Faculty of Business Administration - University of New Brunswick

A group of investment finance students at the University of New Brunswick have achieved impressive returns on their portfolio of nearly $2 million in spite of the turbulent global financial environment. While stories of bank failures, Ponzi schemes and catastrophic financial losses in the financial markets dominated the news in 2008, student investors in the University of New Brunswick’s Student Investment Fund program significantly outperformed professional money managers during the year.

Students in the program began investing real money in the capital markets in 1998 with the allocation of $1 million from program partner the New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation. By October 2006 the Fund had surpassed $2 million solely from investment returns, by mid-2008 $2.5 million with a subsequent return to roughly $2 million by yearend reflecting global market volatility.

The student-managed fund enjoyed its best results ever in 2008 outperforming many professional asset managers including pension plans and endowment funds. Program director Prof. Glenn Cleland is impressed with the portfolio performance over the ten-year period since its inception. “ This is no coincidence. The students have successfully navigated the markets over a ten-year period.”

“We started up the program investing real money in September 1998 during turbulent times in financial markets stemming from the collapse of Long Term Capital Management. Over the subsequent ten years, student investment decisions were made with the backdrop of the technology bubble, the sub-prime mortgage crisis, US$145 oil prices and the current financial meltdown.”

The students’ abilities extend well beyond their impressive portfolio management skills. The students have a long and distinguished record of success at investment competitions. Last year, a team of students from the program placed first in the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute’s North American valuation competition in New York City and, was subsequently ranked second in the world in the Institute’s Global Investment Research competition in May 2008. If there was ever any doubt that SIF students could compete on a global basis it was erased by this achievement.

Nathan Ough, a current student in the Student Investment Fund program, speaks highly of the hands-on investment learning experience. “The record speaks for itself. Over the past ten years students who have been accepted into this demanding program have developed a skillset that is highly sought after by the financial sector. The integration of theory and practice provides a knowledge base which has contributed to our ten years of outperformance.”

The Student Investment Fund was the first student-managed fund in Atlantic Canada, one of a few in Canada, and unique in North America. Its market neutral equity portfolio construction approach combined with an embedded study program for the Chartered Financial Analyst Level I exam making it leading edge.

The SIF is offered through UNB’s Centre for Financial Studies in the faculty of business administration.

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Posted at 4:04 PM

Two of Canada’s next top ad executives are students at the University of New Brunswick.

Elizabeth McCleave and Matieu Daigle, students in the master of business administration (MBA) program at UNB Fredericton have won Volkswagon’s national marketing competition, beating out teams from universities across Canada.

The students will each receive a new Volkswagon Golf and will be offered internships with ad agencies for winning the competition, Canada’s Next Top Ad Executive.

A second team of UNB students, Mitchell Bernard and Laura Noseworthy also made it to the top ten contestants in the final round.

The students were selected from among 143 teams, representing 36 different universities from across Canada. All of the top ten finalists will be offered internships with ad agencies.

“Winning this national competition, where so many teams from so many universities across the country participated, directly speaks to the outstanding qualities and skills of Matt and Liz,” said Daniel Coleman, dean of the faculty of business administration. “It also speaks to the quality of our programs.”

The theme of the marketing campaign had to be consistent with Volkswagen Canada’s positioning strategy for the Routan, and the marketing campaign had to stay within a $250,000 budget.

The competition was conceived and hosted by the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University and required the students to deliver a 30-minute marketing pitch to a panel of academics and industry experts.

Liz and Matieu will also see their marketing strategy in action as Volkswagen Canada unfolds it over the next few months.

Elizabeth-Anne, 24, and Matt, 23, as well as Laura, 22, and Mitchell, 21, all traveled to Toronto to compete. The teams of students were picked from 143 applications and made it through the top 25 phase. The winners were announced at an awards dinner on March 31, 2009.

Established in 1785, UNB is one of the oldest public universities in North America. One of the top five comprehensive universities in Canada, according to Maclean’s, UNB has more than 12,000 students from more than 100 countries. As the largest research institution in New Brunswick, UNB conducts 80 per cent of the province’s university research. The university has more than 3,500 faculty and staff, and an annual operating budget of more than $160 million. UNB’s two main campuses are located in Fredericton and Saint John, N.B.

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Posted at 10:00 AM

UNB’s Activator team, “KnowCharge," won the silver prize of $60,000 in investment equity and in kind services at the New Brunswick Innovation Fund (NBIF) Breakthru competition held on March 25, 2009.

The company, made up of team leader, Chris Marshall and MBA teammates Rob Morrow and Edgar Gallibois, was formed through the Activator program, which is coordinated by UNB’s International Business and Entrepreneurship Centre (IBEC). KnowCharge produces a special conductive paper that, when used as an alternative to plastic based protective packaging, could save electronics manufacturers millions by eliminating the damage that static can cause during shipping.

In addition to the silver prize, KnowCharge Inc. shared the prize for best university venture with another UNB team, “Smart Skin”.

The Smart Skin team is made of up of MBA and Engineering students (Imran Khan, Irenia Roussel, Sabeer Zaman and Dr. Felipe Chibante), led by Kumaran Thillainadarajah. Using nanotechnology to detect and measure pressure, Smart Skin is an artificial touch-sensitive skin for prosthetic limbs. The super-thin film works with existing myoelectric control systems to provide control of touch, much like the skin of a real hand.

The Smart Skin team also won the $60,000 prize for best young entrepreneur as well as the prize for the most outstanding presentation and the viewer's choice award. They won the viewer's choice award after more than seven thousand people voted on the CBC website; the team will travel to Toronto to pitch their business on the set of CBC's Dragon's Den.

Posted at 1:05 PM