Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Congratulations to the AIM Class of 2016 on Their Graduation From Marquette University


Marquette University's AIM Class of 2016 Graduated on Sunday, May 22, 2016

Education is the best provision for old age.
-Aristotle
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.
-Mark Twain
If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.
-Vince Lombardi


AIM Class of 2016


The AIM Class of 2016 was a special group --- it was the first class with two program tracks: asset management and private equity / banking. On Sunday more than 30 AIM students participated in Marquette University’s graduation ceremonies (along with several others who graduated in December). This group of students is the 11th class to graduate from the AIM program.

By all measures this has been another successful year. The students in the AIM Class of 2016 had meaningful internship experiences and they soon will be starting their careers at various financial firms across the globe.  Also, many of them are busy preparing to take the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) Level I exam on the first Saturday in June. Like all of the other AIM classes before them, I know they will do well – and I have truly enjoyed working with them.


The students in the Class of 2016 inherited three investment portfolios: the small cap domestic equity; international equity; and fixed income fund. These students worked hard and generated good results in the funds they managed. The students encountered unique challenges as the financial markets experienced two major peaks and valleys during the past year – and the energy stocks saw dramatic swings as the price of oil dropped nearly 70% during their tenure in managing the funds. International stocks remained especially tricky to manage during the past year given the large swings in currencies and the phenomena of negative interest rates. Nevertheless, they maintained their composure and managed the AIM Funds as true professionals.

As always, it has been a rewarding year for me working with the students in the AIM program. In addition to being intellectually curious and hardworking, the Class of 2016 was deeply committed to the responsibilities associated with administering the student-managed funds. Despite the ongoing uncertainty of the global investment climate, we are confident that the AIM Funds will continue to provide invaluable opportunities for learning as students in future classes apply their hand to managing a portion of Marquette’s endowment funds.

Marquette University Commencement 2016 
Congratulations to the students who graduated at Marquette's Commencement on Sunday, May 22, 2016. We wish not only to recognize the achievements of our graduates, but also to acknowledge parents and others for their cooperation and support.

This was a highly talented group of students who worked hard right up until the end of their senior year. While some of these students received significant honors and awards, all of them are special and have unique talents. They worked exceedingly hard during the past two years since they were admitted to the AIM program and we wish them all best of luck.

The following table contains information about the AIM students in the Class of 2016.