AIM Presentation Schedule for Fall 2010

Friday, 9/3/10 - AIM Open House (2:00 - 3:00 PM), AIM Investment Advisory Meeting (3:00 – 4:30 PM) Location: AIM Room

Friday, 9/10/2010 - AIM Investment Advisory Meeting (2:00 - 3:00), AIM Open House (3:00 – 3:30), AIM Investment Advisory Meeting (3:30 – 5:00 PM) Location: AIM Room

Friday, 9/17/10 - AIM Investment Advisory “Road Show” Meeting (2:00 – 3:30 PM), Location: Timpani Capital Management, Menomonee Falls, Milwaukee

Friday, 10/8/10 - AIM Investment Advisory “Road Show” Meeting (2:00 – 3:30 PM) Location: Mason Street Advisors / Northwestern Mutual

Wednesday 10/27/2010 - AIM Investment Advisory “Chicago Circles” Meeting (6:00 – 8:00 PM) AIM presentations before Circles at an investment firm. Location: Chicago

Thursday, 11/11/2010 - AIM Investment Advisory Meeting (5:00 – 8:00 PM) Location: AIM Room

Friday, 11/12/2010 - AIM Investment Advisory “Chicago Road Show” Meeting (11:00 AM – 1:00 PM) Location: Chicago

Thursday, 12/9/2010 - AIM Investment Advisory Meeting (5:00 – 7:00 PM) Location: AIM Room

The students enrolled in the AIM program gain valuable experience by managing a portion of the University’s endowment fund. Currently there are two equity funds (small cap and international) and a fixed income fund managed by the students – the portfolios have a combined market value of about $1.6 million.

The AIM Fund student managers must meet the same basic policies and performance guidelines as required of the other money managers hired to invest Marquette University’s endowment funds. In keeping with these requirements, the student managers seek to achieve excess rates of return for the three funds, while assuming risks similar to those of the Russell 2000, S&P ADR, and the Barclays Aggregate Bond Indexes, respectively. The AIM equity funds are sector neutral – with each student responsible for managing the stocks within a specific sector. As a result, because the portfolios are broadly diversified across industries and regions, the students are able to focus on investing in well-managed, profitable businesses – which avoids exposing the University’s funds to imprudent economic or industry risks.

The investment professionals, alumni, and faculty that attend the meetings serve as an unofficial investment advisory board to the students.  The meeting attendees are free to ask questions during the presentations and to provide commentary – which further enhances the applied learning experiences of the AIM students. The students have the sole discretion of which investments to add or remove from the portfolios; however, their actions must be in compliance with the AIM Investment Policy Statement.  The AIM funds are rebalanced in a timely manner and the students continuously monitor the funds during the school year.  The AIM Director oversees the student activities and works closely with the investment management community.

We appreciate your support and welcome you to attend the regularly scheduled AIM Fund Investment Advisory meetings either in person or via web conferencing.  The schedule is presented above. For additional information, please contact: Dr. David Krause, AIM Director, 414 288-1457, david.krause@marquette.edu or his assistant, Lee Hovorka, 414 288-8024, lee.hovorka@marquette.edu.

Planning for the AIM Super Saturday Interviews (October 9th)

The time of the year is fast approaching when we again recruit, interview and select the new Applied Investment Management program students - the Class of 2012. It seems hard to believe, but this will be the 7th AIM class at Marquette!

The past several years we have been utilizing a process called the AIM Super Saturday. Because that format has worked so well for us, we again will follow that system – with a few minor tweaks.

By all indications we are expecting a record number of AIM student applicants – some of whom chose to attend Marquette because of the AIM program. We again seek your assistance in the interview process. If your schedule allows you to participate, please contact us at aim@marquette.edu to indicate your interest. Below is the format for the morning of Saturday, October 9th.

Quick facts about AIM Super Saturday, October 9th:
• 8:30 AM - Continental breakfast and expectations of interviewer
• 9:00 AM - Interviews begin in various rooms within Straz Hall
• Interviews scheduled every 12 minutes
• 11:30 AM - Interviews complete
• 11:45 AM - Regroup (with pizza) and debrief (should be about 30 minutes)

Thank you for your support of the AIM program.

Beijing Institute of Technology Delegation Visits AIM

Chinese Delegation Visits the AIM Program to Discuss Furthering Relationships

On July 21, four administrators and professors from the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) met with representatives of Marquette’s College of Business Administration, University Advancement, and the AIM program. They discussed the continuation of the partnership that was begun in 2008 when Dr. Krause and other Marquette administrators visited Beijing.

