New FinTech course at Marquette has been developed by David Krause, Marquette’s Director of the Applied Investment Management (AIM) Program and is being offered this semester

January 20, 2019, 7:43 am

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Dr. Krause has created a new FinTech Topics course for Marquette students: Who says an old dog can’t teach new tricks?

David Krause, Marquette University's Director of the Applied Investment Management (AIM) Program

The global asset management and financial services  industry is growing and changing rapidly – and the Applied Investment Management (AIM) program at Marquette University is adapting… as it always has.

The Director of the AIM program, Dr. David Krause said recently, “The buy-side of the asset management industry is under considerable pressure to reduce their costs given the incredibly low fees being charged by index funds. They also need to demonstrate their value and to improve transparency given the emergence of the robo-advisor. We want to educate the next generation of asset managers (and bankers) who will be operating in an industry that must deal with the disruptions that will result from the new innovations in financial technology.”

While the industry is expected to continue to grow strongly (experts predict a sustained cumulative growth in assets exceeding 6% annually, resulting in a global Assets Under Management of over $110 trillion by 2020, and $145 trillion by 2025), asset management clients (institutional and retail) are becoming increasingly demanding, diverse and knowledgeable – and their expectations of investment outcomes is higher.

Krause said, "Millennials and Gen Zers will not tolerate poor customer service and today's newest investors expect to interact immediately with their investment advisors via digital mechanisms (including social media). Cybersecurity is also a major issue that will be discussed in the course. The demands that will be placed on the buy- and sell-side of the investment industry are huge and our graduates need to be prepared."

"The combination of strong growth, greater client expectations and massive cost pressures is changing the industry right before our eyes," he said. "And because the AIM program has always been on the leading edge of change within the academic investment industry, we are changing too."

Dr. Krause’s course on FinTech Topics (FINA 4931), which is currently being taught in the Spring 2019 semester at Marquette University, focuses on these issues. "This course and the topics covered should provide an opportunity for our students who understand the future changes that are taking place - and who can adapt. Even students graduating this May have an opportunity to become FinTech savvy."

There is a growing demand for graduates entering the industry who are stronger in their understand of the technology. Data analytics will be an important skill set for tomorrow's analysts to master. 

Krause commented, "Our graduates need to be able to add value within an industry where margins are under intense pressure  - while also understand the process of improving the quality of services delivered. Coding and programming are also likely to be required skills of the financial analyst." You can view other blogs about FinTech on this site - for instance: - AIM blog on "Here Come the Quants".

Dr. Krause's course will focus this semester on a range of new technologies and topics (including R coding, blockchain, cybersecurity, big data, and algorithmic and dark pool trading) that are emerging in order to meet this challenge. The application technologies highlighted include:

-         Robotics / Machine-Learning

-         Cybersecurity and Big Data Analytics

-         Blockchain (Distributed Ledger Technology)

Dr. Krause added, "The course is coming along nicely and I'm pleased with the students' enthusiasm concerning the content. I’m also working with a major FinTech software company on memorializing the course content, so that we might have an online version of this course and the new FinTech curriculum ready sometime in the summer of 2019 to offer beyond the classroom."

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Analyzing 'FinTech' in Google Trends with R by David Krause, Marquette AIM Program Director

January 21, 2019, 9:19 am

≫ Next: Analyzing 'Key Trends and Topics Within FinTech' in Google Trends with R by David Krause, Marquette AIM Program Director

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An article about “FinTech Trends” and an example of the use of R code using Google Trends by Dr. David Krause, AIM Program Director, Marquette University

 

FinTech has taken the financial services industry by storm. According to a Google Trends analysis I recently undertook as of 1/21/2019 - the current interest in FinTech continues to grow exponentially – not only in the United States, but globally.

As the following chart displays, Interest over time (a Google metric based on search interest – which the reader can think of as an improved version of Google ‘hits’) exploded about five years ago (2014).

Interestingly, as the following chart shows, Interest over time for both the United States (US) and Japan (JP) also increased about five years ago; however, the US rate of search interest in FinTech has grown by a greater rate recently than Japan.

The following chart indicates that both China (CN) and Great Britain (GB) have had increased FinTech Interest over time; however, both occurred later than the US and Japan – about 2016 for China. A significant development in Asian FinTech growth was the high-profile announcement of several major deals: in 2016 there the deal on Artificial Intelligence (AI) between ChinaAMC, a Chinese mutual fund and Microsoft - and in 2017 with a major agreement between the Bank of China and Tencent.

Using Google Trends and R it possible to look at more recent trends in FinTech Interest over time (the past five years) for the world, US, and China. 

