Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Student Organizations

Common Sense Investing Event Benefits Business Students

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Last Thursday evening, Vice President of Trust Investments at Superior National Bank, Chris Gariepy, spoke to a full room of Michigan Tech students as he shared his knowledge on common sense investing.  Chris discussed highlights from his career on investing and money management.  This event was supported by the Finance Club which promotes interest and knowledge in the field of Finance. The objectives of the Club are to increase interest in finance among Michigan Tech business students by relating the experiences of students, professors and alumni and to provide business students a comprehensive understanding of the finance industry.

Superior National Bank Vice President of Trust Investments addresses students at Finance Club event.

Chris also provided valuable insight into what it takes as a new college graduate to start investing.  Senior, finance major Walker Derby, said “I really enjoyed hearing from someone local who had pertinent advice for people going into the field as well as for individuals who are looking for a greater grasp on financial knowledge.”  Derby also noted that having someone with extensive experience in the financial industry address questions was enlightening, especially for students who are new to the field.

Students in attendance from all School of Business and Economics majors benefited from the event.  The information that Chris brought was insightful on real world applications and interactions of finance, management, economics, and accounting concepts.

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APMP Students Win CFA Challenge in Kalamazoo

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Michigan Tech APMP students placed first in the CFA Challenge. (L to R: Anna Paul, Jessica Zaiki, Justin Wilson, Eli Karttunen, and APMP Director Dean Johnson)

Michigan Tech’s student team took first place at the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) Institute Research Challenge held in Kalamazoo recently. With the win, the team advances to the Americas Regional competition to be held in Toronto, March 20-21.

In the challenge, the students from five universities analyzed Perrigo, a pharmaceutical company, and made investment recommendations to them. The Michigan Tech team had traveled to Perrigo’s headquarters last semester to begin their research. The challenge was held on the campus of Western Michigan University.

“We based our recommendation on four basic factors: strong business fundamentals, sustainable growth factors, positive industry outlook and limited risk factors,” said team member Jessica Zaiki. “Paired with strong financials, these fundamentals gave us an overall buy recommendation for Perrigo.”

Teammate Anna Paul added, “Since we’ve made our recommendation, the Perrigo’s price has risen and is approaching our target price.”

“The team had to prepare written reports and oral presentations to a panel of Wall Street executives,” said advisor Dean Johnson, the James and Delores Trethewey Professor in the School of Business and Economics. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for students to have a real-world experience of what it’s like to make an investment recommendation.”

The Tech students participating are also members of the Applied Portfolio Management Program (APMP), a student group that invests more than $1 million in the stock market.

Other schools participating in the competition were Grand Valley State University, Ferris State University, the University of Toledo and Western Michigan University.

The Research Challenge was hosted by the CFA Society of West Michigan, an association of investment professionals: portfolio managers, security analysts, investment advisors, and other financial professionals.

Jeff Tryka, CFA Society of West Michigan president, congratulated Michigan Tech and said, “This is the third year we’ve sponsored the competition, and each year we have seen the quality of research and presentations improve on those of previous years, so it’s clear that every student who participated in the competition should be proud of their accomplishment.”

“We’re very excited to be heading to Toronto to represent Michigan Tech and the whole region to the next level,” said team member Eli Karttunen. “It’s an amazing opportunity for which our hard work is paying off.”

Financial support for the students’ participation in the CFA Challenge also came from James and Dolores Trethewey.

Written by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor in University Marketing and Communications.

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Entrepreneurs’ Club Presents: A Dialogue with Patricia Henderson

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From Ms. Henderson's visit with the Entrepreneurs Club in 2010.

Funding Startups and the Entrepreneurial Experience

Ms. Henderson is an esteemed alum of MTU.  She is an entrepreneur and president of Cygani, Inc. in Chicago.

Please join us on Friday, February 8th, from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm in Fisher Room 126.
All majors are welcome!

Ms. Henderson visited the Entrepreneurs Club in 2010. Read the article from that event.

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School of Business and Economics to compete in All-Nighter!

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All Nighter Competition kicks off at 4:00 pm on Wednesday, February 6th!

Calling all School of Business and Economics students, faculty, staff and friends…  Winter Carnival is just around the corner and we want to invite you to join in on the fun!!  We have entered the School of Business and Economics in the all-nighter competition again this year.  We have done well in the past and hope to continue that streak this year!

The theme for Winter Carnival 2013 is “Heroes and Villians Find Their Powers, In These Frozen Winter Hours!”  For more Winter Carnival information and events check out the official website.  Our statue will include a superman symbol with the “S” being replaced with a “$”.  The quote we have selected is: Super students have the power to double your money in an hour.

The all-nighter is next Wednesday, February 6th starting at 4:00 pm. As the name suggests, we will be building all night long (or at least until we are satisfied with our design).  We will be providing  pizzas, coffee, hot cocoa, and some baked goods for all statue builders!

We hope to see you all next Wednesday even if it is just to socialize and kick off the event!

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What happened this semester? Fall 2012 Student Project Round-up.

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It seemed like just yesterday that campus was green and the sun was shining–wait, that was yesterday. Even with a relatively mild fall as a distraction, the students in the School of Business and Economics have been busy making significant advances in their own professional development, marketing savvy, and knowledge conquests. Reflect back with us as we review a few of the best class projects from the Fall 2012 semester at Michigan Tech.

