First Set of Spring AIM Program Student Equity Pitches on Friday, February 1st - Join Us in Person or On-Line!

AIM Class of 2020 Student Equity Presentations 

Friday, February 1st

The first set of spring AIM student equity presentations for the Class of 2020 will be on Friday, February 1st, 2019. 

   

Follow the link to access the student equity write-ups.  You can also find every write-up since AIM's inception in 2005 here.

February 1st Write Ups

• Location: Marquette University, College of Business Administration - Straz Hall, 1225 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee 53233 - in the AIM Research Room 488, 4th Floor (pdf directions to AIM Room). 
• Presentation Times: 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. CST
• Link to pdf Student EquityWrite-ups

If you are unable to attend, you can always view them via YouTube HERE.

An upcoming event at Marquette: A TRANSATLANTIC RIFT? THE FUTURE OF US-EUROPEAN RELATIONS

There is a Marquette Forum affiliated event coming up this Tuesday (February 5th) on

 “A Transatlantic Rift? The Future of US-European Relations.”

It’s a great panel with Marquette's Risa Brooks (Political Science), the ambassadors from Croatia and Estonia, and the director of the Center for a New American Security.

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

10:30-11:30 a.m. – Short Presentations and Discussion

Marquette University Raynor Memorial Libraries, Beaumier Suites (lower level)

The Marquette Forum theme of “democracy in troubled times” is related not only to domestic political events in the United States and Europe but also to relations between the United States and Europe. Please join us on February 5^th and 10:30 a.m. as an esteemed panel of scholars and government officials will briefly present on, and then discuss with the audience, the topic “A Transatlantic Rift? The future of US-European Relations.”

Participants will include:

H.E. Pjer Šimunović, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to the United States of America.

H.E. Jonatan Vseviov, Ambassador of Estonia to the United States.

Dr. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Senior Fellow and Director, Transatlantic Security Program, Center for a New American Security, Washington DC.

Dr. Risa Brooks, Allis Chalmers Associate Professor of Political Sciecce, Marquette University will serve as moderator of the panel.

A Marquette Forum Event.

Hosted by the Marquette University Department of Political Science.

REGISTER NOWRegister Now

Dr. Krause’s FinTech Topics Class to Evaluate the Digital Robo-Investment Products – Will This Be Another Version of ‘The Fleecing of Millennials’ or Will This Have a Happy Ending?

Students in Dr. Krause's FinTech Topics course will be soon popping the hoods on the various robo-adviser and digital banking products to evaluate their true costs and effectiveness

The New York Times article I posted recently on LinkedIn about “The Fleecing of Millennials” certainly created some strong opinions on both sides of the topic. I also believe that the recent Baillie Gifford newsletter written by Tom Coutts on “Riding the Gravy Train – Who Guards the Guards?” has the same potential for controversy.

Coutts forwards the concept that maybe the investment industry has reached its peak (similar to peak oil) and it may have reached the point where the industry has extracted the maximum rate of return from its clients’ assets. The incredible growth of low-cost funds over traditional investment products is exhibit 1 in the argument that investors are fighting back against hidden fees and mediocre performance.

Coutts posits that the investment industry might have seen its best days and that as fees fall, so too will profit margins (and salaries). Commenting further he stated that “It seems to us that most funds’ fees are too high, most so-called investors’ time-horizons are too short, and most firms operate with their eyes focused inwardly on their own interests rather than outwardly on their clients.”

While some of us are just beginning to ask the question of whether the traditional financial industry creates value above what it extracts – or whether it is just a facilitator taking fees for low value-added services - millennials are voting with their feet. 

Millennials are seeking financial advice, but they are also more likely to trust digital advice from automated investment services (robo-advisors and mobile banking apps) than their parent’s generation.

US market research company, Forrester, recently surveyed online adults in twenty markets to determine their need for, and perception of, financial services. The resulting report tells it all, “Millennials want financial advice, with or without humans.”

The Michael Milken / Gordon Gekko / Liar’s Poker / Bernie Madoff / Wolf of Wall Street personalities (real or fictitious) have created an image of slick, pin-striped, ‘greed is good’ robber barons – out to line their pockets at the expense of the average Joe or Jane.  Because the younger generation is skeptical of the lack of transparency and are demanding value for the fees they are paying, maybe this is a situation where we might be seeking the reverse of the “Fleecing of Millennials.”

