Student Investment Program Overview

In this portion of the website, you will find information on the ASAP's history and objectives, student profile, curriculum, facilities and resources, faculty and alumni support, job placement, and alumni testimonials.

Information about the Wisconsin MBA program is available at the School of Business website. We also encourage you to contact us directly to discuss the ASAP and your individual interests.

Why the ASAP?

The ASAP is an academic program (primarily MBA) that combines traditional investment theory with real-life investment practice. The ASAP is a CFA® Program Partner with the CFA Institute. The program is practitioner, as well as academic, driven, thus, students emerge from the program immediately capable of adding value to the investment process. Therefore, there is no reason to choose between an MBA vs. a CFA designation when you can pursue both. Based on an early 2008 review of CFA Partners, we believe we are one of only three programs in the world that are CFA Partners, part of MBA programs, and offer learning environments that include managing real portfolios.

The ASAP has earned its reputation as a top student investment education program because:

• The ASAP practices traditional academic theory in an applied setting;
• The ASAP is truly a program, not a class or an investment club. In their second year, our students operate an investment firm and report to a demanding, but supportive, client;
• The ASAP is a two-year investment program, with the first year focused on training students in the skills and tools needed to conduct investment research and the second year focused on learning the rigors of investments through actual portfolio management;
• The program has a long history (founded in 1970) and an outstanding national reputation;
• Students manage a large pool of assets (about $62 million) in two asset classes (equity and fixed income) and in five portfolios;
• Students have complete discretion over the securities held in the portfolios, subject to asset class and general client guidelines;
• The ASAP has produced many top investment managers, including the CEO of the CFA Institute;
• Job placement in the investment industry is strong;
• The program's tightly-knit alumni base remains dedicated to the ASAP;
• The selective program only enrolls 15-21 students per year, securing an excellent student to faculty/practitioner ratio;
• The ASAP is a very rigorous investment program with a demanding client that prepares students very well for the real world of investing;
• The program is housed in its own center (the S. L. Hawk Center for Applied Security Analysis) and students have access to an extensive array of investment resources;
• Students have many opportunities to speak to investment professionals and to travel to investment and investment-related learning events; and
• The ASAP is supported by two fully-dedicated directors, specific contributions from one alumnus, a staff, many contributing alumni, the boards, and the School of Business faculty who teach the finance and general MBA curricula.