The BIT delegation included: University Vice President of Finance, Professor Yang Bin; Director of Alumni Association, Mrs. Duan Liping; School of Management & Economics Professors Qi Chun; and Visiting Professor, Chenyu (Richard) Zhang. Dr. Krause said, “We were delighted to host Dr. Zhang and his colleagues from the Beijing Institute of Technology. Richard and I have been talking about ways we can further our partnership. It was useful to have this discussion with the entire delegation – I am hopeful we will implement ways for our students to collaborate and work together.”

The group was kept busy during the day meeting with various representatives of Marquette University. Following a meeting with Dr. Krause in the AIM Research Room, the Director of International Business Studies, Dr. Jamshid Hosseini, talked about expanding the student exchange opportunities between the two universities. Debra Markoff, the Director of Development for the College of Business Administration, and Jon Paparsenos, the Director of Northeast Regional Development talked with the guests about alumni relations. Additionally, the Director of the Office of International Education, Terence Miller, conversed with the delegation the opportunities for advanced relations. Following a campus tour the group met with the Keyes Dean of the College of Business Administration, Dr. Linda Salchenberger.

Krause summarized the results of the visit by stating, “I was very impressed with BIT when I visited in 2008 and I want to find ways to work with Dr. Zhang and others to enable us to visit Beijing in the near future. I believe that the cultural and social experiences of visiting and studying with students from BIT would be extremely valuable. We could conduct joint investment research where we have a Marquette AIM student paired up with a finance student from BIT. I hope to visit Beijing with some AIM students and help Richard establish an AIM-like program at BIT. This was a very rewarding day for everyone involved.”

Visiting Professor from China: Dr. Chenyu Zhang

Beijing Institute of Technology's Professor Zhang Completes His Visit to Marquette

This past year Chenyu (Richard) Zhang, PhD, from the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) has been visiting Marquette’s AIM program. He received his doctorate in 2004 from the School of Management and Economics, Beijing Institute of Technology. Besides his Marquette visit the past year, he has also been a visiting scholar at Warrick University in the United Kingdom. His primary responsibilities at BIT involve teaching corporate finance to undergraduate and MBA students. His area of research interest includes venture capital and valuing firms using real options.

Dr. Krause said, “It was a pleasure to have Dr. Zhang as a colleague the past two semesters. He became an active member of the AIM program and traveled with us to New York, Chicago, and throughout the Milwaukee area. Richard became a good friend and I look forward to visiting him in Beijing in the near future.” Dr. Zhang was highly proficient in listening, speaking, reading and writing in English – the same cannot be said about Dr. Krause’s Mandarin proficiency!

On July 21, three administrators and professors from BIT will paid a visit to Marquette’s AIM program. They discussed the continuation of the partnership that was begun in 2008 when Dr. Krause visited Beijing. Krause said, “Dr. Zhang and I have been talking about ways our students can collaborate. It would be very interesting to conduct joint investment research with a Marquette AIM student paired up with a finance student from BIT. I hope to visit Beijing with some AIM students and help Richard establish an AIM-like program at BIT. The past year with Richard has been very rewarding for me and the students in the Class of 2010.”

AIM APPLICATION PROCESS FOR CLASS OF 2012

APPLIED INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
To: Potential AIM/IAIM Students in the Class of 2012,

Hello, I hope you are enjoying your summer break and beginning to think about your return to Marquette’s campus for the fall semester. The purpose of this message is to provide you with more information about the application process. We would like to give you ample time to ask any questions before you prepare the required information for the application.

The following provides a brief description of the AIM/IAIM program application:

Applications and required information are due by the first Friday of October (which is early this year: October 1).
(NOTE: Students studying abroad must submit their application 2 weeks prior to their international study schedule. Interviews for students studying abroad will be set-up in person this summer or conducted telephonically during the fall semester of the student’s junior year).

Notification of acceptance for all students applying to the program will occur before the fall advising session in mid- to late October.

Acceptance into the AIM program will be based on the following:
* Grades earned up to the beginning of the fall semester of the junior year
(a minimum GPA of 3.00 is required to apply)
* Current resume
* Two letters of recommendation
* Application essay
* Interviews with faculty and alumni

A successful applicant for the AIM/IAIM program will have a strong intellect, an active curiosity about business and the investment industry, a demonstrated record of academic achievement, a well-conceived plan for their future, and good communication and analytical skills. Candidates will have the opportunity to demonstrate these traits through their academic record, resume, application essay, letters of recommendation, and during interviews.

To obtain an application form or to find out more about AIM visit the web site at: http://www.busadm.mu.edu/aim.

Please feel free to call or e-mail me (david.krause@marquette) or my assistant, Lee Hovorka, (lee.hovorka@marquette.edu) if you have any questions. I will be traveling at various times throughout the month of August, so if I do not respond immediately to your inquiry it is because I am out of the country. Enjoy the rest of your summer and I look forward to seeing you in the fall.