By Emily Jenkins, Editor-in-Chief

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor McLane College of Business is adding a new financial trading lab this September in the Parker Academic Center.

Andy Tiger, Dean of the McLane College of Business, explained that the finance trading lab was a gift from an anonymous donor who wanted UMHB to have a strong finance program. 

Tiger explained the finance trading lab will signal to prospective students and alumni that the McLane College of Business is a strong program for finance majors. “I think finance will be one of distinctives that will compete with other schools, and having a trading lab definitely sets us apart that we’re serious about this.” 

Assistant Professor Todd Chesebro said, “One of the things that we want to do for the finance students, and really any student that’s interested,… is we want to give them hands-on experience with pulling data from a Bloomberg terminal, and from other places where they could do analysis.”

The Bloomberg Professional Services website explains, “The Bloomberg Terminal has been the financial system of choice for top investors and financial firms since 1981. The Terminal provides in-depth research, powerful analytics and world-class execution capabilities to help financial professionals effectively monitor markets, industries and companies and make smarter, faster and more informed decisions.”

Finance students will get hands-on experience trading stocks through the new lab. Chesebro said, “We have a student managed investment fund, which is about $350,000 right now.” The students look at the portfolio, make stock suggestions and stock picks, and look at economic news. They started with $200,000 in 2019. Some of those years were not actively managed, but the students generally outperform the S&P 500, an index that measures the 500 largest companies in the U.S.

Business finance professor Bill Hudson is revamping a finance and stock trading student organization. Tiger said, “Through the finance student organization and through curriculum for business students, the trading lab will be open to anyone who is interested in investing.” The business finance majors will start out in this student org and will move up into leadership. The organization hopes to go to compete in the CFA Institute Research Challenge and take trips to Wall Street. 

The Physical Plant learned about the plans for the new finance trading lab two weeks before graduation and began working as soon as it was approved in mid-May. Jeff Olchesky, manager of construction services, explained that more than 25 UMHB Physical Plant staff and external contractors are working on the new trading lab. 

Olchesky said, “We actually had to… incorporate several rooms together.” They used two empty offices and the faculty break room. Olchesky said they also built a new “cozy” break room about half the size, “but [the faculty are] happy to have it.” 

Greg Brandenburg, vice president for Information Technology, explained the lab will have 25 student computers. In the front of the lab will be the teacher’s station on the right, three monitors, and the Bloomberg stock terminal on the left. “We’ve got a much more powerful computer to run that [Bloomberg terminal] software.” An LED strip lining the room, an idea that came from Physical Plant. They will also have a stock ticker lining outside the trading lab. 

Physical Plant hired outside contractors like electricians, plumbers and painters to come in to help with renovations. They also added a new AC to accommodate the extra from people and heat from the electronics. Olchesky said, “For this particular project, we just tried to slide everyone in almost at the same time, which for the most part worked pretty good.”

Although the process went smoothly for the most part, some vendors had some delays. Brandenburg said, “With vendors, we’ve had some hiccups, but that’s so typical …of the past six years since COVID.” Dave Marek explained, “We had to rely on vendors for glass and [stock] tickers and furniture. The furniture is probably the last thing that we’re going to get. It’s such a delayed item.”

This renovation has been an exciting one for Physical Plant. Jeff Olchesky said that although not every project is exciting, “On this particular [project], I’m really excited about it. I just think it’s a neat concept. I think it’s going to be great for the student for learning. I’m looking forward to being done and having students in there. I think it’s going to be a pretty cool addition to UMHB.”

Tiger said, “It’s a big deal to be able to do this type of stuff, and … our students will be able to earn certifications that will be very marketable now.”

Learn more about UMHB’s finance program at umhb.edu/programs/finance