TVA logoThe investors live more than 600 miles away from Wall Street, haven’t graduated from college and have little or no experience handling other people’s money.
But the finance students at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tenn., outperformed most of the money market pros last year, earning a return of nearly 48 percent on money they invested for the Tennessee Valley Authority.
“The students here are very technology-oriented and they do their homework,” said Deryl Martin, a professor of finance who works with the students who won last year’s investment challenge among Tennessee Valley colleges.
Martin said he’s been a trader himself for 35 years, “but the students are the ones that make their pitches and vote on what investments to make.”
Tennessee Tech, which has won the TVA Investment Challenge five times in 16 years, is one of 25 colleges and universities taking part in the program. The investment program started with $1.9 million in 1998 and the portfolio has since grown to $12 million.