Business students offer choices for stocks and crypto investments

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December 14, 2022

Classroom research was applied to the real world on Wednesday, December 7, as students from St. Johns University’s Peter J. Tobin College of Business presented their recommendations for a trio of backed investment funds by the university.

Six teams of students presented recommendations for cryptocurrency purchases as part of the university’s new student-run Blockchain Fund. Six teams then came up with ideas for undergraduate and graduate student-managed investment funds (SMIF).

The end-of-semester presentations are the culmination for students enrolled in the undergraduate Crypto Assets and Trading Strategies, and Managing Investment Funds courses that are part of the Bachelor of Science in Finance program, as well as the graduate course Quantitative Asset Management which is part of the Master of Science in Finance and Master of Business Administration programs.

The presentations took place on the campus of Manhattan University, NY, in front of a gathering of students, faculty, administrators and alumni.

Approved in May, the Student-Managed Blockchain Fund (SMBF) is an addition to the two-decade-old student-managed investment funds in which students research stocks and present their investment recommendations to a panel of faculty. , directors and corporate officers. If the committee approves the recommendations, the trades are executed.

The undergraduate student-run SMIF is valued at $5.1 million, while the graduate fund is valued at $3.3 million. Both funds, tied to long-term equity investments, have generated returns of 8% to 9% annualized since inception. The funds are part of the University’s endowment.

The new blockchain wallet was funded with $100,000. Students research major cryptocurrencies, which focus on larger, more institutional coins (coins are prohibited). Their analysis focuses on blockchain technology and its real-world applications.

It’s nice to take a lap of honor tonight and show off everything we’ve learned,” said Brennen Bailey.

Cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency based on blockchain technology. As a form of payment, it can circulate securely without control from a central authority such as a government or a bank. Cryptocurrencies can also be used as investment vehicles or exchanged for goods or services. As of January 2022, St. Johns accepts cryptocurrency for charitable donations.

The blockchain is a digital ledger that records transactions in code. A blockchain collects information in groups called blocks and keeps the information together via cryptography.

It is a complicated technology that has seen wild fluctuations in value since its emergence in 2009. Bitcoin, one of the major cryptocurrencies, reached an all-time high of nearly $69,000 per coin in November 2021 , but has since fallen to around $18,000.

In 2022, the cryptocurrency market was weighed down by scandal, insolvency, rising interest rates, and investor panic.

Dealing with these dramatic changes in value is one of the lessons students learn about investing in cryptocurrencies, says Zenu Sharma, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Finance, Fund Advisor, and Crypto Instructor Assets and Trading Strategies.

This is an important development in the forex market and it is good to have academic interest in this new technology, Dr. Sharma said. The students must make the decisions themselves.

Brennen and his teammate Tim Whidden, both finance graduates, introduced the Avalanche cryptocurrency, which they consider undervalued and versatile. Four other teams advocated purchases; One team seniors, Neha Iyer and James Lopez, advocated a stranglehold on the Solana cryptocurrency, which declined following the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. We still think there’s potential there, James said.

As in SMIFs, SMBF students engage in research, generate investment ideas, analyze investment opportunities, and make recommendations to classmates, faculty, administrators, and alumni. SMBF students vote on their classmates’ recommendations and approved trades are executed, subject to review by faculty and administrators. Two additional crypto teams will give presentations on December 15.

The state-of-the-art business analytics lab has research tools such as FactSet and Bloomberg to guide student research.

SMIF graduate students proposed the purchase of ExxonMobil and Texas Instruments was recommended for the undergraduate fund. Undergraduate students Angue Foretia, James Baquet and Shane Walsh lobbied for the sale of Darden restaurants.

We have seen threats emerge for the business due to inflationary pressures and increased competition, Angue said. We would rather sell Darden and invest the money in our classmates’ presentations.

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