Portland State becomes first school to win top award in back-to-back years
D.A. Davidson & Co. today announced that a student team from Portland State University has been named the winner of the annual Fred Dickson Memorial Award, the top award in the firm’s Student Investment Program, while also completing the year with the fourth-best-performing portfolio. A Washington State University team had the top-performing portfolio in the program, enjoying a total return of 44.5 percent for the program year.
The Fred Dickson Memorial Award honors one team annually that is considered the most outstanding participant in D.A. Davidson’s Student Investment Program. In selecting the winning program, roughly two-thirds of the award criteria is investment performance based on 1-year total returns and 3-year and 5-year risk adjusted returns while one-third of the criteria is based on qualitative factors including how well programs stick to their stated investment processes and the overall level of student engagement.
Portland State’s 1-year total return of 26.3% ranked 4th out of 21 schools participating in the program and compared to a total return of 15.9% for the broader market index over the program year period. Portland State also posted the top overall, risk-adjusted returns over both the 3-year and 5-year periods.
As winners of the ninth annual award and the first back-to-back winner, Portland State University will receive a $2,000 check and an invitation to an exclusive event hosted by D.A. Davidson.
“This program provides a unique opportunity for aspiring financial professionals to learn a range of valuable skills, and Portland State has consistently delivered a high-value student experience,” said James Ragan, Director of Wealth Management Research for D.A. Davidson and co-head of the company’s Student Investment Program.
Ed Turnquist, Vice President, Financial Advisor in D.A. Davidson’s Lake Oswego branch, serves as the D.A. Davidson advisor to the Portland State University team along with Portland State University Associate Professor of Finance Dr. Piman Limpaphayom.
“The PSU students built their portfolio by focusing on high-quality companies with a goal to hold those stocks for an extended period of time,” said Dr. Limpaphayom. “Their analysis suggested that recent consensus views had skewed overly bullish or bearish as compared to historical norms. That led to wider swings in investor sentiment and allowed the students to be opportunistic and buy high quality stocks at attractive prices.”
For the program, D.A. Davidson provides student teams from senior-level investment courses at 21 Western and Midwestern colleges and universities with $50,000 to invest in the stock market, for a total commitment of $1.05 million 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 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 2022-2023 program recently ended, D.A. Davidson’s donation totaled $60,111. In the 29 years since D.A. Davidson began sharing program profits, the company has donated $894,235 in profits to participating institutions.
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 with corporate headquarters in Great Falls, Montana, and regional headquarters in Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Omaha and Seattle, the company has approximately 1,620 employees and offices in 30 states.
Subsidiaries include: D.A. Davidson & Co., a full-service investment firm providing wealth management, investment banking, equity and fixed income capital markets services, and advice; Davidson Investment Advisors, a professional asset management firm; and D.A. Davidson Trust Company, a trust and wealth management company.
For more information, visit dadavidson.com.