School of Business

Class cashes in at national investing contest

When the phrases "return on investment" and "122 percent" are spoken in the same breath, someone's doing something right. That was the case, indeed, for the Business School's Applied Portfolio Management (APM) class. The team cashed in at the Redefining Investment Strategy Education (RISE) Symposium at the University of Dayton by claiming a runaway first place. RISE is the largest student investment conference in North America, with more than 900 participants from more than 100 colleges and universities.

This was the fourth year for the annual symposium, but it was the first time a KU team competed. The competition included five categories: fixed income, equities-growth, equities-blend, equities-value and hybrid. The KU APM class won the hybrid class, and its return of 122 percent was the highest for all categories.

"I think when you make more than 100% in one year, you're going to be up there pretty high," said Allen Ford, professor of business. Ford attended the symposium with the team, which consisted of David Brown, Joan Huber, David Iliff, Jeremy Richardson, Jacquelyn Summers and Ivo Voynov. Catharine Shenoy, assistant professor of business, teaches the APM class, but she is currently in Denmark.
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The APM class was created in 1993 from a $250,000 contribution by Kent McCarthy, b'80, g'81. Read More

1st-year MBA students make impressive showing at 2nd-year contest

Four KU MBA students set a precedent at the University of Oklahoma Price College Invitational MBA Case Competition. And next year, they hope to set a new one.

The four KU students received a Top-Three Ranking-actually, an unstated second place. The competition challenges students to solve a real-world business problem and present their solution to five judges, who act as a mock board of directors.

Held in Norman, Okla., the competition is designed for second-year MBA students, so the KU team of first-year MBA students to take second place was quite a feat.

The decision ultimately came down to a coin toss. Unfortunately, it didn't go KU's way, but the team will be back next year.

"I guess it was a really tough call, and our team was given a lot of commendations for their creativity and their presentation skills. But in the end, Oklahoma State did edge them out," said Dee Steinle, associate director of the MBA program.

When they arrived at the competition on Feb. 28, the students learned that the case was designed for second-year MBA students. Although made up entirely of first-year MBA students, the KU team wasn't intimidated. Read More

For more information visit the School of Business website.