The Student Investment Management (SIM) program celebrated its ten-year anniversary this year in a very different place than where it began. In 1990, Ohio State entrusted Fisher students with $5 million of the university’s endowment fund to manage. Ten years later, the value of the portfolio is $22.5 million, plus $1.5 million in interest earnings transferred to the university since the program began.

Approximately 1000 MBA and undergraduate students have benefited from this hands-on experience with portfolio management and application of investment theory. Each student
serves as a security analyst, monitoring the performance of one stock throughout the quarter and researching one new stock. The students present results from their findings to the class, and through a group decision process, the class determines if that stock should be added to the portfolio.

Originally held in classrooms in Hagerty Hall, the SIM class is now housed in the Batten Investment Laboratory in Gerlach Hall. The late William “Mil” Batten, former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and a business alumnus, provided $500,000 for the facility.

The Batten Lab’s videoconferencing capabilities make it possible for students to communicate live with traders, analysts and executives from Wall Street and around the world, providing access to the latest stock market information and corporate leadership. An electronic ticker tape, donated by Nasdaq as part of its Premier Partnership Program with the college, relays current stock market prices through a digitized monitoring system. Cable-ready television and Internet access serve as important sources for financial news and information as well. Student workstations are individually wired for computer hook up and television monitoring controls.

The class is taught on an alternating basis by Stephen Buser, professor and chair of finance; Anthony Sanders, professor of finance; and Edward Jennings, William H. Davis Chair in the American Free Enterprise System and former Ohio State president.