 

The information presented above was obtained from a R code written by David Krause and compiled and viewed using R Studio. The code is contained below:

#Analyzing 'FinTech' in Google Trends with R by David Krause, Marquette AIM Program director

#load the following:

library(gtrendsR)

library(reshape2)

library(ggplot2)

## get web query activity for keyword = "FinTech" 

## Different go codes and time can be used.

#Here is a short-cut to run plots of Google Trends search data

plot(gtrendsR::gtrends(keyword = c("FinTech"), time = "all"))

plot(gtrendsR::gtrends(keyword = c("FinTech"), time = "today+5-y"))

#It is possible to look at search times by geography (i.e. United States - US, Japan - JP)

plot(gtrendsR::gtrends(keyword = c("FinTech"), geo = "US", time = "all")) 

plot(gtrendsR::gtrends(keyword = c("FinTech"), geo = "US", time = "today+5-y"))

plot(gtrendsR::gtrends(keyword = c("FinTech"), geo = "JP", time = "all"))

plot(gtrendsR::gtrends(keyword = c("FinTech"), geo = "JP", time = "today+5-y")) 

res0 = gtrends(c("FinTech"), gprop = "web", time = "all")

plot(res0)+geom_smooth()+geom_line(lwd = 1) 

res1 = gtrends(c("FinTech"), gprop = "web", time = "all", geo = c("US"))

plot(res1)+geom_smooth()+geom_line(lwd = 1) 

res1a = gtrends(c("FinTech"), gprop = "web", time = "all", geo = c("JP"))

plot(res1a)+geom_smooth()+geom_line(lwd = 1)

res1b = gtrends(c("FinTech"), gprop = "web", time = "all", geo = c("US","JP"))

plot(res1b)+geom_smooth()+geom_line(lwd = 1)

res1c = gtrends(c("FinTech"), gprop = "web", time = "all", geo = c("GB","CN"))

plot(res1c)+geom_smooth()+geom_line(lwd = 1)

res2 = gtrends(c("FinTech"), gprop = "web",time="today+5-y")

plot(res2)+geom_smooth()+geom_line(lwd = 1)

res3 <- c="" font="" geo="c(" gprop="web" gtrends="" intech="" time="today+5-y">->

plot(res3)+geom_smooth()+geom_line(lwd = 1)

res3a <- c="" font="" geo="c(" gprop="web" gtrends="" intech="" time="today+5-y">->

plot(res3a)+geom_smooth()+geom_line(lwd = 1)

# Get data from Google Trends 

#res2a = gtrends(

 # c("FinTech"),

  #geo = c("US","CN"), 

  #gprop = "web", 

  #time = "today+5-y") [[1]] 

#define the keywords to analyze from Google Trends

keywords=c("FinTech")

#set the geographic area: (i.e. US = United States, CN = China)

country=c("US","CN")

#set the time window

time=("today+5-y")

#set channels 

channel='web'

#access the data from Google Trends

trends = gtrends(keywords, gprop =channel,geo=country, time = time )

#select Google Trends Interest over Time (similar to hits) 

time_trend=trends$interest_over_time

#display the first several data items

head(time_trend)

#plot the data items

plot<-ggplot aes="" data="time_trend," x="date," y="hits,group=keyword,col=keyword))+</font">-ggplot>

  geom_line()+xlab('Time')+ylab('Relative Interest')+ theme_bw()+

  theme(legend.title = element_blank(),legend.position="bottom",legend.text=element_text(size=12))+ggtitle("Google Search Volume")

plot

Analyzing 'Key Trends and Topics Within FinTech' in Google Trends with R by David Krause, Marquette AIM Program Director

January 21, 2019, 11:36 am

≫ Next: AIM Guest Speaker - Brian Nick, Chief Investment Strategist for Nuveen / TIAA Investments, Expects a Challenging 2019, but Not a U.S. Recession

≪ Previous: Analyzing 'FinTech' in Google Trends with R by David Krause, Marquette AIM Program Director

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What are the key 'FinTech Topics' and how do they trend across time? by Dr. David Krause AIM Program Director, Marquette University

 

A previous article about global “FinTechTrends” and an example of the use of R code using Google Trends was published by Dr. David Krause, AIM Program Director, Marquette University. 

This article focuses on the key topic trends within FinTech. This research utilizing Google Trends and R code initially was done in 2018 to create the curriculum utilized in Krause’s FINA 4931: Topic in FinTech course that is being taught in the spring 2019 semester at Marquette University. The original research has been updated and is current as of 1/21/2019.

 

As displayed above, FinTech has taken the financial services industry by storm. According to a Google Trends analysis I recently undertook (shown above) as of 1/21/2019 - the current interest in FinTech continues to grow exponentially – not only in the United States, but globally.

What are the key FinTech Topics and how do they trend across time? The following charts display Interest over time (a Google metric based on search interest – which the reader can think of as an improved version of Google ‘hits’) for various key topics.

The overall current market environment is evaluated for five key FinTech topics (Artificial Intelligent (AI), big data, blockchain, cloud computing and cybersecurity). 

