Gonzaga shares top earnings with University of Wyoming in strong year for investors
D.A. Davidson & Co. today announced that a student team from the Gonzaga University has been named the winner of the annual Fred Dickson Memorial Award, the top award in the firm’s Student Investment Program, while also completing the year with the fourth-best-performing portfolio. A University of Wyoming team had the top-performing portfolio in the program, enjoying a total return of 56.1 percent for the program year.
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.
As winners of the seventh annual award, Gonzaga University will receive a $2,000 check and an invitation to an exclusive event hosted by D.A. Davidson. This is the third time Gonzaga has won the award.
“We congratulate the Gonzaga team for a strong program year that included solid student engagement, active management, and a diversified portfolio of quality companies. Gonzaga’s annual performance exceeded the total return of the S&P 500 index over the 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year periods, and the Zags have delivered the #1 risk adjusted returns over the past three years and five years,” said James Ragan, Director of Wealth Management Research for D.A. Davidson and co-head of the company’s Student Investment Program. “This program provides a unique opportunity for aspiring financial professionals to learn a range of valuable skills, and Gonzaga has consistently delivered a high-value student experience.”
Michael Jackson, Senior Vice President, Financial Advisor and Spokane Branch Manager for D.A. Davidson, serves as the D.A. Davidson advisor to the Gonzaga University team along with Gonzaga University Professor Clarence H. “Bud” Barnes, Ph.D.
“Bud Barnes and his students have a rigorous and thoughtful approach to this program that continues to prove a success. Dr. Barnes emphasizes the research process coupled with the importance of an investment policy statement, which ultimately leads to quality diversification and performance. Congratulations on winning another Fred Dickson Memorial Award; it is well deserved! Go Zags!” Jackson said.
For the program, D.A. Davidson provides student teams from senior-level investment courses at 21 Western and Midwestern colleges and universities with $50,000 to invest in the stock market, for a total commitment of $1.05 million annually. Each team makes investment decisions with the guidance of a local D.A. Davidson financial advisor and manages the portfolio for one year, starting Sept. 1. The program is designed to provide hands-on experience in finance, stock research, portfolio management and investment topics.
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. For the 2020-2021 program recently ended, D.A. Davidson’s donation totaled $91,771. In the 27 years since D.A. Davidson began sharing program profits, the company has donated $834,125 in profits to participating institutions.
The University of Wyoming’s 56.1 percent total return for the program year handily outpaced the 31.2 percent total return for the same period for the S&P 500 Index, a standard benchmark for the stock market. The composite return for the same period of all Student Investment Program institutions was 21.5 percent. Nineteen student teams earned a check for the 2020-2021 program year based on their investment returns.
The Student Investment Program was launched in 1985 at Montana State University and gradually added colleges throughout the West and the Midwest since that time.
About D.A. Davidson Companies
D.A. Davidson Companies is an employee-owned financial services firm offering a range of financial services and advice to individuals, corporations, institutions and municipalities nationwide. Founded in 1935 and headquartered in Montana, with corporate offices in Denver, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle, the company has approximately 1,400 employees and offices in 28 states.
Subsidiaries include: D.A. Davidson & Co., the largest full-service investment firm headquartered in the Northwest, providing wealth management, investment banking, equity and fixed income capital markets services, and advice; Davidson Investment Advisors, a professional asset management firm; D.A. Davidson Trust Company, a trust and wealth management company; and Davidson Fixed Income Management, a registered investment adviser providing fixed income portfolio and advisory services.
For more information, visit dadavidson.com.