Since 2008, the AIM ‘Road Shows’ have been a Valuable Element of Applied Learning

This week the AIM ‘Road Shows’ for the Spring 2019 Semester Begin with a Trip to Timpani Capital Management

Students in Marquette University’s Applied Investment Management (AIM) Program Leave Campus on Friday Afternoons and Conduct Stock Pitches at Area Investment Firms

The AIM students manage three separate portfolios which are part of Marquette University’s endowment. The three funds are:

• AIM Equity Fund (benchmark: Russell 2000 Index)
• AIM Fixed Income Fund (benchmark: Bloomberg/Barclays Aggregate Bond Index)
• AIM International Equity Fund (benchmark: MSCI ACWI ex US)

All previous AIM stock write-ups since September 2005 can be viewed at: AIM Presentations.

This week four AIM students and Dr. Krause are headed to Timpani Capital Management on Friday afternoon. (The stock write-ups in pdf format will be posted on this blog on Thursday morning).

AIM Alumnus (Nicholas Christman, Steve Hoffmann, Sarah Hillegass, and Jaclyn Godwin) pitched at Timpani Capital Management

The AIM students are assigned to one of the two equity funds and are responsible for managing the holdings of an individual sector/industry group. They conduct fundamental security analysis to support their buy and sell recommendations – including a detailed valuation model. Since its founding in 2005, the AIM students hve been solely responsible for all of the portfolios’ buy and sell decisions (subject to the constraints of the AIM Funds investment policy statements).

Andrea Blomquist and May Kate Simon
pitching a stock in the AIM Room

Potential investments that meet the strategy and objectives of the AIM investment policy are identified, analyzed, discussed and voted upon by the AIM students (with a 2/3^rd super majority required for a security to be added).  The proposed investments are presented in a formal oral presentation to their peers and a group of financial professionals, along with a concise written report of the pertinent characteristics of the proposed investment. The report is distributed in advance of the presentation to financial professionals.

The students typically make a 5-7 minute pitch, which is followed by about 5-7 minutes of questions and answers for the stock they present. The students fulfill their analyst responsibilities by completing any additional research necessary to make an informed decision. AIM Fund investment meetings take place within the AIM Research Room; however, during the spring semester the students make occasional ‘road show’ presentations at investment companies and before alumni groups.

Matt Vieth and Ben Schmidt 
pitching Bank of Nova Scotia

The during the past ten years the AIM students have presented before alumni and investment companies in Milwaukee, Madison, Chicago, Boston and New York. Almost every investment firm in Milwaukee has hosted at least one road show – with some being serving as perennial hosts (R.W. Baird, Wells Fargo, Timpani Capital Management, Cortina Asset Management, and Northwestern Mutual).

A 2008 New York City 'road show' about to begin

This past October, four students pitched stocks before a group of nearly 50 investment professionals in New York at the Circles Alumni event. Dr. David Krause, AIM Director, commented about the external student presentations, “These are excellent opportunities for our students to receive feedback and constructive comments from investment professionals. Over the past 15 years I have come to understood that the student equity presentations are an essential and vital part of the applied learning process; however, the roads shows have taken this to a higher level. This type of real-world exposure can’t be obtained from a textbook.”

Dr. Krause continued, “We already have six external AIM student presentations scheduled for the spring semester in the Milwaukee area and are looking for two more hosts – we will also be traveling to Chicago in April and will be pitching there (with the location to be determined).”

If you wish to host an AIM ‘road show,’ please contact Dr. David Krause, AIM Director, at: david.krause@marquette.edu or Jessica Hoerres, AIM Coordinator, at: jessica.hoerres@marquette.edu.

The complete AIM Spring 2019 semester presentation schedule will be posted soon.

All previous AIM stock write-ups since September 2005 can be viewed at: AIM Presentations.