APMP students, Anna Paul, Jessica Zaiki, Mike Harry, and Justin Wilson met with Perrigo's CFO to discuss corporate financial decision making.

On-Site Company Research for Finance Competition at Perrigo

In late November, four students in the Applied Portfolio Management Program traveled to Perrigo, the largest manufacturer of over-the-counter pharmaceuticals in the United States, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan as part of the CFA Institute Research Challenge. This competition brings students, publicly traded companies, and industry investment professionals together to promote hands-on mentoring and intensive training in company analysis and presentation skills.

Anna Paul, Jessica Zaiki, Mike Harry, and Justin Wilson took part in the investor relations meeting and talked to Perrigo’s CFO, Judy Brown, about financial decision making and analysis within the company. The students will now take the information and compile financial forecasting to present at a competition against five other schools at Western Michigan in February.

“This trip made learning about the actual company so much easier than pulling information from the website,” said Paul. “It’s nice to see that a world leader in the pharmaceutical industry cares about the local community and not about cutting corners.”

This is the first year that Michigan Tech was able to take part in this competition thanks to the support given to APMP by Jim and Dolores Trethewey.

Management Information Systems Students Team Up with Blue Terra Energy

Dave Camps, CEO of Blue Terra Energy, LLC, pictured with Emily Jensen, Rachel Plafchan, and Seth Stever, students in MIS 4100.

Emily Jensen, Rachel Plafchan, and Seth Stever worked closely with Blue Terra Energy LLC, a local energy company in Hancock, to develop a usable database system as part of an upper-division management and information systems class. Assistant Professor in Management Information Systems (MIS), Haiyan Huang, orchestrated the curriculum to include this experiential learning opportunity.

“The goal was to streamline the data collection, organization, updating, reporting, and analysis processes for the company,” she added.

Working closely with client Dave Camps, CEO of Blue Terra Energy and ’93 Mechanical Engineering alum, students were able to create a workable database with customized customer fields, inputs, and sorting that will keep projects running smoothly.

“I have been very uneasy about our data and the cost to maintain it. I am very excited about the system the students developed and it has great potential,” said Camps. “This system is really going to help us a lot to track customers, schedules and orders. It will allow us to move forward more aggressively. I am eager to get this implemented on our server.”

Finance U: Educates Michigan Tech Students about Financial Literacy

First FinanceU Event hosted at Michigan Tech. A partnership between the Finance Club and the Office of Financial Aid.

During December, the Michigan Tech Finance Club, in partnership with the Michigan Tech Office of Financial Aid, held the first FinanceU educational event at the J.R. Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library. Aimed at fostering financial literacy on campus, the event was specifically tailored to students, regardless of class and major. Finance Club members offered personal consultations and information related to personal finance, financial aid opportunities, the upcoming FAFSA for 2013-14, and useful tips on how to benefit from CashCourse – a free online personal finance program sponsored by the Alumni Association.

“Since last May, this fantastic group of students and financial aid representatives have been working together on organizing and developing content to make FinanceU as effective and fun as possible for everyone, regardless of class and major,” said Finance Club Advisor, Dr. Emanuel Oliveira. “Now it is time to learn from this first experience and the 69 questionnaires we were able to collect from students concerning their demographics and financial habits. Ultimately, the goal is to make FinanceU an annual financial literacy event on campus though we are also seriously considering the feasibility of holding it every semester. We sincerely believe that all participants have something to win from this.”

A Leaner Meaner Brand: Students Report on Subway’s Marketing

Amber Campbell, Michael Bennet, Joel Vertin, and Qin Xu developed a marketing plan to improve the brand of Subway in both America and China.  As part of the MBA Marketing, Technology, and Globalization course taught by Assistant Professor of Marketing Soonkwan Hong, the team worked together to present a compelling case for change. The final presentation is available on the School of Business and Economics YouTube channel.

Marketing for Local Businesses: Gitzen Company

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yupfjG_s1CU[/youtube]

Students in Assistant Professor of Marketing Jun Min’s Business-to-Business marketing course provide marketing consulting for local companies. This student consulting project was designed to apply knowledge of marketing theories in a real business context, evaluate the practices of the client company, and develop an advertising strategy for potential customers.

A team of students including Angela Barr, Kaylee Betzinger, Chyanne Knudsen, Samantha Robbins, Christina Ruth, and Sarah Vadnais put together a strategy that included a commercial (above) for Gitzens Company that provides food products such as candy and snacks and operates out of Houghton, Michigan.

Digital Marketing for ShareBliss.com

ShareBliss.com is a new website that combines features from popular social sites, such as Pinterest and Sharethis, and integrates online advertising by using Googles Ad Sense. While ShareBliss.com is a live site, the founders are completing beta testing and needed digital marketing advice for their formal launch.  Instructor Cindy McColley’s Digital Marketing class completed projects and sent them to the ShareBliss.com founders who were thrilled to obtain thoughts and insights from the Michigan Tech students; and they were impressed with the quality and detail of the work.

View the ShareBliss.com digital marketing projects from Lindsee Willis and Alexander Alsobrooks.

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