The charts above show the overall relative interest over time of Google trend searches for the five FinTech topics for the world since 2004. The recent explosion of interest in blockchain stands out; however, big data and AI are also displaying upward trends in global interest. The 5-year trends are also shown, and the results are similar to those observed of the entire period with recent interest in blockchain standing out.

The charts above show the overall relative interest over time Google trends for the five FinTech topics within the United States since 2004. The trends are nearly identical to the global FinTech topics trend results (shown above). The 5-year trends are also shown, and the results are similar to those observed of the entire period with blockchain interest showing the strong relative level of recent interest.

 

The results for the most recent 5-year Google Trends period for China are above – and are more challenging to analyze. The conclusion is similar, since the geometric smoothing shows that the relative interest in blockchain since early in 2018 was strong; however in 2019 it appears that the relative the level of interest is similar for all FinTech topics examined.

The chart above shows the overall relative interest over time Google trends for the blockchain FinTech topic search within the United States since 2014. The trend indicated very strong relative interest in early 2018 - near the time that bitcoin traded at its highest level.

(Blockchain technology continues to evolve with issues remaining concerning performance and privacy issues. While the potential is great within the financial services sector, the business model is not yet ready for large-scale consumer use. Blockchain is the digital currency represented by bitcoin; while the second generation of blockchain involves the smart contract platform – with the future likely to lead to advances in cryptography, consensus algorithms, performance optimization, and so on). 

 The chart above displays Google Trends interest over time since 2014 in the US for the search term: artificial intelligence or AI. The trend across time has nearly doubled since 2014 and continues to grow.

(Artificial Intelligence (AI) has begun to impact the wealth management and banking industry. Artificial intelligence applications include robo-advising, anti-fraud detection and credit evaluation - and utilizes tools such as big data analytics and facial and speech recognition. AI applications such as biometrics in mobile phones can assist with customer verification and improve transparency and service to the end-customers in investment and banking applications).

Cybersecurity as a Google search topic has also shown strong growth in interest over time. Since 2014, the relative interest in cybersecurity has more than doubled.

(Cybersecurity, which is also referred to as computer or information technology security (IT) security – it involves the protection of computer systems from theft or damage to the hardware and software. It importantly also contains the protection of internal and external digital data. The term also applies to the intentional disruption or misdirection of the services they provide. The field is growing in importance in the financial services industry due to increasing reliance on computer systems, the Internet, and mobile devices that are connected to wireless networks (including mobile phones, tablets and Internet of Things devices) connected via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi).  

The interest over time of the Google search phrase: big data has actually decreased on a relative basis since 2014.  

(Big data in financial services is quite widespread. Insurance companies, banks and wealth management firms have a major demand for the sharing and application of the internal and external data. Data mining and knowledge transfer plays a large role in analyzing trends and meeting customer needs).

Google search interest over time for cloud computing has shown a decline across the past five years, although not as pronounced as the decline in the search phrase for big data.

(Cloud Computing involves the use of the internet to access applications, data, or services that are stored or run on a remote server. Within financial services, cloud computing has been an important advancement because of the large amounts of data utilized within the industry).

The purpose of this research was to answer the question: What are the key FinTech Topics and how do they trend across time? The charts displayed Interest over time (a Google metric based on search interest – which the reader can think of as an improved version of Google ‘hits’) for various key topics.

Summary: The overall current market environment was evaluated for five key FinTech topics (Artificial Intelligent (AI), big data, blockchain, cloud computing and cybersecurity). The results showed the overall relative interest over time Google trends for the five FinTech topics for the world since 2004 and over the past five years.  The recent explosion of interest in blockchain stands out; however, big data and AI also displayed upward trends in global interest. The 5-year trends were also shown, and the results were similar to those observed of the entire period - the US and global trends were similar.

PS If you are interested in the R code utilized to produce this report, please reach out to Dr. David Krause.

AIM Guest Speaker - Brian Nick, Chief Investment Strategist for Nuveen / TIAA Investments, Expects a Challenging 2019, but Not a U.S. Recession

January 22, 2019, 4:53 am

≫ Next: First Marquette FMA Club meeting of the Winter/Spring 2019 Semester will be held on Thursday, January 24th

≪ Previous: Analyzing 'Key Trends and Topics Within FinTech' in Google Trends with R by David Krause, Marquette AIM Program Director

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The Marquette AIM Program Hosted Guest Speaker, Brian Nick, (Chief Investment Strategist of Nuveen / TIAA Investments

Marquette finance students were treated to an excellent macroeconomic and market discussion last semester by Nuveen Investments / TIAA investment professionals. 

Brian Nick of Nuveen in the AIM Room

 A standing-room-only crowd of over 40 AIM and FMA students heard from Brian Nick, Chief Investment Strategist, and Bryan Brooks, Vice President at Nuveen Investments / TIAA.

