With a 36.17 percent return during 2013, finance students at Mario J. Gabelli School of Business capture top honors at GAME, RISE competitions

Clark, Brian E.

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Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger4-10-2014For Student Investment Fund Managers, NationalChampions Times TwoBrian E. ClarkRoger Williams UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationClark, Brian E., "For Student Investment Fund Managers, National Champions Times Two" (2014). Featured News Story. 389.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/389 News ArchiveFor Student Investment Fund Managers, NationalChampions Times TwoWith a 36.17 percent return during 2013,  nance students at Mario J. GabelliSchool of Business capture top honors at GAME, RISE competitionsStudent fund managers Christopher Reilly, Robert Berlinski,Christopher Ford, Jacqueline Goncalves, Ariana Imbrescia andTrevor Sybertz with CAFE Director Michael Melton. Image Credit:Ed StrongApril 10, 2014 Brian E. ClarkBRISTOL, R.I.  – If these 21  nance students from Roger Williams University were college basketballplayers instead of student investment fund managers, you might call their success a Cinderella story.With a 36.17 percent return on the investments managed during calendar year 2013 (and a risk-adjusted “alpha” of 11.86 percent), the student fund managers from the Center for Advanced FinancialEducation (CAFE) at the University’s Mario J. Gabelli School of Business became national championsnot once, but twice, last month – March Madness, indeed!In late March, four students representing the CAFE program placed  rst in the undergraduate coreinvestment strategy category of the student-managed portfolio competition at the Quinnipiac GlobalAsset Management Education (GAME) IV Forum held in New York City. A week later, two students fromCAFE grabbed top honors (along with the Dragon Fund at Drexel University) in the same category atRISE 2014, the University of Dayton’s 14th annual student portfolio competition.The two events represent the pinnacle for the estimated 300 programs nationwide that allow studentsto make investment decisions with real money. The competitive  eld is hardly a pushover – the GAMEForum hosted more than 1,000 students from 131 universities in 21 countries; RISE 2014 drew a similarpool of student investment managers from across the globe.Michael Melton, professor of  nance and CAFE director, says the program’s real-world setting –students execute real-time trades with access to Bloomberg terminals and professional-level securityanalysis technology – and its by-the-bootstraps approach set it apart from student investment e orts atother schools.“Student fund managers at most of our competitive institutions answer to an advisory board and runtheir recommendations past a team of professionals,” Melton says. “At Roger Williams University, ourstudents do absolutely everything, independently – they make the choices, they make the trades, andall the credit goes to them for these two amazing victories on the national stage.”According to Mario J. Gabelli School of Business Dean Jerry Dauterive, the CAFE program – whichlaunched under Melton’s leadership in Fall 2004 and has sent alumni to successful  nance careers for afull decade now – is a long-established example of the University’s commitment to project-based,experiential learning.“One of the hallmarks of an undergraduate education at Roger Williams is the opportunity to getinvolved in real-world, hands-on projects that prepare graduates to thrive professionally,” Dauterivesays. “What better testament is there than our CAFE program? Dr. Melton and his student fundmanagers are proof that our undergrads can excel on the national stage with the best and brightestbusiness students from across the country.”Twenty-one students – some now alumni who graduated last May with the Class of 2013 – have beeninvolved in managing the CAFE’s national championship portfolio. Those students include:David Aldo, a Class of 2013 graduate from Redding, Conn.Robert Berlinski, a senior from Bristol, Conn.Laurel Bowers, a Class of 2013 graduate from Scottsdale, Ariz.Kyle Casserino, a Class of 2013 graduate from Southington, Conn.Christopher Ford, a senior from Plainville, Mass.Michael Forlenza, a senior from Montville, N.J.Jacqueline Goncalves, a senior from Trumbull, Conn.Ariana Imbrescia, a senior from Saugus, Mass.Alex Krzak, a senior from Unionville, Conn.Alexander Loebs, a senior from Acton, Mass.Huong “Grace” Nguyen, a senior from Da Nang, VietnamChris Pena, a Class of 2013 graduate from Pepperell, Mass.Christopher Reilly, a senior from Mont Vernon, N.H.Charles Spivey, a senior from Darien, Conn.Jason Stanley, a Class of 2013 graduate from Medway, Mass.Trevor Sybertz, a senior from Chestnut Hill, Mass.Brandon Tripodi, a senior from Darien, Conn.Robert Troy, a Class of 2013 graduate from Manchester, Conn.Daniel Walser, a Class of 2013 graduate from Southold, N.Y.Taylor Webster, a senior from Bristol, Conn.Charles Weidmuller, a Class of 2013 graduate from Mahwah, N.J.

For Student Investment Fund Managers, National Champions Times Two

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For Student Investment Fund Managers, National Champions Times Two

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