Not only do you get the applicable knowledge, but you get the experience of working with a team trying to achieve the same goal. I gained applicable knowledge to my field, but I also gained an interesting story to tell recruiters. I got to describe something that I was passionate about. That was certainly the most valuable. — Cole Barrett ’17
Imagine being in charge of a $100,000 investment fund, buying stocks and bonds on the financial market. Real trades, real time. Real world.
University of Lynchburg students do just that at the Center for Financial Analysis. The Board of Trustees set aside part of the University’s endowment to create the Student-managed Investment Fund. These students gain experience and credentials to help them in their careers.
At the center’s trading room in Schewel Hall, students from a variety of majors work together, investing in exchange-traded funds and gaining real-world financial market experience. They take on roles that you might find in a finance firm, like financial analyst, trader, and head of investment, and use smart financial tools, like the Bloomberg Terminal.
The Bloomberg Terminal, used by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, has been described as “the most powerful and flexible platform for financial professionals who need real-time data, news and analytics to make smarter, faster, more informed decisions.”
In addition to learning to use the terminal effectively, students can become Bloomberg certified through Bloomberg Market Concepts at no additional cost, which is a plus on their résumé and Wall Street.
The trading room has three Rise feeds — large monitors that display financial news and live data on commodities, interest rates, and stocks from U.S. and foreign markets — and subscriptions to eSignal and Morningstar, which are popular tools for investors.
University of Lynchburg graduates are taking the certifications, skills, and experiences gained in the trading room out into the workplace and careers with top financial firms like Standard & Poor’s and Aegon USA.
