Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Tag: Finance Club

Xin Li is COB 2021-22 Teacher of the Year

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Image of professor Xin Li
Dr. Xin Li, the Michigan Technological University College of Business Teacher of the Year

During his first year as assistant professor of finance in the College of Business (COB) at Michigan Technological University, Xin Li has been named by students as the 2021-22 COB Teacher of the Year. Li came to Michigan Tech in 2021 after earning his Ph.D. in finance from the University of Cincinnati and an M.S. in Economics from Texas A&M University.

Approaching his second year at Tech, Li is already supporting students as advisor to the Finance Club, in addition to instructing Principles of Finance; Advanced Financial Management; and Risk Management and FinTech.

“Being recognized by students is my life goal and it is the highest award for a teacher.”

Xin Li, assistant professor of finance, Michigan Tech College of Business

More than 80 COB students submitted instruction evaluation responses. Here are a few of their praises about Li:

“It is a special experience to be in a class with a professor who clearly loves what they are doing.”

“Dr. Li asks us to bring in outside opinions, so we can diversify our abilities.”

“FIN 3000 is not easy, but Dr. Li helps students understand difficult concepts to really excel.”

“He has a very logical way of teaching material and it has helped the content click for me.”

“Dr. Li expressed his confidence in me ahead of the final exam.”

Li has earned previous recognition for his teaching ability. He was the sole winner for the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award of the College of Business at University of Cincinnati. He also won the Finance Department Teaching Award and was named to  the Dean’s List of Teaching Excellence.

Image of professor Xin Li

“Dr. Li has taken personal initiative by actively engaging with students, colleagues and staff. He is an excellent addition to the COB faculty, and it’s great to see him recognized for his contributions so early in his career,” says Mari Buche, Michigan Tech College of Business associate dean.

Dean Johnson, COB dean, adds: “Dr. Li’s impact on students is so great that students go out of their way to relay their praise of his teaching to me.”

On the research side, Li’s activities center on empirical asset pricing, financial institutions and markets, and market microstructure. He’s interested in understanding how human activities interact with the financial market and drive the dynamics of security prices. While existing finance research has focused on the equity market, Li’s research targets the bond market, which is occupied by passive investors such as pension funds, insurance companies and banks. He’s hopeful his papers will shed light on the strategic roles played by passive investors.

Li is also interested in burgeoning topics such as FinTech and sustainable finance.

“I love the research environment and diversified culture in the College of Business.”

Xin Li

He presents his research at national and international conferences including American Finance Association, Financial Management Association, European Financial Management Association, Eastern Finance Association, Southern Finance Association and American Risk and Insurance Association.

About the College of Business

The Michigan Tech College of Business offers undergraduate majors in accounting, business analytics, construction management, economics, engineering management, finance, management, management information systems, and marketing, as well as a general business option. Graduate degrees include the TechMBA®, a Master of Engineering Management, a Master of Science in Accounting, and a Master of Science in Applied Natural Resource Economics.

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Finance Club Visits Chicago

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On November 4, the Finance Club had the opportunity to visit Chicago to meet with finance professionals across the industry. First they visited Northern Trust, a financial services company. The club had the opportunity to speak with professionals who specialize in areas such as wealth management and private equity. The professionals at Northern Trust emphasized the importance of taking advantages of opportunities, such as internships and school programs like APMP. Students also learned that it is important to constantly challenge themselves to make a lifetime career, not just a job.

The club then had the opportunity to tour Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE). There, the club learned how trading used to be conducted in the chaotic world of trading floors and see how much technology has impacted trading and investing.

Students were also able to tour the Chicago Federal Reserve where they learned about the role the Federal Reserve plays in the U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve is responsible for functions such as setting monetary policy and regulating the banking industry. It is also responsible for keeping the money supply at sustainable levels around the country. The club had roughly $3 billion of cash under their feet as they learned about the nation’s bank.

After a successful trip to Chicago, the Finance Club says they are ready to spread knowledge throughout campus through multiple financial literacy events.  Stay tuned for more information!

