UWM Student Investment Club Places Second in Competition
A group of young investors stuck with their investment strategy and captured not only great returns on their portfolio, but two cash awards in a national competition.
The Student Investment Club at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Business School achieved a 39.55% return on its real money portfolio in 2003, meriting second place in an annual investment competition administered by Oak Associates in Akron, Ohio.
The second place finish earned the club a prize of $20,000 to add to its investment portfolio, and an additional $2,500 for most improved performance over the previous year. Student Investment Club President Besnik Abasovski, Vice President Eric Halleman, and faculty advisor Der-Ann Hsu accepted the awards at a ceremony in Akron this February.
Oak Associates is owned by James and Vanita Oelschlager, who provided initial funds for the investment club in 1998. The schools earning the highest annual returns are awarded additional money to invest in their portfolio.
Twenty universities are involved in the competition, including Mount Union College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Indiana State University, Rutgers, Wittenberg University, Case Western Reserve University, University of Dayton, Miami University, Northwestern University School of Law, and American University.
“We focused our investments in the consumer, financial services, energy, and biotech/pharmaceutical industries,” said Abasovski, a junior studying finance and production/operations management. Abasovski and three other students make up the four-member Portfolio Committee, which is responsible for setting strategy and making the actual trades. “We really benefited from a sharp increase in the second half of the year.”
The thirty-member club meets weekly throughout the academic year, learning about investments and interacting with investment professionals.
“The students learn important lessons about picking a strategy and sticking with it,” said faculty advisor Der-Ann Hsu, “but they also gain real, hands-on experience in sharing their ideas in a team setting and making the hard decisions.”
“This whole experience has been a great inspiration to me,” said Abasovski, “and a real motivator to the other students in the club. It’s a great feeling!”
