COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. Students at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs are getting real-life experience in the nation’s challenging financial markets as part of a Northwest U.S.-based investment firm’s student investment program.
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs is one of 18 colleges and universities participating in Great Falls, Montana-based D.A. Davidson & Co.’s Student Investment Program. About 25 students enrolled in Finance 470, offered by the College of Business and Administration at the university, were given $50,000 from the firm to invest and manage. The students will break into five teams and will manage $10,000 each over a nine-month period. Profits earned by the students above 5 percent will be divided between D.A. Davidson and a university scholarship fund. Any losses will be absorbed by D.A. Davidson.
“We are excited to be part of D.A. Davidson’s student investment program,” Venkat Reddy, interim dean, College of Business and Administration, said. “The opportunity for students to apply classroom lessons to a real-life environment creates a win-win partnership for everyone involved.”
Students enrolled in the course will meet weekly with team members to discuss investment strategy, attend seminars offered by financial professionals, research and analyze investment decisions and make formal stock trading recommendations to a class investment committee.
The participating students were selected by a review of applications and may be eligible for a paid summer internship with D.A. Davidson & Co. and the opportunity to earn a securities broker license.
Founded in 1935, D.A. Davidson & Co. is an independently owned, full-service investment firm with offices in eight states. D.A. Davidson & Co. is owned by Davidson Companies, a financial services holding company based in Great Falls, Montana. Also part of Davidson Companies are Davidson Trust Co., a wealth management and trust operation, Davidson Investment Advisors, a professional money management firm, and Davidson Travel, a full-service travel agency.
The College of Business and Administration is among the fewer than 30 percent of all business schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.CU-Colorado Springs, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls more than 7,700 students annually.