The Legend, November 2011

Page 1

N O V E M B E R 2 0 11

|

V O L U M E 11

|

ISSUE THREE

Real-world experience

the UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE

Moleschi helps Horns capture Canada West The Student-Managed Investment Fund allows students to trade stocks with a real-money account.

Smith and SAAG a boost to local arts

Dr. Bonnie Lee answers five questions

McDaniel earns Tier I CRC in social sciences

The U of L Legend is published monthly during the academic year by the communications unit within University Advancement. Submissions, comments and story ideas are always welcome. The Legend reserves the right to refuse any submitted advertisement. The Legend can be found online at issuu.com/ulethbridge. A DV E R T I S I N G For ad rates or other information, contact: legend@uleth.ca CREDITS Editor: Trevor Kenney Designer: Stephenie Karsten CO N T R I B U TO R S: Amanda Berg, Bob Cooney, Sandra Cowan, Kyle Dodgson, Jane Edmundson, Nicole Eva-Rice, Erica Lind, Glenda Martens, Suzanne McIntosh, Kali McKay, Rob Olson, Stacy Seguin, Zyna Taylor, Jaime Vedres, Katherine Wasiak and Richard Westlund

University of Lethbridge 4401 University Drive Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4 www.ulethbridge.ca

BY ZYNA TAYLOR

T

he Faculty of Management is preparing to launch an exciting initiative connected to the Centre for Financial Market Research and Teaching (CFMRT). On Tuesday, Nov. 15, representatives from the University, the community and various stakeholder groups will gather for the official launch of the Student-Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) – $100,000 of real-money to be traded by finance students. “The fund has been established so that participating students can gain invaluable practice managing a real-life investment portfolio,” says Dr. Robert Ellis, dean of the Faculty of Management. “This will give them the opportunity to interact and network with industry experts and other business students interested in finance.” The Faculty has provided the initial $100,000 seed capital for the SMIF, which will be invested under the direction of CFMRT academic director, Dr. Pei Shao. Students will conduct the actual trading of funds as part of a new course designed specifically for the program. “Students participating in the course are selected based on their academic performance and an interview,” says Shao. “Eight students have formed our inaugural group and will play the role of either portfolio manager or financial analyst and work within

SURVEY SUCCESS It’s mid-term season for postsecondary students and, with the recent release of two national surveys, the University of Lethbridge itself is under the microscope. The results? If the institution were a student, it would be headed straight to the honour roll. In both reports, from the Globe and Mail and Maclean’s magazine respectively, the U of L placed very well and put forward similar results, despite the surveys being administered in completely different manners. The Globe and Mail Report Card took a letter grade approach. Judged to be first in research opportunities in its class, the U of L

various research teams focusing on different industry sectors.” One of the portfolio managers is finance and marketing major Taylor Nanton. “Being part of the SMIF fund will allow us to gain hands-on industry experience in our chosen career path,” says Nanton, who will graduate in spring 2012. “Having this opportunity provides us with experience we’ll use every day in our future positions. It might also help us invest our own money more wisely.” In addition to supervision by Shao, guidance on trading activities will come from an advisory board comprised of external investment professionals, internal faculty members and legal experts. This will ensure compliance with laws, regulations and University policies/guidelines. Kevin Sassa (BMgt ’93), an investment advisor with CIBC Wood Gundy, is one member of the advisory board. He believes the opportunities the University affords through the fund is invaluable. “From an industry perspective, the fund provides experience that may not be available at other institutions. When I was in university, students didn’t have a fund and courses like this, so we had to acquire our expertise once we were out in the professional environment,” says Sassa. “Anytime you can get experience hands on, it bridges that gap between

theory and real-world practice.” The SMIF has generated a very positive buzz in the financial community. Potential employers see it as an excellent training exercise, possibly reducing their own training expenses, as new recruits would be better prepared for the full responsibilities of their position coming out of school. The SMIF advisory board is also a huge advantage for students, allowing them to begin establishing a business network before even entering the workforce. Beyond the initial capital invested by the Faculty, it is expected that the SMIF will continue to grow through prudent investment by the students and continued fundraising efforts. “Our goal is to increase the SMIF to $400,000 in the next three years,” says Shao. “To achieve this goal, we’ve launched a fundraising campaign and expect that future funds will come from individual and corporate donors, professional organizations and a portion of University endowment assets. Our long-term vision is that the SMIF will become self-sustaining.” Ellis is enthusiastic about what the SMIF can do for the Faculty’s students. “These students will be exceptionally well prepared for careers in finance,” says Ellis.

also led the standard for Recreation and Athletics and managed an “A”– level grade in five survey categories. The Globe’s rating measures a series of benchmarks that track student opinions on a variety of services and features at 60 universities across the country. The Maclean’s rankings drew from statistics provided by the institutions and additional nationallevel surveying. This year, the University of Lethbridge retained its fourth-place finish in the Primarily Undergraduate category, and maintained or improved its position in a majority of the benchmarks used by Maclean’s to measure Canadian post-secondary institutions. “We always appreciate the opportunity to have survey information made available to the public,”

says U of L President Dr. Mike Mahon. “In the Maclean’s survey, we are particularly pleased with the increases in our overall reputational survey marks, our jump in social sciences and humanities grants and the number of resources we devote to student support.” The Maclean’s rankings were based on 14 indicators, ranging from class sizes to research dollars. “As we evolve to become a more comprehensive research university, it is important that we not lose sight of our focus on students and the services that are important to them,” says Mahon. “The Maclean’s numbers clearly indicate that we are doing both – moving our research programming forward, but not at the expense of our student-centred philosophy.”


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
The Legend, November 2011 by University of Lethbridge - Issuu