Timothy Ng, Ben Purinton, Ben McCooey and Shane Mulqueen, Auburn University Finance Seniors, are taking a big step for the Harbert College of Business by establishing a permanent student investment fund this fall; it will provide experience outside of the classroom for finance students as well as anyone with an interest in the field.
This initiative was originally put into place by two graduated Auburn students; now Ng, Purinton, McCooey and Mulqueen are following through on that groundwork.
The rising seniors, all previously members of the Auburn Investment Club, are working with the university to establish this investment fund with real money, currently slated to be between $500,000 and $1 million.
The Investment Club is now being replaced by the Auburn Student Investment Fund (ASIF).
“It’s a new organization. We’re trying to do a bit of re-branding. A lot of people are familiar with the Investment Club, or at least people within the College of Business," said Ng. “The message we’re trying to get across is that the organization doesn’t exist anymore, and in it’s place is this new student investment fund, which is a permanent and, hopefully, long-standing institution for many years to come."
In combination with having a finance professor serving as its adviser, “ASIF has worked hard with the Harbert College of Business’s administration as well as Auburn’s Endowment Office to set the ball in motion for a permanent student investment fund," said Purinton.
The gains from the portfolio’s performance will also be given back to the College of Business.
This opportunity is not limited to finance or business majors.
“We’re not going to base it on your major or a lot of the traditional factors, but we’re gonna be looking for general interest in finance and investing specifically, and we’re gonna go and cultivate that talent once they’re in," said McCooey.
ASIF is seeking applicants of all ages. Although the studetns are aware that some underclassmen may not have as much exposure to the investment industry as upperclassmen, they have the tools to train these students.
“A problem we might encounter is if a freshman sees a flyer or something and says ‘Oh, this sounds really interesting, but I don’t have any investment experience. How am I going to compete with a junior or senior who’s had maybe a couple finance internships and finance classes?’" Purinton said. “You shouldn’t be intimidated to apply if you’ve never had any experience with investing. We just want to see people that are willing to work hard and have a passion for this.”
According to University of the Pacific, 200 of the 9,000 business schools worldwide operate a student investment fund.
This fact means Auburn will be among about 2 percent of schools that provide this kind of opportunity for its students. Participation in this type of organization can secure the future for students looking to break into the investment industry.
“It’s something they’ll get meaningful benefits from year after year," said Mulqueen.
Students in participation with ASIF will utilize top research tools such as the Bloomberg terminal, Morningstar and FactSet. This is beneficial to a resume and is also a “staple” on Wall Street, according to Ng.
"We have a lot of resources that wouldn’t be available to just students in their classes," Ng said.
Training new members and establishing a strong base for the future of the organization is the main goal of ASIF right now.
“We have all the tools ready to make that happen educational-wise, so if we can get the right young students involved early on, we can have a very strong organization years ahead," McCooey said.
ASIF will be holding information sessions in Lowder Room 19 on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at 5:15 p.m., where the applications will be handed out.
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