Brian Nick and his colleagues at Nuveen / TIAA Investment have advised investors in 2019 to seek quality at a fair price in a slowing world. 

They believe that when the dust clears, the global economy in 2019 will probably not behave all that differently than it did in 2018, but they are hopeful for better investment returns across most public and private asset classes.

The economists at Nuveen believe that the world is slowing, but only gradually. 

Furthermore, they have stated recently that they believe a global recession and bear market are still at least a few years away, leaving room for portfolios with risk assets to benefit. Access the entire report at: https://www.tiaa.org/public/pdf/4648_AFFILIATED_GPE-GIC1QA-0119D_GIC_annual_outlook_2019_FINAL.pdf

First Marquette FMA Club meeting of the Winter/Spring 2019 Semester will be held on Thursday, January 24th

January 22, 2019, 5:19 am

≫ Next: Material covered in Dr. Krause’s FinTech Topics course at Marquette University (Week 2, Winter/Spring semester)

≪ Previous: AIM Guest Speaker - Brian Nick, Chief Investment Strategist for Nuveen / TIAA Investments, Expects a Challenging 2019, but Not a U.S. Recession

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The Marquette University Financial Management Association (FMA) Club will meet this week

The first FMA meeting and guest presentation for the semester will be held on January 24th at 5:00 pm in DS 456 (Marquette College of Business).

Nichole Wearing

Nichole Wearing is a campus recruiter from Northwestern Mutual and she will be presenting on “Networking and Your Personal Brand.”

Dr. David Krause, AIM program director and FMA faculty advisor, said "Personal branding is a hot topic, but a lot of college students don’t understand what it really means. While this is covered in some of our business classes, join Ms. Wearing to learn more about the topic – students learn tips about how to market themselves properly."

For more information about the FMA, please contact E-Board Officer: Gino Piscopo (gino.piscopo@marquette.edu)

Material covered in Dr. Krause’s FinTech Topics course at Marquette University (Week 2, Winter/Spring semester)

January 26, 2019, 6:20 am

≫ Next: The equity funds managed by the Marquette AIM Class of 2020 are still ahead of the benchmarks for 2019

≪ Previous: First Marquette FMA Club meeting of the Winter/Spring 2019 Semester will be held on Thursday, January 24th

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Learning to use “Financial R Packages” including QuantMod and TTR in FINA 4931: Topics in FinTech at Marquette University

While Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday and some significant winter weather limited the class meeting time during the second week of the semester for FINA 4931: Topics in Financial Technologies, the students were introduced to two financial R packages: QuantMod and TTR. They have several R coding assignments due at the end of the week utilizing these packages.

The QuantMod package was originally designed to assist the quantitative securities trader in the development, testing, and deployment of statistically based trading models.

Getting data: The most useful function in QuantMod is getSymbol(), which allows to conveniently load data from several websites like YahooFinance, GoogleFinance, FRED, etc. While Apple (AAPL) is used as the example below, any security with a ticker recognized by YahooFinance could be used. The basic R code follows:

> library(QuantMod)

> getSymbols(c("AAPL", "GOOG"), from = "2018-07-01", to = "2019-1-26")

#[1] "AAPL""GOOG"

> str(AAPL)

#An ‘xts’ object on 2018-07-02/2019-01-25 containing:

# Data: num [1:139, 1:6] 184 188 185 185 190 ...

# - attr(*, "dimnames")=List of 2

#  ..$ : NULL

#  ..$ : chr [1:6] "AAPL.Open""AAPL.High""AAPL.Low""AAPL.Close" ...

#  Indexed by objects of class: [Date] TZ: UTC

#  xts Attributes: 

# List of 2

# $ src    : chr "yahoo"

# $ updated: POSIXct[1:1], format: "2019-01-25 18:11:21"

> head(AAPL)

#           AAPL.Open AAPL.High AAPL.Low AAPL.Close AAPL.Volume AAPL.Adjusted

#2018-07-02    183.82    187.30   183.42     187.18    17731300      185.8773

#2018-07-03    187.79    187.95   183.54     183.92    13954800      182.6400

#2018-07-05    185.26    186.41   184.28     185.40    16604200      184.1096

#2018-07-06    185.42    188.43   185.20     187.97    17485200      186.6618

#2018-07-09    189.50    190.68   189.30     190.58    19756600      189.2536

#2018-07-10    190.71    191.28   190.18     190.35    15939100      189.0252

Charting with QuantMod: The function chartSeries() is a nice tool to visualize financial time series in a way that many practicioners are familiar with–line charts, as well as OHLC bar and candle charts. There are convenience wrappers to these different styles (lineChart(), barChart(), and candleChart()), though chartSeries() does quite a bit to automatically handle data in the most appropriate way.

