The year 2007-2008 marked the inauguration of the Garrison Financial Institute, supported by the Garrison Chair in Finance.   The Garrison Financial Institute is an institute organized within the Sam M. Walton College of Business to advance financial education and knowledge through practice.  Its mission is to enhance student learning through experience, foster research that extends and perfects best practices, and contribute to the economic development of the State of Arkansas and the welfare of its citizens.

Enhanced Student Learning

This fall, we opened the Global Financial Markets Center in Willard J. Walker Hall, providing students with access to software and electronic financial data, preparing them to hit the ground running as investment professionals.   The Global Financial Markets Center Finance has been heavily utilized for finance classes and special events since opening.

Students, under the mentorship of the Garrison Financial Institute, gained hands-on investment management experience through their involvement in our five-student-managed funds, totaling over $12 million.

The Institute held weekly “Investment Committee” meetings where students presented their assessment of the economy and investment recommendations - a practice that simulates corporate best practices.  The Institute also held a series of trading clinics where students were introduced to sophisticated trading strategies, such as “short” selling, the use of options, and technical analysis.  The Institute also sponsored student trips to New York City and Chicago, enabling students   to network with financial professionals and visit institutions such as the New York Stock Exchange and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Experiences supported by the Garrison Financial Institute such as managing real money, exposure to trading strategies and industry best practices, and networking with executives, gave our graduates an advantage in the job market this spring.   Our students received job offers from top national, regional and local firms including Arvest Asset Management, Citi Group, Chesapeake Energy, Merrill Lynch, Mitsubishi UFJ, Raymond James, Stephens Inc., Wachovia, Conoco-Phillips, and Wal-Mart.  Student placement was solid, despite layoffs in the banking sector which caused headwinds for those seeking work in financial services.

The Garrison Financial Institute also organized a speakers’ series to introduce students to cutting-edge ideas from national investment professionals.  Speakers included Brett Hammond, Chief Investment Strategist, TIAA-CREF; Tom Giovine, CEO, Giovine Capital Group; Stephen Lauck, CEO, Ashfield Capital Partners; George Westmoreland, Vice President, (Retired), Merrill Lynch; and  John Manley, Chief Investment Strategist, Smith Barney.

Under the mentorship of the Garrison Financial Institute, the University of Arkansas’ M.B.A. Shollmier Portfolio Management Team won first place in the Graduate Hybrid  Funds Class in the student-run portfolio competition at the eighth annual Redefining Investment Strategy Education (RISE) Forum held at the University of Dayton in Ohio in March 2008.  More than 2,300 students from 257 schools in 69 countries attended the RISE Forum.  Sponsors of the RISE Forum include the United Nations Global Compact, Deutsche Asset Management, CFA Institute, CME Group, CNBC, Colombo Stock Exchange, Dubai Financial Market, The Financial Services Forum, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Morningstar, NASDAQ, New York Stock Exchange, Shanghai Stock Exchange, The Wall Street Journal and TIAA-CREF.

The Garrison Financial Institute received a $75,000 two-year grant from the Investor Protection Trust (IPT) Foundation in Washington DC.  This grant, combined with funds from the Garrison Chair, enabled us to provide 29 investor education sessions to over 1,200 freshmen at the University of Arkansas and a professional development program to K-12 teachers in Northwest Arkansas.