Class Meeting Activities. As faculty advisor, my role is to advise the class on specific areas of interest, concern, or “best practices.” While I will set the direction for the class, Directors and Team leaders will be responsible to lead the meetings, make assignments, follow through on assignments, and help with the grading process. 

 

This class is run by the students, supplemented by guest speakers, and overseen by the faculty advisor. This requires all of us to come to class prepared to take assignments, discuss ideas, request clarification, answer questions, and fulfill assignments.

 

This approach requires a maturity and commitment on your part to regularly receive and fulfill assignments, prepare and present as required, and be prepared and contribute to all discussions. If we succeed, we succeed as a team. If we fail, we fail as a team. If you miss a meeting, it is your responsibility to find out from a team member what we did and any changes in schedule, etc. 

 

My position is similar to an outside consultant, although I will make all purchases and sales.   While I will generally “vote with management;” I reserve final say in all matters which I feel would jeopardize the long-term viability of the class. 

 

Class Meeting Times. This class meets twice each week, on Mondays and Thursdays. Monday time is mainly for education, assignments, and reporting on assignments. Thursday time is mainly for presentations on additions to the “Watch List” and proposed new investment ideas. We will be linking with GFA on five of the Thursday presentation days. In addition, Internship students are invited to observe the Wednesday presentations.

 

Teamwork.Students are divided into teams for a majority of the assignments. Team members work together to brainstorm ideas, develop concepts, divide assignments to analyze companies, and then present ideas and results to the entire class.

 

Computers/Spreadsheets. Laptops and familiarity with major word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software is a given for all investment professionals. All reports, presentations, spreadsheets, and graphics must be done using commercially available computer programs and software. Please note that we will be keeping both a hard and electronic copy of all company reports in a research book for posterity.