> chartSeries(AAPL["2018-8/2019-1"], name = "AAPL")

# Add multi-coloring and change background to white 

> candleChart(AAPL["2018-8/2019-1"], multi.col = TRUE, theme = "white", name = "AAPL")

# Now weekly with custom color candles using the QuantMod function to.weekly

> chartSeries(to.weekly(AAPL), up.col = "green", dn.col = "red", theme = "white",name = "AAPL")

#Technical analysis charting tools: One can add technical analysis studies from package TTR to the above charts:

> chartSeries(AAPL["2018-8/2019-1"], name = "AAPL",theme = "white",

              TA = "addMACD(); addBBands()")

> chartSeries(AAPL["2018-8/2019-1"], name = "AAPL", theme = "white",

            TA = "addMomentum(); addEMA(); addRSI()")

> reChart(subset = "2018-11/2019-1", theme = "white", type = "candles")

The package TTR (Technical Trading Rules) was designed for traditional technical analysis and charting.

Moving averages: One can easily compute moving averages.

> library(TTR)

# simple moving average

> sma10 <- l="" n="10)<o:p" sma="">->

> head(sma10, 20)

               SMA

2018-07-11      NA

2018-07-12      NA

2018-07-13      NA

2018-07-16 188.655

2018-07-17 189.082

2018-07-18 189.730

2018-07-19 190.378

2018-07-20 190.725

2018-07-23 190.828

2018-07-24 191.093

2018-07-25 191.787

2018-07-26 192.105

2018-07-27 192.070

2018-07-30 191.970

#Bollinger Bands:

>   bb20 <- bbands="" sd="2.0)<o:p">->

str(bb20)

#An ‘xts’ object on 2018-07-02/2019-01-18 containing:

#  Data: num [1:139, 1:4] NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA ...

# - attr(*, "dimnames")=List of 2

#  ..$ : NULL

#  ..$ : chr [1:4] "dn""mavg""up""pctB"

#  Indexed by objects of class: [POSIXct,POSIXt] TZ: UTC

#  xts Attributes:  

#List of 2

# $ src    : chr "yahoo"

# $ updated: POSIXct[1:1], format: "2019-01-21 18:11:21"

> plot(bb20)

#RSI – Relative Strength Indicator:

>   rsi14 <- l="" n="14)<o:p" rsi="">->

> plot(cbind(Cl(AAPL), rsi14), legend.loc = "topleft")

#MACD:moving average convergence/divergence

> macd = MACD(Cl(AAPL), nFast = 12, nSlow = 26, nSig = 9, maType = SMA)

> str(macd)

#An ‘xts’ object on 2018-07-02/2019-01-18 containing:

#  Data: num [1:139, 1:2] NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA ...

# - attr(*, "dimnames")=List of 2

#  ..$ : NULL

#  ..$ : chr [1:2] "macd""signal"

#  Indexed by objects of class: [POSIXct,POSIXt] TZ: UTC

#  xts Attributes:  

#List of 2

# $ src    : chr "yahoo"

# $ updated: POSIXct[1:1], format: "2019-01-21 18:11:21"

> plot(cbind(Cl(AAPL), macd), legend.loc = "topleft")

The equity funds managed by the Marquette AIM Class of 2020 are still ahead of the benchmarks for 2019

January 26, 2019, 7:02 am

≫ Next: Two current AIM students – Andrew Plank and Phil Suess – passed the CFA Level 1 exam in December. Congratulations!

≪ Previous: Material covered in Dr. Krause’s FinTech Topics course at Marquette University (Week 2, Winter/Spring semester)

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Both the AIM International and AIM Small Cap Equity Funds are besting their respective benchmarks by over 200 bps to start off the new year!

The following tables display the returns of the two equity funds managed by the students in the AIM Class of 2020. The top performers for the week ended on 1/25/2019 are also provided.

Starting next week - Friday, February 1st, the students will be pitching new stocks to be considered for the AIM Funds. The write-ups and information about how to link into the presentations will be provided next week.

Two current AIM students – Andrew Plank and Phil Suess – passed the CFA Level 1 exam in December. Congratulations!

January 26, 2019, 3:03 pm

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

≪ Previous: The equity funds managed by the Marquette AIM Class of 2020 are still ahead of the benchmarks for 2019

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So, how hard is it to pass the CFA exam as an undergraduate student? Let’s just say, it is very difficult. Congratulations to Andrew Plank and Phil Suess!

Andrew Plank during an AIM  stock pitch

Investopedia says, “Overall, the CFA exams are very difficult, but candidates can increase their chances of passing by studying for over 300 hours, utilizing alternative prep materials, answering as many practice questions as possible and creating a structured study plan.”

The CFA exams have been likened to training for a marathon – the candidate has to be disciplined and invest the time since there are really no short cuts. The commonly accepted norm is that it requires about 300 hours of study to pass each level of the CFA exam (and there are three levels).

