Binghamton investment fund gives School of Management students firsthand finance experience

One of the best examples of a real-world learning experience is found in Binghamton University’s School of Management’s Zurack Trading Room, where students gain firsthand knowledge by investing real money through the Binghamton Investment Fund.

The Binghamton Investment Fund — a club that started in 2016 — allows students to collaborate on strategies for purchasing and buying stocks with the hopes of increasing the fund’s value. Students work in teams to analyze changes in different industries, while select upperclassmen work in the alternatives division to analyze different assets. The students’ work is paying off, since the fund’s initial $100,000 seed donation has grown into a portfolio worth over $350,000.

Senior Daniel Mottes, the fund’s portfolio manager, said his involvement with the fund has prepared him for a career in finance after graduation.

“In almost every job interview, I’ve been asked about the investment fund and the work that I do there,” he said. “It’s great to show that you have practical experience, that you’ve invested real money and have had success. Being in the investment fund has really taught me to think like an investor.”

Mottes said one thing that has helped him and many others become successful is the mentorship that the investment fund provides.

“I was able to learn things from upperclassmen who had internships in the industry or were going to work full time in the industry after graduation,” he said. “You really develop a mentee-mentor relationship — which as a young, first-year student I thought was really cool. As an upperclassman, I’ve really gotten to give back and mentor others.”

The Zurack Trading Room, along with multiple Bloomberg Terminals, has allowed students to improve their financial skills and contributed to the fund’s success. Bloomberg Terminals include software that allows students to access market data to make trades. While these machines are typically only used by industry professionals, Binghamton received Bloomberg Terminals as a donation from Mark A. Zurack ’78, LHD ’03, enabling students to learn how to use them years before they join the workforce.

“Having this software is essential,” said RJ Barber, a financial planner and wealth manager for Visions Federal Credit Union with more than 20 years’ experience in the finance industry, who volunteers as director of the fund and the Zurack Trading Room. “We have 12 Bloomberg Terminals, and they give students access to arguably the best research out there for the markets and finance. We give the students real-time access to everything you would possibly need to know about a company, the stock and the markets.”

“I work a lot with professional money managers and other professionals in the financial services industry from all around the country,” he said. “I’ve been doing it a long time and it was good for me to join the University in this capacity and give a little more practical experience to the students,” said Barber.

Barber’s experience is invaluable for teaching students about a career in finance as he helps educate students on how to advocate for themselves and to properly present their ideas. For example, students often have to pitch their ideas about whether to trade or buy a stock in front of the fund. This requires them to be prepared for criticism and questions from Barber and the other investment fund members — all crucial skills for a career in finance.

Barber said that the fund is “actively managed, and students are coming up with their own ideas after doing a ton of research on buying and selling.”

Some recent investments the fund has made include purchasing shares of Teladoc, Amazon and CVS Health Corp. The Binghamton Investment Fund hopes these investments will prove to be lucrative and increase the fund’s value even more, even as it realizes its main goal: for students to continue to learn and hone valuable skills they’ll use far outside the walls of the Zurack Trading Room.