I have an assignment due soon from the students in my spring semester FinTech Topics course where they are going to be doing deep research into the true fees and costs of the robo-investment and digital banking products. They will study performance relative to fees and provide an evaluation of the value of these new banking and investing products. We’ll be certain to post their results soon – it should be interesting to see what this group of millennials concludes about digital versus traditional finance.

What are the best performing cities in America? Hint: They have a strong tech presence!

A recent report from the Milken Institute ranks the top 25 best-performing large and small cities across the United States in 2018

Large tech metropolises like San Francisco and Seattle continue to make it to the top of the Milken Institute’s best performing city list, but it is worth noting that economic growth is increasingly moving inland to states like Oregon and Utah. 

The recent report from the Milken Institute ranks the top 25 best-performing large and small cities across the United States in 2018, with the Provo-Orem, Utah metro area ranked as the best large city and Bend, Oregon, retaining its title as best small city for the third consecutive year.

The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities U.S. index provides a way to measure which American metropolitan areas offer the greatest opportunities for prosperity and innovation across the nation. The BPC index measures each metro area’s economic performance using outcomes-based metrics such as job creation, wage gains, and technological developments to evaluate their relative growth.

The Rankings:

Provo-Orem, UT, holds steady at the top of our index, thanks to a dynamic high-tech sector, an educated workforce, and a business-friendly tax and regulatory climate.

Growth through tech is the reigning theme across America, with Silicon Valley and several of Northern California’s tech-focused metro areas in the top 20. 

Outside the Golden State, tech hubs such as Austin-Round Rock, TX, Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX, and Raleigh, NC, have also leveraged their educated workforce and competitive business climates to generate growth.

Top Ten Best-Performing Cities U.S. 2018

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) / Metropolitan Division (MD)	2018 Rank	2017 Rank	Change
Provo-Orem, UT MSA	1	1	Steady
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA MSA	2	11	+9
Austin-Round Rock, TX MSA	3	9	+6
San Francisco-Redwood City, CA MD	4	4	Steady
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX MD	5	3	-2
Raleigh, NC MSA	6	2	-4
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL MSA	7	7	Steady
Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA MD	8	17	+9
Fort Collins, CO MSA	9	5	-4
Salt Lake City, UT MSA	10	10	Steady

Marquette Finance Club Speakers: Updated Spring 2019 FMA and Investment Club Dates

Strong Group of Prominent Guests to Visit Marquette Finance Club and Address Student this Spring

FMA Spring Schedule:

January 28 – Hugh Wade, Madison Capital, Leveraged Finance, 4:00-5:15 DS575  and  5:30 - 6:30 DS569

February 4 – Joe Pattellaro, SS&C, Technology Provider, 4:00-5:15 DS575 

February 4 – Craig Olinger, Employee Stock Ownership Programs, 5:30-6:30                                     DS569

 

February 11 – Mike Bernstein, Baird Capital, LBO & VC Funds, 4:00-5:15 DS575

February 18 – Steve Laczniak, Bel Air Capital, LBO Fund, 4:00-5:15 DS575

February 20 – Jim Bianco, Bianco Research, 4:45-5:30 DS 488 (AIM Room)

March 1 – Guido van Hauwermeiren, Client Coverage & Investment Banking, Societe Generale, 2:00-3:00 DS 488 (AIM Room)

March 18 – David Bauer, Lubar & Co., Family Office, 4:00-5:15 DS575

April 3 – Mark Zelmer, CFA Code of Conduct, 4:00-5:15 DS575

April 8 – Greg Myers, Mason Wells, LBO Fund, 4:00-5:15 DS575

             – Bill Chapman, Baker Tilly Virchow Krause LLP, 5:30-6:30 DS 569

Investment Club Meeting Dates:

January 28 – 6:00 - 7:00 Cudahy 131

February 11 – 6:00 - 7:00 Cudahy 131

February 25 – 6:00 - 7:00 Cudahy 131 

March 25 – 6:00 - 7:00 Cudahy 131

April 8 – 6:00 - 7:00 Cudahy 131