D.A. Davidson Invests in Students' Financial Education

D.A. Davidson’s Student Investment Program is designed to provide hands-on experience in finance, stock research, portfolio management and investment topics, and represents a total commitment of $1.05 million annually.

The program allows student teams at 21 colleges and universities that are in senior-level investment courses to compete, and provides them with $50,000 to invest in the stock market. Each team makes investment decisions with the guidance of a local D.A. Davidson financial advisor and manages the portfolio for one year.

The top-performing teams receive a check for their college, earning half of any portfolio gains above 5 percent. D.A. Davidson absorbs any losses.

The Student Investment Program was launched in 1985 at Montana State University, and colleges throughout the West and the Midwest have been gradually added since that time. Currently there are 21 educational institutions participating.

For the 2024-2025 program, D.A. Davidson’s donation totaled $63,636. The winner of the Fred Dickson Memorial Award for 2025 was Gonzaga University’s team for the fourth time. Southern Utah University was the top-performing school for the program year, generating a 47.9 percent total return.

The Fred Dickson Memorial Award honors one team annually that is considered the most outstanding participant in D.A. Davidson’s Student Investment Program.

In selecting the winning program, roughly two-thirds of the award criteria is investment performance based on 1-year total returns and 3-year and 5-year risk adjusted returns while one-third of the criteria is based on qualitative factors including how well programs stick to their stated investment processes and the overall level of student engagement.

In the 31 years since D.A. Davidson began sharing program profits, the company has donated $1,068,513 to participating institutions.

Michael Jackson, Senior Vice President, Branch Manager and Financial Advisor, serves as the D.A. Davidson advisor to the Gonzaga team along with Gonzaga Professor Clarence H. “Bud” Barnes, Ph.D.