It is nearly impossible to cram for the CFA exams because these are not your typical theoretical or memorization exams. Not only are the candidates being tested on their ability to recall information, but also being able to apply it to situations.

Phil Suess pitching a stock in the AIM Room

Dr. David Krause, Marquette University’s AIM program director, said “Because the AIM curriculum is based on the CFA core body of knowledge, our students have a running start. Both Andrew and Phil worked hard during the past two years within the AIM program at mastering the material – along with their dedicated study schedules during the fall semester – they were successful in passing the December CFA Level 1 exam. I could not be prouder of their accomplishment - it is a testament to their intellect and discipline.”

While Andrew Plank and Phil Suess are not the first AIM students to take and pass the CFA Level 1 exam which being enrolled as full-time students, it is still an amazing accomplishment - and not one that Dr. Krause encourages his students to do during the fall semester. 

Dr. Krause commented further, “Candidates simply cannot cram, get through all of the material and have it mastered without dedicating at hundreds of hours per exam. While both students were involved in student clubs and pitching stocks as members of the AIM class, they had to make a significant sacrifice to pass the exam. They displayed remarkable time management and organizational skills.”

What is the CFA Level 1 pass rate? These are the statistics published by the CFA Institute:

CFA Level 1 Exam      Pass Rate

June 2014 Exam                   42%

December 2014 Exam         44%

June 2015 Exam                   42%

December 2015 Exam         43%

June 2016 Exam                   43%

December 2016 Exam         43%

June 2017 Exam                   43%

December 2017 Exam         43%

June 2018 Exam                  43%

December 2018 Exam         45%

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

January 28, 2019, 12:22 pm

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

≪ Previous: Two current AIM students – Andrew Plank and Phil Suess – passed the CFA Level 1 exam in December. Congratulations!

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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.

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

January 28, 2019, 1:35 pm

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

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

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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

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

January 29, 2019, 6:02 am

≫ Next: 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?

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

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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

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?

January 31, 2019, 10:48 am

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

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

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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.

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

January 31, 2019, 11:02 am

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

≪ Previous: 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?

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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

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

January 31, 2019, 12:23 pm

≫ Next: Armintas Sinkevicius, Marquette Alumnus and Friend of the AIM Program, Gets Exposure for Coverage in CNBC’s Investing in Space Article

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

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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.

Armintas Sinkevicius, Marquette Alumnus and Friend of the AIM Program, Gets Exposure for Coverage in CNBC’s Investing in Space Article

February 2, 2019, 5:56 am

≫ Next: On Friday, February 1, 2019, the Marquette AIM Class of 2020 delivered their first equity recommendations – both in-class and at Timpani Capital Management

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

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Armintas Sinkevicius, CPA, CFA, Vice President, Equity Research at Morgan Stanley in New York City wrote a research piece noting that “Spaceflight Industries is ‘entirely’ disrupting the rocket launch market”

For those Marquette finance alumni and students who have traveled to New York the past 15 years in October with Dr. David Krause, they know about the investment research expertise of Armintas Sinkevicius, who has often hosted the students at Morgan Stanley. Armintas is a CPA, CFA, and a Vice President of Equity Research at Morgan Stanley, where he covers Autos & Shared Mobility.

Armintas Sinkevicius

He and his colleagues research is widely covered and considered to be some of the best on the Street, according to Dr. Krause. "Armintas has been a strong supporter of Marquette and the AIM program. Not only does he host us when we visit New York, but he has returned to campus and has willingly mentors many of our students. He is a great example of our alumni network who continue to support the Marquette mission."

Armintas has worked as an analyst for Point72 and as a senior associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers in New York following graduation from Marquette in 2008. He majored in Accounting and Finance.

The link to the CNBC article can be found here.

INVESTING IN SPACE

Morgan Stanley says Spaceflight Industries is ‘entirely’ disrupting the rocket launch market

PUBLISHED FRI, FEB 1 2019 •  3:00 PM

KEY POINTS

·         Spaceflight Industries’ rocket launch services business is disrupting the industry’s model ‘entirely,’ Morgan Stanley said in a note to investors Friday.

·         The note is the latest in Morgan Stanley’s “Space Disruptor Series.”

·         Spaceflight packed a record-breaking 64 satellites on a SpaceX rocket in December.

The booster of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lands on the company’s barge after launching the Spaceflight SSO-A mission.

The rocket launch business is expensive and risky, and then there are the technical requirements: Launch providers have to ensure a customer’s delicate and expensive spacecraft survives the trip to orbit.

But Seattle-based Spaceflight Industries is showing things can be done differently, according to Morgan Stanley analysts Adam Jonas and Armintas Sinkevicius. In a note to investors Friday, they said that the company “is disrupting this model entirely” by applying the ride sharing concept to satellites.

The company packed a record-breaking 64 satellites on a SpaceX rocket in December for a mission known as Spaceflight SSO-A. Morgan Stanley called it “a significant milestone for the company.”

