160 students from 27 universities joined industry professionals at the Student Management Investment Fund Consortium Conference hosted by Indiana State University’s Scott College of Business
One hundred sixty students from 27 universities joined industry professionals at the Student Management Investment Fund Consortium Conference hosted by Indiana State University's Scott College of Business in downtown Chicago, Oct. 28-29.
The attendees engaged in networking events, panel discussions, competitions, and presentations involving financial planning and investing. The conference, in its 9th year, is hosted by Scott College to deliver experiential learning, record best practices surrounding investment management, and provide professional development for business students.
During the conference, students demonstrated their knowledge through multiple competitions. One of the competitions was a poster session displaying information about each schools' student-managed investment fund. Posters were judged on fund performance, visual quality, and the presentation of results by students. The University of Tennessee - Martin took first place and $1,000 cash prize; Indiana State University placed second and won $750 cash prize; Taylor University placed third and won $500.
The teams' members are:
First Place - The University of Tennessee - Martin
Logan Alfano-Webb
Seth Bishop
Alexzander Schell
Kyle Hart
Brice Williams
Heath Hester
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mahmoud Haddad
Second Place - Indiana State University
Charles Moskal
Kyle Koch
Colton Romine
Brock Oxford
Audra Doedtman
Riley Sexton
Anthony Sireci
Joseph Mahern
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Tarek Zaher and Matt Cohen
Third Place - Taylor University
Nicki Sechrist
Reagan Smith
Trevyn Nafziger
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Justin Henegar and Professor Chris Kellner
"We had a wonderful time attending the conference," said ISU student Kyle Koch, financial services major. "It was an honor to work with such a passionate group of students, advisors, and faculty to make this event a success. I couldn't be more proud of the time, effort, and dedication our student investment club put into preparing a fantastic poster and I am thrilled to see our efforts recognized."
Students also competed by preparing a $100,000 trading portfolio investment strategy from 10 stocks. Using both fundamental and technical analysis, students are judged based on their analysis of economic, industrial, political, global, and financial conditions, asset allocation and diversification, and communication effectiveness of their plan. Hofstra University won first place and $1,500 cash prize; Indiana State University Team 3 placed second and won $1,000; and Indiana State University Team 4 placed third and won $500.
The teams' members are:
First Place - Hofstra University
Jillian Sarro
Robinpreet Dhillon
Aye Chan Sint
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Edward J. Zychowicz
Second Place - Indiana State University Team 3
Keleigh Chambers
Michelle Chew
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Tarek Zaher and Matt Cohen
Third Place - Indiana State University Team 4
Sarah Acklin
Gabriele Burkhart
Faculty Advisors: Dr. Tarek Zaher and Matt Cohen
"The conference was such an enriching experience because of the opportunity to learn from industry professionals about some of the most pressing issues facing the finance world today," said ISU student Sarah Acklin, finance major. "We (team member Gabriele Burkhart) are honored to have placed in this competition. This experiential learning event strengthened our understanding of investments and provided us with the ability to connect our classroom education with real-world practices."
Said Dr. Tarek Zaher, SMIFC Conference Chair and ISU Professor of Finance: "The SMIFC 2021 conference was a great success and I would like to congratulate the students on the winning teams in the portfolio building and poster competitions and all students who participated at the conference. I am especially proud of our students at Indiana State University for competing and ranking well on behalf of Scott College of Business."
The conference speakers included professionals from Northern Trust Asset Management, Ariel Investments, Kingsview Partners, Cboe Options Institute, Invesco, CFA Society Chicago, Wolverine Trading, CMT Association, and Stifel, Nicolaus & Company.
The Student Management Investment Fund Consortium was formed from a community of institutions with a shared vision for student success and leadership in investing with only 17-initial members in 2013. The consortium is now 114 members strong with partnerships with top firms in the investment industry. The primary activity of the SMIFC is the annual conference with the objective to provide for a broad network of support, experiential learning, and friendship among students and to establish relationships with industry partners in support of student education, research, and leadership.