CFA Institute's Future of Finance

The global financial crisis of 2008-2009 damaged the image of the finance industry. The AIM program supports the CFA Institute's efforts to shape a more trustworthy financial industry.

Marquette's AIM program was the first undergraduate investment program to become a CFA program partner - and it has long supported the CFA's goals and objectives. 


Investment Ethics (FINA 4370) is a required course in the AIM curriculum - and it is in this course that students have an opportunity to learn how they can work as a force for good to support the efforts to restore integrity within the industry. 




We encourage you to visit the Future of Finance site - which explains the CFA Institute's long-term global effort to shape a trustworthy, forward-thinking financial industry that better serves society. The site contains many useful articles and videos.

S&P INDICES CONTINUED TO OUTPERFORM ACTIVE FUNDS (as of 12/31/2012)

 AIM Equity Fund versus Benchmark (as of 12/31/2012)

S&P recently reported on the 1 year, 3 year, and 5 year performance of actively managed mutual funds versus various S&P indices: http://tinyurl.com/l82pf3m

According to the S&P report, “The year 2012 marked the return of the double digit gains

across all the domestic and global equity benchmark indices.  The gains passive indices made did not, however, translate into active management, as most active managers underperformed their respective benchmarks in 2012.”

“Performance lagged behind the benchmark indices for 63.25% of large-cap funds,

80.45% of mid-cap funds and 66.5% of small cap funds. The performance figures are equally unfavorable for active funds when viewed over three- and five- year horizons."

The students in the AIM program have also found the past five years to be a challenging period. The fund performance on an absolute basis was good; however, like the majority of actively managed small cap fund managers, the benchmark return exceeded the annualized returns of the AIM Equity Fund. The students (as well as the mutual fund managers) look forward to the period when active fund managers are rewarded for their fundamental analysis of individual firms.

The table (which can be enlarged if you click on it) shows the 1, 3 and 5 year returns of the AIM Equity Fund versus the benchmark.















The fund performance on a risk-adjusted basis (as measured by the Sharpe Ratio) indicates better results. Given the portfolio's average beta of about 0.90 and the lower overall portfolio standard deviation, the AIM Fund on a risk-adjusted basis matches or slightly exceeded its benchmark during the studied periods. 

AIM Alumnus, David Martin, Meets Warren Buffett

David Martin (Marquette 2009) Had the Opportunity to Spend Time with the Wizard of Omaha

Last week our first AIM graduate to meet with the "Oracle of Omaha" was David Martin. A 2009 AIM alumnus, David, who works at H. J. Martin and Son Inc., had the unique opportunity to fly out to Omaha and spend quality time with the great one - Warren Buffett.  

What a great opportunity for David, who is pictured below with Mr. Buffett.

David Martin (AIM 2009) and Warren Buffett

Applications for the AIM Program have been moved forward to mid-September

Important dates for students applying to the AIM Class of 2015:

September 13, 2013:  Complete application packet due

September 16-27:  Interviews with Dr. Krause (time and date to be scheduled individually)

September 28: AIM Super Saturday interviews

Information about the AIM program applications can be found on the AIM web site at: http://business.marquette.edu/centers-and-programs/aimp-application. This includes the online application.

Acceptance into the AIM program is based on submission of:

·         Completed application
·         Current resume
·         Two letters of recommendation
·         Application essay

To apply, a student needs a GPA in excess of 3.00 and be on schedule to graduate in a timely manner. Interviews will be scheduled after a complete application package has been received. 

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Krause or his assistant, Lee Hovorka.

AIM Students Presented Stocks in New York City during the 2012-2013 School Year

On Thursday, October 25, 2012, four AIM students pitched stocks before a group of about 40 Marquette alumni at the NYC Marquette CIRCLES event. The New York Yacht Club on West 44th Street was the venue for the presentations which preceded the alumni networking event.  

The students' equity write-ups can be viewed at the AIM web site or by following this link.

Varun Varma (far left on picture) presented Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp. (ticker: PEGFF). The firm engages in the exploration, development, and production of oil and natural gas in Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, and Guyana.

Michael Schwoerer (center left on picture) pitched the Turkisk bank, Akbank T.A.S. (ticker: AKBTY). The bank provides consumer, commercial, corporate, and private banking services – as well as foreign exchange, foreign trade financing, treasury transaction, capital markets, investment, and non-banking financial services.

Yatian Liu (center right on picture) presented the United Kingdom medical supplies company, Smith & Nephew (ticker: SNN). The firm develops, manufactures, markets, and sells medical devices in the advanced surgical devices and advanced wound management sectors worldwide.

Elizabeth Buckton (right on picture) presented Novavax, Inc. (ticker: NVAX). The U.S. based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focuses on developing recombinant protein nanoparticle vaccines to address a range of infectious diseases.

