Three students try to ‘RISE’ above the rest
■ Members of the University’s Investment Group will compete
at a weekend conference for the opportunity to visit New York
By Lisa Toth
Oregon Daily Emerald
At 4:30 a.m., three students from
the University’s Investment Group
headed for Ohio, carrying luggage
filled with suits, shirts and ties.
They hope to come back with the
chance to go to New York.
The three-member team will
spend this weekend competing
against other schools during a Uni
versity of Dayton student invest
ment conference, “Redefining In
vestment Strategy Education: A
National Student Investment Strate
gy Symposium” (RISE). The big
draw, the team members said, is a
chance to go to New York if they
win the portfolio management com
petition.For the first nationwide
conference of its kind, Dayton’s
School of Business Administration
will bring together students, facul
ty and investment professionals to
explore the best practices in invest
ment management.
And members of the University of
Oregon’s Investment Group, which is
in its second year on campus, will be
among those who attend.
The approximately 20-member
group invests in the stock market
using $50,000 provided by Portland
brokerage firm D. A. Davidson & Co.
Director of Operations James
Bruce said the group’s current port
folio is down, as is the rest of the
stock market. But because the group
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Adam Amato Emerald
Aaron Pocklington (left), Mark Rollins and David Stout (right) look over their annual report in preparation for their trip to Ohio for a
student investment conference. They will be competing to win a trip to New York to open the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square.
has invested in only a few technolo
gy stocks, it can withstand the stock
market’s downward slump. “We
have a diversified portfolio, but
we’re not down as much as the
[Standard & Poor’s 500],” Bruce
said.Bruce said the students attend
ing RISE include Director of Infor
mation Aaron Pocklington, and an
alysts Mark Rollins and David
Stout. The group’s budget only al
lowed for sending three members,
Bruce said, but those who are going
are qualified and will represent the
University effectively.
Rollins said he hopes the confer
ence, with highlights such as the
portfolio competition and academic
program development sessions, will
provide the group with new ideas.
Fifteen of the 40 teams signed up
for RISE will compete in the portfolio
competition, which will judge port
folios based on success in growth,
value and blend of management
styles. Pocklington said winners will
be chosen based on the quality of
their presentations and the perform
ance returns of their funds.
The winning teams will open the
NASDAQ MarketSite in Times
Square on April 30, with the winners
getting to push a button that lights up
the eight-story MarketSite “Tower”
— the largest video screen in the
world—with current financial news
and global market information.
Rollins said going to New York
would be the experience of a life
time.
“We are long-term investors,”
Rollins said, explaining the group’s
strategy, which he hopes will help
them win the competition. “We
only invest in large cap companies
and Oregon companies.”
Rollins, a junior finance major,
said the team will be competing
against other schools such as the Uni
versity of Texas and Ohio State Uni
versity — both of which have more
established investment programs.
Pocklington, a senior finance ma
jor, said the motivating factor for the
team has been the group’s adviser,
Professor John Chalmers. Chalmers
has been working with the three
members to polish their 20-minute
presentation, which uses Microsoft
PowerPoint. A question-and-an
swer period with the judges will fol
low the presentation.
Throughout the conference,
Bruce said, the team will be curious
to find out how similar investment
groups operate.
“We are trying to build a network
[with] other student investment
groups,” he said.
During the sessions, participants
will attend presentations by cre
ators of some of the most advanced
investment programs in the coun
try. The students will also have the
chance to question some of the
speakers after their
presentations.“We are going to take
information and ideas from these
other professors and other students
in investment groups across the
country and bring it back to our
group and see if we can apply it,”
Rollins said.
RISE will also serve as a resume
builder for the participants and
could provide future employment
opportunities and contacts, Stout
said. He added that the conference
will offer the team contacts in the fi
nancial industry, as well as invalu
able experience.
“This is a chance for us to put out
our name,” Stout said, “and make it
known that we are one of the ‘big
boys.’”
Singapore
continued from page 1
play is intended to show audience members what a tra
ditional birthday banquet in Singapore is really like,
Christian Tan said.
Although he is reluctant to divulge too many details
about the plot, he said that at some point during the
play, one of the characters will be murdered. He pointed
out, however, that the murder is one aspect of the play
that is not a realistic portrayal of a traditional birthday
banquet.
Finding the murderer is the job of the audience, Goh
said. Audience members will be seated at tables, and at
the end of the show, each table will submit one guess as
to who the killer is. Prizes will be awarded to the win
ning group.
Approximately 100 people attended last year’s cul
ture night, Christian Tan said. This year, he hopes there
will be even more.
Tickets are available at the EMU Ticket Office. Admis
sion price is $6 for students, $7 for non-students. The
group suggested those attending wear something red be
cause the color symbolizes happiness and prosperity.
More information about the SSA and “Seventy Can
dles” is available on the group’s Web site at http://glad
stone.uoregon.edu/~ssa.
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