Real money. Real stakes. Real learning.

Students suit up, complete with fancy shoes, to present to the LaPorte family what they’ve accomplished with real investment funds. It’s time to put hands-on learning to the test.

“Now we actually have freshmen and sophomores who are getting involved very early in managing portfolios, real money portfolios, not the kind of things you might play with,” said Dr. William Trainor, Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of Finance.

With real money at stake and the realistic pressure of other people’s money being on the line, students become much more deliberate about what kind of stocks, ETFs, or other investments they choose.

“The sense of responsibility gives a whole different light to the exercise and doesn’t become an exercise anymore. It becomes dollars and cents,” states Trainor.

Through a mix of learning the fundamentals and rolling up their sleeves to invest, students gain a deeper understanding of what business is truly about. They prepare for the day-to-day realities they’ll face after graduation, getting a behind-the-scenes look at investing before committing decades to a career in finance.

“Programs like this create a bridge between education and industry, and I’m proud to support an initiative that gives students such a meaningful head start,” said Chairman Joe LaPorte of Citizens Bank. “I want to thank Cullen Cusack with Raymond James and the Center for the Study of Finance for partnering with us in making this program a reality."

The hands-on learning goes both ways.

Students have the opportunity to learn from faculty members with years of professional experience, but the faculty members also learn from the students.

“Quite often, students introduce new ideas; for example, there’s algorithmic trading now based solely on social media posts, ”said Kevin Kilgore, Professor of Practice and Associate Director of the Center for the Study of Finance. “They’re learning. They’re in it every day. I think it’s beneficial to us as instructors to have them around, instructing us.”

New student ideas and ambition helped fuel this hands-on, collaborative learning. Seeing a need and opportunity to create something to help students with financial literacy, ETSU College of Business and Technology students Yusuf Sulaiman and Milind Chaturvedi, representing the Students of Finance Association (SOFA), pitched their idea for a student-run investment fund directly to ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland, and it was approved. Now, as a student organization opportunity, the barriers to entering the finance and investing world have been lowered.

“With the portion of the funds, the Citizens Bank Fund, that the SOFA manages, it's very educational. In the first half of the semester, we focus on training first-year and sophomore students who haven’t had experience with equity valuation or even the basics. That way, in the second half of the semester, they can make clear, concise stock recommendations,” states Sulaiman. “Being able to learn those excellent technical skills early has helped them not only make good stock picks for our fund, but it’s also helped them in internship interviews.”

This hands-on learning uniquely prepares students to excel in interviews because they can reference real-world experience. They’re able to explain the reasoning behind their decisions, discuss their research into trends and analytics, and describe situations where their choices had real consequences. These are the kinds of examples they can draw on in interviews and the same skills they’ll apply throughout their careers.

“These students are using those skills to make themselves more employable by going into those big-name kind of finance roles like consulting, banking, investment banking, and financial analysis for companies in Johnson City,” said Sulaiman.

The benefit of this hands-on learning is that it is wide-reaching and intentional. Students learn valuable skills and experience that contribute to their career, and businesses receive employees who come in with a higher level of understanding. “Part of the mission of the center is to connect with businesses and the community, get feedback, and tailor our student learning toward practical application,” stated Kilgore.

With opportunities like these, the barriers to learning about investing are falling away, opening the door for students and the region to grow together.