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FinanceU Is Most Exceptional!

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At the 20th Annual Student Leadership Awards on Friday, April 18, FinanceU received the honor of Exceptional Program of the Year.  FinanceU, an event in financial literacy put on by the Office of Financial Aid and the School of Business and Economics’ Finance Club on November 20, owes some of its success to its partnership with Michigan Tech’s Office of Financial Aid and Wells Fargo Bank.

The Finance Club and the Office of Financial Aid have partnered to produce the successful FinanceU events in order to help students make informed financial decisions.  FinanceU’s mission is to foster a greater sense of financial literacy among all students, regardless of major.  Topics discussed at this year’s event included financial aid opportunities, how to manage one’s personal finances, starting and continuously funding a substantial retirement plan, and provided students with online tools to help manage all of these aspects.  Financial Aid Advisor, Cindy Cowell, and Wells Fargo Store Manager, Ellie Freeman, were on hand to answer questions from audience members, but the main focus of the event was for students to present information to other students, since research shows that individuals are better able to understand a message when it is delivered by a peer.

This second consecutive FinanceU event held at its roots the same message as last year’s activity; Michigan Tech students were given the knowledge and power needed to enable them to begin making sound financial decisions before even graduating from college.  Similar to the previous year’s event, a survey was administered to participants, asking them to rate their knowledge of budgeting.  This year’s FinanceU event was so successful that the number of participants doubled, with over 200 students completing the surveys.

Brett Ludwig, 2013/2014 President of the Finance Club was extremely proud of FinanceU’s accomplishments.  “With this year being the second time FinanceU has put on the event,” Ludwig remarked, “we were hoping that it would be bigger and better than last year.  Mission accomplished.  With Donzel Dixson [Finance Club member] on the bullhorn outside, the flow of students coming to the booth as well as Finance Club members going throughout the library to ask people questions were astounding.  We’re excited to host more events in the future.”  Ludwig will be graduating in a few weeks, but will leave the Finance Club in the capable hands of Heath Johnson, 2014/2015 President.

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No Longer ‘Broke and Hungry’

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Front left moving clockwise: Heath Johnson, James Sturos (Treasurer), Daniel Olson, Derek Menard (Secretary), Brett Ludwig (President), and Cory Sullivan pose with Shelly Larson and Dan Dalquist, Edward Jones advisors

On Wednesday, April 9th, The Michigan Tech Finance Club hosted their second event of “Broke and Hungry?”.  53 students attended the event, lured by the promise of knowledge and pizza.  This year, local Edward Jones advisors Dan Dalquist and Shelly Larson took the time to talk to students about investing their money.  The main topic for discussion was the transition from college life to getting that first job, as well as the importance of saving for retirement.  Dalquist preached to students from all majors about technical financial topics such as tax savings, retirement plans, and asset securities.  Presenting some scary statistics about the current financial situation of most Americans, Dalquist and Larson appealed to audience members about the merits of getting their finances in order.  Since Tech students are numbers-driven, students were able to clearly see the drawbacks of waiting to save for retirement.  Ensuing the presentation was a barrage of questions.  Students were very interested in both advisors’ opinions of the future states of the market, social security, inflation, and how Edward Jones operates.  Even after the session concluded, both advisors spoke with many students one-on-one to answer specific questions.

Brett Ludwig, President of the Finance Club, talked to a few of the students in order to gauge their reactions to the presentation.  Overall, everyone seemed to enjoy the event and got a lot out of it.  One student, who is going to work for a company in Texas after graduation commented, “I’m looking at all this right now and this is exactly what I needed to know.”  The event was a hit and the Finance Club hopes to be able to host more events of this nature in the future for students.  A huge thank you goes to Dan Dalquist and Shelly Larson for making this one possible.

On behalf of the Finance Club, we hope you don’t wait until you’re broke and hungry to join us for the next event!

**This article was written by Brett Ludwig, with contributions from Emanuel Oliveira and Laura Bucci.

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