Walton College Student to Appear on CNBC

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – An MBA student in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the  University of Arkansas will appear on the CNBC program, Squawk on the Street, broadcast from the New York Stock Exchange, at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26. 

Corey Scott is a member of the Shollmier MBA Fund portfolio management class.

“The Shollmier MBA Fund came to the attention of CNBC when it won first place in the Graduate Hybrid Funds Class in a student-run portfolio competition,” said Craig Rennie, Walton College faculty class advisor. The event was part of the eighth annual Redefining Investment Strategy Education Forum held at the University of Dayton in Ohio, March 27-29. More than 2,300 students from 257 schools in 69 countries attended the competition.

“On the program, Corey will discuss some of the successful investment strategies that the Shollmier Fund has used,” said Rennie, associate professor of finance and holder of the Clete and Tammy Brewer Chair “In 2007, the fund portfolio saw an 18.99 percent annualized return compared to the S&P 500’s 5.49 percent annualized return.”

The Shollmier MBA Fund was established in 2000 with a $250,000 investment from University of Arkansas alumni and brothers Dudley and Ken Shollmier. As of August 11, 2008, it was valued at $339,518.34.

Squawk on the Street provides viewers with the up-to-the minute news from every major market around the world. The show not only reports the headlines of the day, but also it puts top market guests on the air to provide the instant analysis of all the market moving news. The show also takes viewers onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Each week, the Shollmier MBA Fund class meets with the Rebsamen Fund undergraduate portfolio management class and Garrison Financial Institute staff to discuss the investment portfolio and to make buy, sell or hold recommendations. The top 10 holdings in the Shollmier Fund are cash, Berkshire Hathaway Class B, McDonald’s, Foster Wheeler, Cameron International Corp, Walt Disney, Transocean, Oneok, CME Group, and Caterpillar.

Walton College students and faculty manage five portfolios, totaling approximately $12 million, including the Rebsamen Fund, an undergraduate hybrid fund with about $1.3 million that is also the third oldest student managed fund in the world; the Shollmier MBA Fund; the Arvest Fixed Income Fund, a $5 million fixed income fund belonging to Arvest Bank; and two separate accounts, one with $5 million and one with $250,000.

The Redefining Investment Strategy Education VIII Forum was sponsored by the University of Dayton, United Nations Global Compact, Deutsche Asset Management, Aman Stock Exchange, Bovespa, CFA Institute, CME Group, CNBC, Colombo Stock Exchange, Dubai Financial Market, The Financial Services Forum, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Morningstar, NASDAQ, New York Stock Exchange, Palestine Securities Exchange, Shangai Stock Exchange, The Wall Street Journal and TIAA-CREF. The conference brings together students, faculty and Wall Street in an interactive learning environment to discuss significant issues that confront investment professionals.

The forum annually welcomes universities with student-managed portfolios to showcase their success in the areas of growth, value, blend, alternative, fixed income and hybrid styles of management. Twelve month risk-adjusted returns are used to identify the top portfolio team in each investment category at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The forum included keynote presentations by nationally renowned industry professionals, specialized breakout sessions focusing on a range of investment, career strategies and academic program development related issues as well as security analysis and portfolio management workshops.