The next scheduled CIRCLES road trip for the students in the AIM Class of 2014 will be in Chicago on Tuesday, October 29, 2013. The event will be held at the Union League Club of Chicago. Additional information will follow soon. 

Friday Afternoon Equity Presentations in the AIM Room and Live Web-Based Conferencing

If you have never attended an AIM equity presentation, you’re missing out on a unique experience. As the picture below shows, we pack them into the AIM Room for the stock pitches. It is typical that there will be more than 50 Marquette finance students, faculty, and investment professionals in attendance during our Friday afternoon AIM equity presentations.

These student presentations are an important element of the applied learning experience in the AIM program. The students conduct fundamental equity research and present their recommendations in written and oral format – with the goal of adding their stock to the AIM equity fund.

 

 

The comments and advice added by students, alumni and the investment community adds considerably to the AIM students’ educational experience and is greatly appreciated. Each student will spend about 5-7 minutes presenting their formal recommendation, which is then followed by about 8-10 minutes of Q & A - so it takes less than two hours to receive eight AIM pitches.

We encourage our AIM alumni and other guests to connect live to the presentations via Blackboard - our web-based conferencing tool. You can view the presentations and then offer questions via an instant messaging system. It has worked well, so please consider this option for participating in the fall.

 

Annual New York City Trip Planning is in Progress

This Year's New York City Trip is October 16-19, 2013

Annually during fall break, we host a Financial Management Association / AIM trip to New York City. During the four day visit to the Big Apple, the students have an opportunity to visit with leading investment banks, hedge funds, financial services firms, and investment companies.

 

Marquette alumni have been highly supportive of the annual NYC trips by helping to organize visits to their firms, providing venues for receptions, assisting with funding, and offering valuable mentoring opportunities.

The students also have an opportunity to sight see during the trip – taking in sites such as Central Park, Times Square, Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge, Statue of Liberty, Broadway, Empire State Building, Grand Central Station, and more.

For many students this has become one of the highlights of their Marquette experience. A total of about 30 FMA students make the annual trek to NYC with Dr. Krause. These trips have taken place annually since the early 2000s.

 

The 2012 trip to New York City was featured in Marquette Magazine.  Read more about this valuable trip in the winter 2013 Marquette magazine and follow the link to watch the video for highlights and interviews of the 2012 Trip to NYC.

 

 

Dr. Krause’s Seattle Trip in May was Successful

During the last week of May, Marquette University and Seattle University combined for a Circles event – which was an evening of knowledge-sharing and networking. The Circles event included interactive roundtable discussions with industry experts and academic leaders who embody the Jesuit values share by the two universities.

 

 

 

Dr. Krause and Matt Grimm (AIM ’07, Cascade Investments, Seattle) conducted a breakout session entitled: *Stocks, Bonds, and Commodities: What Happens When Interest Rates Rise? [It sure looks like it was a timely topic!] The session was well attended with everyone participating in a lively discussion of the current economic and investment trends.

After the presentation, Krause and Grimm were joined at dinner by various Marquette alumni who work in the financial industry in the Northwest. It was a delightful evening and many excellent relationships were renewed and developed. What also helped lubricate the discussion was the inclusion of some excellent wines produced by Marquette University alumni Pat Dineen (http://www.dineenvineyards.com/) and Even Roberts (http://www.crowleywines.com/).

 

Prior to the Circles event Dr. Krause had the opportunity to travel to Redmond and meet Marquette alumni who work at Microsoft. The luncheon included: Rosanna (Montealegre) Bashinski [COBA ’01, Chief of Staff of the CFO]; Kevin P. Idzi [COBA ’00, Technical Architect]; and  Michael T. Spencer [COBA ’95, Finance Director]. These visits with alumni can be very productive – for instance, as a result of the meeting a recent AIM graduate was able to interview with Microsoft the following week for their financial rotational program – and he received an offer and will begin with them in July!

 

 

Following this event, Dr. Krause visited Cascade Investments (BGI), where he had the opportunity to meet up with many of his AIM alumnus, as well as meet with other Cascade investment and human relations professionals. The prior evening Dr. Krause also had the opportunity to have dinner with other Marquette alumni – including Katie Koutnik, Jason Weiner, Matt Grimm, Jacob Bear, and Ryan Denton. It was a fun evening on the pier enjoying Seattle’s finest seafood.

 

 

 

* STOCKS, BONDS AND COMMODITIES: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN INTEREST RATES RISE   With Matt Grimm, MU Bus Ad ’07, Investment Analyst, Cascade Investment, LLC; and David Krause, Ph.D., Director, Marquette University’s Applied Investment Management Program

 

Will the financial markets behave differently after the U.S. Federal Reserve stops supporting low interest rates? What is the outlook for different investments and commodities if interest rates eventually rise? Dr. David Krause and Matt Grimm will lead a roundtable