Photo by Peter Jaukbowski

Jasmine Ridgell in the David O. Nicholas Applied Finance Lab at UWM’s Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business.

“People with competitive fire” describes the candidates being sought for the new Certificate in Investment Management at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee’s Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business.

The full-time program of study will prime students for careers in mutual fund companies, bank trust departments, money management firms and hedge fund companies. It begins spring semester 2010 and continues through spring semester 2011, including a summer internship with an investment management firm.

Photo by Alan Magayne-Roshak

David O. Nicholas cuts the ribbon to the lab in April 2008, officially opening the David O. Nicholas Applied Finance Lab as (from left) UWM Chancellor Carlos Santiago and Kanti Prasad, then dean of the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business, look on.

Students will be well prepared for their internships and full-time positions upon graduation because they will have learned on-the-job skills, taught by faculty and practitioners, while in school. During the second and third semesters, students will manage a $100,000 “real money” portfolio donated by a private benefactor. The Lubar School of Business is seeking additional private gifts to expand the portfolio for future students in the program.

Nicholas lab is central

Central to the new curriculum is the David O. Nicholas Applied Finance Lab, which is equipped with professional databases, streaming financial news, financial software and high-power, dual-monitor computers. With the same technology and real-time market data, analysis and news available to professional traders in investment firms, the lab provides a critical real-world setting for the investment management coursework. It also houses multimedia capabilities to facilitate group discussion and presentations focused on investment analysis and real-life applied finance projects.

Sophomore finance major Jasmine Ridgell says the lab "provides business students at all stages of their academic careers with resources that would otherwise be out of reach. With the lab’s skilled staff and advanced technology, we’re able to get a head start in investment management and learning about the financial industry as a whole.”

David O. Nicholas, president and chief investment officer of Nicholas Company, Inc., made the $2.5 million gift establishing the lab. Nicholas is a 1987 finance graduate of the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business.

“The lab is playing a key role,” Nicholas agrees, “not only in developing investment management expertise in-state, but in retaining that talent pool for our large investment management community.”

Ridgell says she plans on applying to the Investment Management certificate program. She was drawn to finance by the challenge of studying something so complex yet integral to the management of the country. “In our difficult economy, I’d love to help people achieve their financial goals by walking them through planning and implementing their short- and long-term goals.”

Studying in the state’s financial heart

For her, it makes sense to study finance in Milwaukee because of the wealth of knowledge and the resources available, including internships and entry-level positions.

The Milwaukee metro area is home to large investment managers – including Nicholas Company, Robert W. Baird and Company, M&I Investment Management, Artisan Partners, Heartland Advisors, Stark Investments and Ziegler Investment Services Group. In addition, Southeastern Wisconsin is headquarters to a number of financial industry powerhouses, among them Northwestern Mutual and Marshall & Ilsley Corporation.

UWM brings incredible opportunities to meet leading CIOs and CEOS, Ridgell says. “At the Lubar School, some business faculty began their careers as financial/investment advisors or planners and incorporate real-life experiences into related lessons. Students also are encouraged to ask about what’s going on right now in the financial world, even if those questions aren’t directly related to course material.”

Admission to the Certificate in Investment Management program is competitive, with 20 seats available each year. Applications are being accepted through Dec. 15, 2009, for the program’s first cohort of students.

“We are looking for students who have demonstrated a keen interest in investment management and a willingness to work hard in a rigorous program,” says Kevin Spellman, a faculty member in finance, an investment manager, and director of the David O. Nicholas Applied Finance Lab. “In addition to being able to demonstrate drive and ability, students need a strong commitment to teamwork and to communicating articulately and effectively.”

For more information about the Certificate in Investment Management, contact Kevin Spellman at spellman@uwm.edu or 608-334-2110.

Information about the Lubar School of Business is available at lubar.uwm.edu.