Students at Hood College can now play the stock market and directly learn how investing works, due to the implementation of the Blazing Alpha Fund.
\nThe Fund contains $100,000 allotted by the Board of Trustees for use by students pursuing business or accounting majors. All of the money for the Fund was provided by donors. The fund is managed almost entirely by the students themselves, with minimal input from faculty or administrators.
\nStudents in MGMT 370, also known as Investment Practicum, analyze the trends of the market in their weekly class. With some guidance from Prof. Matthew McGreevy, the instructor, they choose the amount to invest and what to invest it in.
\nNigol Keurkunian, a student and founding member of the program, said that the Fund was intended \u201cto promote the skills and interest of students, and teach them about the financial industry through real world investments.\u201d
\nThe first investment by students was made near the end of January 2017. Investments are divided by sector and handled by different students. Currently, there are six sectors that students can focus on: energy, industrial, financial, IT (technology), consumer, and healthcare.
\nThe Fund and class were first discussed as possibilities with the construction of the Rosenstock trade room in fall 2015. The Blazer Reinvestment Club, a predecessor to the class, began in spring 2016, just as work began on the Fund.
\nAccording to the Fund\u2019s initial report, its end goal is to \u201cbecome an educational tool for years to come and increase the esteem of the finance program at the college.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"