College Students Manage Millions of Dollars; Future Money Managers to Learn from Wall Street's Best

3/10/2004

From: David Sauer of the University of Dayton, 937-229-2757 or david.sauer@notes.udayton.edu

DAYTON, Ohio, March 10 -- Nationwide, increasing numbers of universities are trusting students with millions of dollars.

The number of student-managed portfolios has nearly quadrupled since 1995 -- up to 185 from 48, according to preliminary findings from a survey of business school deans by David Sauer, associate professor of economics and finance at the University of Dayton. At UD, undergraduates manage $3 million of the University's endowment and consistently beat the Standard & Poor's 500.

"More schools are realizing the importance of the experiential approach -- managing a 'live' portfolio," Sauer recently told Newsday. "The competitiveness of the job market necessitates this type of hands-on exposure."

Students will show off their portfolio management skills during the fourth annual Redefining Investment Strategy Education (RISE) symposium April 1-3 at the University of Dayton. Students and faculty from nearly 100 schools are expected to attend, with about a third entering the competition.

"This symposium is all about bringing students, faculty and professionals together in a one-of a-kind interactive event," Sauer said. "It's an unparalleled opportunity to experience Wall Street's best and brightest."

Speakers include:

-- Michael Moskow, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago;

-- Richard Bernstein, chief U.S. strategist for Merrill Lynch's global securities research and economics group, who was named by Fortune as one of only 11 "all-star analysts" in 2001 and 2002;

-- John Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group Inc., one of the two largest mutual fund organizations, and widely considered the "father of the mutual fund industry;" and

-- Don Phillips, managing director for Morningstar Inc., an independent rating source for the mutual fund industry.

"It is unprecedented on Wall Street -- let alone on a college campus -- to gather the likes of Moskow, Bernstein, Phillips and Bogle under the same roof at the same time," said Bob Froehlich, vice chairman of Scudder Investments and chief investment strategist for Deutsche Asset Management, who also will speak at RISE. "It takes most Wall Street professionals five to seven years before they would ever have personal access to this wide of a range of Wall Street's most influential leaders."

RISE is co-sponsored by the New York Stock Exchange, The Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Deutsche Asset Management and UD's School of Business Administration.