18 schools earn profit-sharing checks from hands-on portfolio program
D.A. Davidson & Co. today announced that a student team from Gonzaga University had the top-performing portfolio in the company’s annual Student Investment Program, enjoying a total return of 50.4 percent for the program year.
“The student teams were able to capture many of the impressive returns that could be found in markets over the last year,” said Brent Williams, Wealth Management Research Analyst for D.A. Davidson and co-head of the company’s Student Investment Program.
This program provides a unique opportunity for aspiring financial professionals to learn a range of valuable skills, and we’re honored to partner with these schools.
-Brent Williams, Research Analyst
For the program, D.A. Davidson provides student teams from senior-level investment courses at 20 Western and Midwestern colleges and universities with $50,000 to invest in the stock market, for a total $1 million commitment annually. Each team makes investment decisions with the guidance of a local D.A. Davidson financial advisor and manages the portfolio for one year, starting Sept. 1. The program is designed to provide a hands-on experience in finance, stock research, portfolio management and investment topics.
The top-performing teams receive a check for their college, earning half of any portfolio gains above 5 percent. D.A. Davidson absorbs any losses. For the 2017-2018 program recently ended, 18 of the 20 participating teams earned checks for a total D.A. Davidson donation of $70,758 — the second largest total donation since the program’s inception — including an $11,356.84 check to Gonzaga. In the 24 years since D.A. Davidson began sharing program profits, the company has donated $623,722 in profits to participating institutions.
Gonzaga University’s impressive 50.4 percent return for the year was more than twice the 19.6 percent total return for the S&P 500 Index* and the 21 percent return for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, two standard benchmarks for the stock market, for the same period.
The team with the year’s second best return was from the University of Idaho, with a 36.0 percent return. The University of Washington followed with the third highest return at 29.0 percent. An additional seven schools also generated returns above the S&P 500:
- Montana State University-Billings with a 26.3 percent return;
- University of Oregon with a 25.2 percent return;
- Idaho State University with a 23.9 percent return;
- Montana State University Bozeman with a 23.6 percent return;
- University of Utah with a 22.6 percent return;
- Washington State University with a 21.2 percent return; and
- Eastern Washington University with a 20.1 percent return.
D.A. Davidson separately named Gonzaga as winner of the Fred Dickson Memorial Award, awarded annually to one outstanding team for overall excellence and adherence to program standards. In addition to Gonzaga demonstrating consistent long-term performance, the school has adhered to a well-developed and consistently applied investment process and displayed a high level of program engagement. The team will receive a $2,000 award and an invitation to participate in an expense-paid trip for five participants to one of D.A. Davidson’s most prestigious events.
Gonzaga joined D.A. Davidson’s Student Investment Program in 1997 and has been guided since then by Dr. Clarence “Bud” Barnes. Gonzaga is the first two-time winner of the Fred Dickson Memorial Award after winning also in 2016.
Michael Jackson, Senior Vice President, Financial Advisor and Branch Manager, serves as D.A. Davidson advisor to the Gonzaga team. Jackson said Barnes and his student teams have implemented a rigorous process for identifying investments and participating in the program that help them excel.
“The class not only places parameters around the portfolio including sector weightings, but Professor Barnes also challenges every student to do proper background work along with presentation of potential portfolio additions as they manage the portfolio over the school year,” Jackson said. “When you look at the historical returns for Gonzaga, we come to one conclusion: process matters. Go Zags!”
The Student Investment Program was launched in 1985 at Montana State University and gradually added colleges throughout the West and the Midwest since that time.
About D.A. Davidson Companies
D.A. Davidson Companies is an employee-owned financial services firm offering a range of financial services and advice to individuals, corporations, institutions and municipalities nationwide. Founded in 1935 and headquartered in Montana, with corporate offices in Denver, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle, the company has approximately 1,350 employees and offices in 25 states.
Subsidiaries include: D.A. Davidson & Co., the largest full-service investment firm headquartered in the Northwest, providing wealth management, investment banking, equity and fixed income capital markets services and advice; Davidson Investment Advisors, a professional asset management firm; D.A. Davidson Trust Company, a trust and wealth management company; and Davidson Fixed Income Management, a registered investment adviser providing fixed income portfolio and advisory services.
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D.A. Davidson Companies.
Disclaimer: Indices provide a general source of information on how various market segments and types of investment have performed in the past. The information on the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average is presented for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to imply potential performance results. Index performance assumes the reinvestment of all distributions, but does not assume any transaction costs, taxes, management fees or other expenses. Indices are not available for direct investment.