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Big Red Investment Club Offers Students Investment Experience

Big Red Investment Club Offers Students Investment Experience
Tiara Tingle, BRIC president and junior finance major from Brandon, South Dakota, welcomes members to the BRIC meeting
The Big Red Investment Club (BRIC) at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln offers its members a chance to gain real world experience managing portfolios, researching companies and networking with top financial managers. Launched in 2012 and supported by the College of Business Administration, the club meets every Wednesday at Kauffman Residential Center at 8 p.m., and is open to all students at Nebraska.
 
“During the meetings, we manage a portfolio worth $200,000. Since its inception, the club’s investments have brought in a return of about 20 percent of total assets. We use Warren Buffett’s (’51) value investing principles and break into small teams to conduct research on target companies before presenting our findings, focusing on companies that are undervalued while aiming for a hold period of 5-10 years,” said Alan Davis, junior finance and agribusiness major from Elkhorn, Nebraska.
 
In addition to portfolio management, members attend weekly meetings and other events such as the BRIC Roundtable Event held in the fall, bringing together professionals from the Lincoln and Omaha finance community.
 
John Dannenbring, sophomore finance and economics major from Yankton, South Dakota, discusses stocks
John Dannenbring, sophomore finance and economics major from Yankton, South Dakota, discusses stocks
Students attended roundtable sessions where they received 15 minutes to ask questions to finance professionals. This year’s event welcomed John Gustafson, managing director of CFO Capital, LLC and founder and president of Ideation Ventures; Chris Leitner, managing director at Tenaska; Tom Pflug, president of Pflug Koory, LLC; Lee Stuart, CEO of NBC Bancshares, LLC; Matthew Bruensbach, growth equity investor with McCarthy Capital; Chris Hove, president and CEO of Nebraska Bank of Commerce; and Daniel Frost, vice president and senior portfolio manager with Union Bank and Trust. Some of the professionals also serve on the college’s Department of Finance advisory board.
 
“The Roundtable Event is valuable because it puts you in front of high-powered professionals. They are Nebraska alumni who went on to make a name for themselves in the finance field. It’s good to get a scope of what’s possible with a degree from Nebraska,” Davis said.
 
Not only does BRIC offer networking opportunities, but every spring, the executive team travels to the annual Global Asset Management Education Forum, a three-day conference held in New York City that brings together the sharpest minds in finance. Held by Quinnipiac University, the G.A.M.E. Forum is the largest of its kind in the world and attracts more than 1,200 students from 150 colleges and 37 countries. Members of the investment club network and listen to more than 100 professionals speak about various topics including investment strategies and the role of social media in the stock market.
 
“Participating in BRIC gives you the opportunity to meet with leading professionals in the field and discuss career opportunities. It helps you understand how to talk to upper management and gives you a chance to ask questions and develop from their wealth of knowledge. Students of all majors can benefit from the experience, whether it’s in their classes, their career or managing their retirement fund,” Davis said.
 
To learn more about BRIC, visit http://cba.unl.edu/current-students/organizations/#BRIC
Published: March 6, 2017