2008 Woodie Awards
Business class to invest $500,000 in stock market
Jay Boyd
Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: News
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Business students who are taking the Bulldog Investment Fund Practicum course in the spring will receive $500,000 of real money to invest in the stock market.
The money for the class was partly given by an anonymous donation and was also pulled from Samford's endowment.
Finance professor John Venable will teach the new three-credit course, which will be "completely student run," Venable said.
"The students will call the shots and I will make the trades. Other than that, I am just taking orders and encouraging them to make wise decisions and prepare a convincing argument," he said.
Venable said the course will help give students a realistic experience.
"We have had an investment course that I have been teaching for years where students are given fake money and invest it in a fictional stock market," Venable said. "This course is a good pre-requisite for the new Bulldog Investment course, but nothing can compare to the real world of investing in the stock market."
Senior business students who have taken the appropriate pre-requisites signed up for the new class several weeks ago and will also go through an interview process with Venable.
"We can't take all the students who signed up, so their entry will be based on the interview and their performance in the investments course they are taking," Venable said.
In spite of the competitive nature of the course, students are already excited. "I think it will be a tremendous experience," senior finance major Cam Rogers said.
Also, according to Venable that students will be investing in all kinds of common stocks, will be forced to complete research, make recommendations at weekly meetings and vote on whether to buy or sell particular investments.
Three years ago Venable approached Dean of Business Beck Taylor and shared his vision of offering a course in which students are able to experience investing money in the stock market.
"Dr. Taylor and I were on the same page with this vision, but the arrival of Dr. Westmoreland really got this idea into action along with a $100,000 anonymous gift," Venable said.
The money for the class was partly given by an anonymous donation and was also pulled from Samford's endowment.
Finance professor John Venable will teach the new three-credit course, which will be "completely student run," Venable said.
"The students will call the shots and I will make the trades. Other than that, I am just taking orders and encouraging them to make wise decisions and prepare a convincing argument," he said.
Venable said the course will help give students a realistic experience.
"We have had an investment course that I have been teaching for years where students are given fake money and invest it in a fictional stock market," Venable said. "This course is a good pre-requisite for the new Bulldog Investment course, but nothing can compare to the real world of investing in the stock market."
Senior business students who have taken the appropriate pre-requisites signed up for the new class several weeks ago and will also go through an interview process with Venable.
"We can't take all the students who signed up, so their entry will be based on the interview and their performance in the investments course they are taking," Venable said.
In spite of the competitive nature of the course, students are already excited. "I think it will be a tremendous experience," senior finance major Cam Rogers said.
Also, according to Venable that students will be investing in all kinds of common stocks, will be forced to complete research, make recommendations at weekly meetings and vote on whether to buy or sell particular investments.
Three years ago Venable approached Dean of Business Beck Taylor and shared his vision of offering a course in which students are able to experience investing money in the stock market.
"Dr. Taylor and I were on the same page with this vision, but the arrival of Dr. Westmoreland really got this idea into action along with a $100,000 anonymous gift," Venable said.