The practice of satellite “ridesharing” has become more commonplace, in part thanks to Spaceflight. As technological advancements have led to smaller satellites, that means more of them can be loaded onto rockets as secondary payloads – hitchhiking on launches like SpaceX’s Falcon 9 as they bring larger satellites to orbit.

Bottom of Form

That makes it less expensive for satellite operators and fills space in what otherwise would have been empty payload for rocket launchers. “Spaceflight is significantly driving down the cost of launch with its ride sharing model, allowing smaller satellite companies to launch more cost efficiently and launch operators to fill excess capacity,” Morgan Stanley said. 

“Spaceflight is able to provide customers with flexibility by virtue of having capacity with many different launch providers.”

Curt Blake, the CEO of Spaceflight launch services, told CNBC, “Rideshare applies across the board and the whole idea of flexibility, and how crucial that is, as it brings the airline model to space. That is huge. We’re moving rapidly toward a model where you’re not buying a spot on a specific launch vehicle – you’re buying the ability to get to a destination.”

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launches the Spaceflight SSO-A mission.

Blake said about Morgan Stanley’s analysis, “I think it means that people, and Wall Street, are starting to see this industry as a valuable one and they’ve identified our company as … a disruptor, which is a great term.”

The note is the latest in Morgan Stanley’s “Space Disruptor Series,” which features commentary on 90 companies by Morgan Stanley’s “Space Team,” which is led by Jonas.

Spaceflight Industries has two businesses: The all-in-one launch services unit, known as Spaceflight, and a satellite imagery unit called BlackSky. The former “has launched 210 satellites” to date, Morgan Stanley said. Spaceflight isn’t slowing down, either, with contracts to launch about 100 satellites this year.

BlackSky represents the company’s reach into satellite operations. The unit successfully launched two satellites at the end of last year, Global-1 and Global-2, and expects to launch six more this year. Spaceflight Industries aims to eventually have constellation of 60 satellites to provide high-resolution photos of Earth nearly on demand.

The company announced a $150 million fundraising round in March for the first 20 satellites of the BlackSky constellation.

Additionally, BlackSky is one of several companies working with Amazon Web Services for the recently-announced AWS Ground Station business. Amazon’scloud business is building a network of satellite connection facilities, representing the e-commerce giant’s first public move into space-related hardware.

Ground stations are a vital link for transmitting data to-and-from satellites in orbit, used by companies engaged in a variety of activities like weather forecasting, communications and broadcasting. AWS Ground Station aims to remove the heavy capital costs for these companies of building their own ground station networks off of satellite operators.

Morgan Stanley hosted its first “Space Summit ” in New York City in December and is telling clients to pay attention to space companies.

WATCH: This small-rocket unicorn wants to be the FedEx of space

WATCH NOW

VIDEO04:37

This small-rocket unicorn wants to be the FedEx of space

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On Friday, February 1, 2019, the Marquette AIM Class of 2020 delivered their first equity recommendations – both in-class and at Timpani Capital Management

February 2, 2019, 6:24 am

≫ Next: Marquette’s FinTech Topics Course Week 3 Update: More Google Trends R Data Scrapping and Meeting with Jim Donahue, Founder of Rising Tides Analytics

≪ Previous: Armintas Sinkevicius, Marquette Alumnus and Friend of the AIM Program, Gets Exposure for Coverage in CNBC’s Investing in Space Article

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First ‘Road Show’ of the Winter/Spring 2019 Semester was held this past Friday at Timpani Capital Management

Brandon Nelson, Ryan Isherwood and Mike Kleen of Timpani Captial Management again played host to Marquette’s AIM students on Friday, February 1. Dr. David Krause (AIM Program Director) and Bill Walker (AIM Co-Teacher) lead three students to Timpani’s offices.

Krause said, “Brandon, Ryan and Mike are always welcoming to our students where we have been visiting the past decade. They ask excellent questions and offer valuable insight into the nuances of equity research. Timpani has posted outstanding investment performance over the years and it is clear why this is the case – they do their homework and understand how to evaluate small cap stocks.”

Edward Eisenhauer, Erik Olson and Nicholas Goehring

Edward Eisenhauer

Four students pitched in the AIM Room on Friday morning (with one of them – Daniel Ptacek pitching via Skype and YouTube from Madrid, Spain).  Daniel presented Ormat Technologies    (ticker: ORA) a domestic utilities company.

Erik Olson pitched Teladoc, Inc. (ticker: TDOC) a domestic healthcare technology stock.

Edward Eisenhauer presented BlackBerry (ticker: BB) a Canadian technology company located in the Toronto area.

Nicholas Goehring pitched Wheaton Precious Metals (ticker: WPM) a Canadian basic materials firm that streams precious metal.

