At a glance
Scott DuMond, an assistant professor in Alfred State’s Business Department, said, “Among the benefits of the competition is gaining real-world experience using financial software that is employed by professionals and fiduciaries in their field."
More than a dozen Alfred State business students are gaining even more valuable hands-on, real-world experience this semester by taking part in the national E-Valuator TEAM University Challenge.
This competition was created for colleges and universities with a financial planning curriculum to facilitate the education and inspiration of students interested in a financial planning career. The challenge tasks students with using the E-Valuator investment software to evaluate mutual funds in different Morningstar categories and create a portfolio. These portfolios are measured in performance, volatility, and expense ratio, and are monitored throughout the semester, with scoring updates provided on a bi-weekly basis.
Schools competing alongside Alfred State are those with Certified Financial Planning (CFP) Board Registered programs, including Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Winthrop, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Utah Valley University.
Scott DuMond, an assistant professor in Alfred State’s Business Department, said, “Among the benefits of the competition is gaining real-world experience using financial software that is employed by professionals and fiduciaries in their field. Students will be applying the knowledge of investing that they are learning in their classes by using tools to analyze, measure, and choose mutual funds that fit their criteria and create a diversified, efficient, and cost-effective portfolio.”
Alfred State students that are involved in the competition include Jakob Brost, of Big Flats; Todd Domowicz, of Grand Island; Jaymi Dragonetti, of Hornell; Reed Goho, of Mount Morris; Jordan Graham, of Canisteo; Alexander Hawthorne, of Oneida; Kylie Helmich, of Arcade; Elvis Lopez, of Brooklyn; Spencer McNamara, of Webster; Gavin Michalski, of Cuba; Jacob Moshier, of Cuba; John Sadowski, of Almond; Trevor Hulse, of Andover; and Michaela Snook, of Camillus. All of these students are financial planning majors except Snook, who is studying business administration.
The challenge will conclude Nov. 6, with winners to be announced by Nov. 9. At the end of the challenge, the top three “portfolio managers” within each classroom will be recognized with a plaque, and the National TEAM University Challenge winner across all participating schools will receive a trophy.
For more information, visit e-valuator.com/Site/TEAMChallenge.