limits on how much can be invested, and the funds are constantly rebalanced to protect against relying on a particular stock. "Some of those discussions can get pretty heated," says Marion Rothkegel, a postgraduate student from Hildesheim, Germany, majoring in finance. The SMEF is now composed of seven funds and includes contributors such as Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Wisconsin Family Business Forum, and several family foundations. For example, the Hillenbrand Fund is a large-cap value fund endowed by the Anne Hillenbrand Foundation with the objective of long-term capital appreciation from investing in the common stock of large companies. Some of the endowment's holdings include familiar names such as Microsoft, Johnson Controls and the Walt Disney Company. Not every recommendation gets the nod for an investment. At least once this semester, some of the student analysts looked to capitalize on the recent market runup by recommending some higher performing – and more risky – investments. Unable to convince the group, the opportunity passed. "I think we all realize this is a longterm strategy," Wojahn says about the guidelines the students use to evaluate and recommend investments. "We are not looking to time the market here. We are looking to grow." For his part, Wojahn made a recommendation to invest in Dr Pepper Snapple Group, which would report earnings growth of 3.9 percent in the first quarter, as well as profits of $106 million. The beverage group has been a consistent performer for much of the past year, showing steady growth for most of that time. Of the six funds that now comprise the endowment, five of them performed better than the composite benchmarks used to measure success. Classroom or not, those are results the students and faculty involved expect will give those who work on the SMEF a mark of distinction that employers will notice after graduation. "It's pretty valuable experience for post-school employment," says Rothkegel, who at the time of the results presentation had secured a fulltime position with an international firm. Others involved say they have had several interviews and conversations, but no firm offers yet. "I have been getting a lot of contacts through LinkedIn, so I'm hopeful that activity will pick up soon," says Wojahn. I N N O VAT I O N = R E V E N U E A one-day innovation workshop with author Adam Hartung on recognizing growth opportunities derived from market trends In this incisive session you and your leadership team will learn to: f Identify technology and changing business practices and how they might threaten traditional business but also provide new opportunity. f Evaluate and use updated tools to adapt processes and best practices. f Recognize how your organization's efforts to retain historical practices can interfere with future success. f Identify ways to implement innovations that can have immediate and long-term positive effect. f Meet historical expectations while delivering against new, emerging needs. WMEP workshop designed specifically for executive teams To learn more about this workshop, contact: Marie Mansheim, Growth Specialist 414.403.4716 w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m mansheim@wmep.org REGISTER NOW Wednesday June 26 Wednesday June 26 9:00 9:00 am - 4:00 pm 4:00 pm Country Springs Hotel, Pewaukee Country Springs Hotel, Pewaukee www.wmep.org/events/ wmep/2013-06/ innovation-revenue $1000 first registrant; first registrant; per person for additional $250 per person for additional attendees from the same attendees from the same company company J u n e 2 013 • Insight | 37