The write-ups (in pdf format) can be found here: February 1, 2019 AIM Write-ups

The remote video presentation by Daniel Ptacek of Ormat Technologies can be found on YouTube here: Ptacek ORA pitch

Marquette’s FinTech Topics Course Week 3 Update: More Google Trends R Data Scrapping and Meeting with Jim Donahue, Founder of Rising Tides Analytics

February 2, 2019, 6:49 am

≫ Next: Marquette AIM Funds’ January 2019 Performance – While the weather was cold, the returns were hot!

≪ Previous: On Friday, February 1, 2019, the Marquette AIM Class of 2020 delivered their first equity recommendations – both in-class and at Timpani Capital Management

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Jim Donahue of Rising Tides Analytics

The snow and polar vortex couldn’t stock Dr. Krause’s FinTech Topics course – students pushed ahead despite worst winter weather in decades

On Friday, February 1, 2019, Dr. David Krause (AIM Program Director) met with Jim Donahue, Founder of Rising Tides Analytics – a Milwaukee-based data analytics and consulting firm. 

Donahue’s firm offers Business Intelligence and Analytics Consulting with expertise in Tableau, Alteryx and DataRobot. Jim is a 2004 graduate of Marquette University.

Dr. Krause said, “It was great to meet Jim yesterday and he seems to be an excellent resource for our students. The data analytic skills that we are introducing to our students appear to be in total harmony with what Jim is doing with his firm, Rising Tides Analytics.  He will be a guest speaker later in the semester and we look forward to learning how he is applying these technologies as it relates to his financial business opportunities.”

“Where I see Jim making the biggest splash this semester will be in the area of data analytics visualization,” Krause commented. “Our students are strong will Excel; however, by mastering Tableau it is hoped that they will learn to drill deeper into the data and identify relationships – I know that by utilizing Tableau they will be able to generate more insightful reports and do impactful analytics.”

Brutal weather at Marquette University

Jim Donahue is the founder of Rising Tides Analytics and a veteran in the modern analytics industry who helps companies implement self-service data technologies and philosophies, specifically utilizing Tableau and Alteryx.  

Before founding the firm, he spent 12 years transitioning from IT roles to the business line, starting out as a database developer and moving into business intelligence and analytics leadership roles at large companies like JPMorgan Chase, BMO Financial Group and ManpowerGroup.

Marquette AIM Funds’ January 2019 Performance – While the weather was cold, the returns were hot!

February 2, 2019, 7:31 am

≫ Next: Updated Marquette FMA Club Spring 2019 Schedule

≪ Previous: Marquette’s FinTech Topics Course Week 3 Update: More Google Trends R Data Scrapping and Meeting with Jim Donahue, Founder of Rising Tides Analytics

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Marquette AIM Class of 2020 Gets Off to Strong Start in 2019

The Marquette AIM Class of 2020 had a great start to their tenure managing the AIM Funds. 

January 2019 saw positive, above-benchmark performance for all three funds – with the equity funds besting their benchmark by over 250 bps!

Who's hotter - the Marquette basketball teams or the AIM Funds?

Updated Marquette FMA Club Spring 2019 Schedule

February 3, 2019, 1:05 pm

≫ Next: Second Set of Spring AIM Program Student Equity Pitches on Friday, February 8th - Join Us in Person or On-Line!

≪ Previous: Marquette AIM Funds’ January 2019 Performance – While the weather was cold, the returns were hot!

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Following several weather related cancellations, here is the updated Marquette FMA Club Spring 2019 Schedule (note the planned trip to Chicago on Friday, April 5th - details to follow shortly)

FMA Spring Schedule:

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

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

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

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

February 20 – Jim Bianco, Bianco Research, 4:45 - 5:30 PM DS488 (AIM Room)

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

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

April 5 - Chicago Loop Trip

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

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

Guido Van Hauwermeiren's visit is being rescheduled. Details will follow soon.

Investment Club Meeting Dates:

February 11 – 6:00 - 7:00 PM Cudahy 131

February 25 – 6:00 - 7:00 PM Cudahy 131 

March 25 – 6:00 - 7:00 PM Cudahy 131

April 8 – 6:00 - 7:00 PM Cudahy 131

Second Set of Spring AIM Program Student Equity Pitches on Friday, February 8th - Join Us in Person or On-Line!

February 7, 2019, 12:10 pm

≫ Next: A Current AIM Small Cap Equity Holding: Planet Fitness (PLNT, $58.06): “The Marquette Stock Providing Fat Gains” By: Nathan Zirpolo, AIM Student at Marquette University

≪ Previous: Updated Marquette FMA Club Spring 2019 Schedule

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AIM Class of 2020 Student Equity Presentations 

Friday, February 8th

The second set of spring AIM student equity presentations for the Class of 2020 will be on Friday, February 8th, 2019. 

   

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

February 8th 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 in person, you can always view them LIVE via YouTube HERE.