A new state-of-the-art financial lab and trading room on campus allows UTC students to watch stocks roll by on a live market ticker, scan the latest financial news from flat screen televisions and participate in computer simulated financial trading scenarios.
Construction of the lab and trading room is part of the Finance for the Future Initiative (FFI), a new program offered by the UTC College of Business. FFI delivers academic and practical experience in the study of trading and portfolio management, with particular emphasis on the perspective of women in financial decision-making and successful trading practices. Students learn both the art and science of finance with emphasis placed on a behavioral-based understanding of trading.
This initiative is funded by Renée Haugerud and John H. Murphy. Haugerud is founder, chief investment officer and managing principal of Galtere Ltd., a registered investment advisor. Murphy, a UTC alumnus, was a student athlete in the football program. His career has included positions with Hospital Corporation of America and AXA-Equitable Old Guard.
According to Haugerud, the mission of the program is to increase diversity in trading and investing.
“I find it increasingly difficult to hire female traders. It’s more difficult today than it was ten, twenty years ago,” she said.
“This program will be a rich resource for all investment banks, investment houses, and portfolio management companies around the world to access for graduates. In addition, students who graduate from this program will be able to understand and manage their own portfolio,” Haugerud continued.
As part of the initiative, students can take behavioral finance courses, attend a yearly symposium, and receive simulated stocks trading experience on Bloomberg computers. Several students have traveled to Ontario to compete in the Rotman International Trading Competition and to New York City to visit Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange, and meet with Bloomberg trading and investment professionals.
“Our students will be Wall Street ready when they graduate,” Lauren Templeton, UTC Director for FFI, said. “They will already be trained for a job in finance.”
