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The students, who are all partaking in the Student Managed Investment Fund Class, will have to research 12 different industries, from finance to energy to health care, to find the best investment choices for the experiential learning fund that has been set up by the college.
School of Business Dean Dr. Ed Weis said the project helps each student develop the professional temperament needed to be a successful investor.
“This real life experience and responsibility is a way for us to give our students a leg up. The discipline to deal with the short-term anxiety and excitement of investing only comes when you are dealing with real money,” said Weis.
Adjunct professor Brett Harriss, an analyst at Gabelli and Company in Rye, is teaching the class.
“This class was designed to use a hands-on and project-based approach to teach investing. We challenge students to apply academic investment theory in order to make real-world recommendations to a group of professional money managers. We expect the class to develop both a basic understanding of asset management as well as the professionalism required to excel in today’s highly competitive financial services industry,” said Harriss.
While the students won’t actually be buying or selling stocks directly, they will be making recommendations to an advisory council comprised of faculty, staff and investing professionals who will make the final decisions. The trades will then be executed by the college’s chief financial officer.
Money that is earned above a standard benchmark will be used to fund scholarships for future business students. Each successive class that inherits the fund will either have the full $100,000 to invest or a lower amount if there were losses in a previous class.
The 20 Mercy sophomores are banking on starting strong and possibly being able to help provide scholarship dollars to some deserving students.
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