News & Notes

New ASAP Director Complements Leadership Team

As we announced over the summer, Brian Hellmer (ASAP Class of 1988) is now the Director of the Hawk Center.     Brian replaces former director (and ASAP alum) Kevin Spellman, who has moved on to a teaching position at UW-Milwaukee.   We wish Kevin well in his new endeavor,  and thank him for all he did for the Hawk Center.  

Brian had previously been serving as a Portfolio Manager and Director of Research at Northern Capital Management, and retains a part-time consulting relationship to his old firm in addition to his new role.   Prior to his role at Northern Capital, Brian worked as an analyst for Fleet Financial (now Bank of America) in Hartford and Boston.     He has perviously served on the ASAP Board for many years, and has done numerous guest lectures for the students over the years.

Brian’s industry knowledge, portfolio management experience and strong historical ties to ASAP nicely complement the existing leadership team at the Hawk Center.     Brian will take a primary role in working with prospective students, potential employers, and our alumni.    He will also have a lead role in overseeing the second year students as they manage the ASAP portfolios.  

Prof. Mark Ready remains the Academic Director of the Hawk Center, a position he has held for the past two years.   Mark teaches Derivatives and Portfolio Theory to our first year students, and helps oversee the second year students as they manage the portfolios.   Mark’s background at the SEC and numerous research papers on trading strategies allow him to provide our students with unique insights during both years of the Program.  He also represents ASAP at internal faculty meetings that handle curriculum design, budgetary matters, and other issues related to the overall mission of ASAP. 

 Dan Pickett (ASAP Class of 1987) teaches “ASAP 101” to our first year students as well as mentoring both classes at various times.     Dan’s “real life” position as lead Portfolio Manager of Nakoma Capital Management’s hedge funds give him the ability to tie the concepts he is teaching to current examples of what is happening in the marketplace that keep his course timely and relevant.  

The team of Mark, Brian & Dan allows the program to provide ASAP students with a solid combination of academic theory  and practical industry experience during both years of their MBA program.    Of course, no combination of 3 people can do justice to all the relevant topics and growing complexity of the investment business, and we will continue to rely heavily on bringing in alumni to share their insights and experiences with the students.     If you have an interest in sharing your experiences, please contact Brian at bhellmer@bus.wisc.edu.   

Job Placement Update – We Need Your Help !

The last 12-18 months have been very difficult times for those in the investment business and has created a challenging backdrop for our ASAP students to find internships and full time employment – despite the strong reputation of our Program.     Last summer, our first year students were all able to find internships (albeit some of them non-paying internships) thanks to their hard work and the support of many of you.      For our second year students, the news was good but not perfect as all but 2 of our graduating class has found full time employment in the investment industry.   

During difficult times like these we need all the help we can get from our alumni and other friends of ASAP.   If you haven’t heard from us yet,  is likely that at some point in the coming weeks someone from ASAP will contact you to see if your firm might be looking to hire interns or full time people.    If you are aware of opportunities that would be a good fit for our students, please let us know about them by emailing Brian Hellmer at bhellmer@bus.wisc.edu.    Thanks again for the help – it’s our network that makes this place so special. 

Wisconsin Business Alumni Database  – New Tools and New Opportunities

A few years ago, the decision was made to consolidate all of the various alumni databases that were floating around the Business School into a single combined Wisconsin Business Alumni database.   The vision for this new initiative was to provide all of our alumni with a web-based tool that was more accurate and easier to use.    Unfortunately, we quickly learned that some of the functionality and relevance of the former ASAP alumni database was lost by combining all information onto one platform. 

However, through the generosity of some donations from various alumni (including some of our own ASAP folks), significant improvements have been made to the online database.   Using the new “Power Search” option, you can now narrow your search down to just graduates from the Hawk Center – as well as many other variables.    It’s also possible for the database to store much more detailed information about you and your current  job responsibilities, including things like a current picture,  your asset class and sector focus, and even your job history.  

Please take a few minutes to check out all the improvements today by going to wba.uwalumni.com – and don’t forget to update your own profile while you are there.     If you haven’t used this before, you’ll see a place to sign up right online.     Thanks for your cooperation ! 

Keeping you Informed – Website, Newsletters and Portfolio Updates

There is always a lot going on at the Hawk Center, and we want to keep you in the loops as things happen.   One of the primary ways we do that is via our website, which is located at uwasap.org.     The website features a wealth of information about our program and our students.     Our long term goal is to make the website even more informative, and we will be looking to add content and do some other revamping over the summer of 2010.

We are also going to send three newsletters each year – one in October, one in February, and one in May.    The goal of these newsletters is to highlight current  Hawk Center news, issues, and outline any help we might need from  our alumni. 

Finally, starting in November  we are also going to launch a monthly Portfolio Update email that will highlight the holdings, characteristics, and recent trading activity for each of the three portfolio teams.    Look for this update in early November – and feel free to comment back to us on your thoughts about what the teams are doing (contact information will be provided for you to provide feedback). 

Winter Trip Planned to East Coast

ASAP Director Brian Hellmer and our first year ASAP students have plans to visit a number of firms in New York and Boston during the week of January 4th – 8th.      This trip has become somewhat of a tradition in the past several years,  and allows students to gain familiarity with various types of investment firms, make connections that might prove to be useful during their job search, meet alumni and have some fun.    We are tentatively planning to meet with interested alumni for drinks after work on the nights of Jan. 5th (New York) and Jan. 7th (Boston).    We will be contacting our alumni in those areas with details as soon as things firm up.   

We also have a few slots still available to visit firms during the day – if you or your firm would like to meet our students, please let Brian know by emailing him at bhellmer@bus.wisc.edu. 

2010 ASAP Conference on  November 11-13th – Please hold those dates !

Please mark your calendars for our Bi-Annual Investment Conference, scheduled to be held next year on November 11th – 13th of 2010.    As always, we expect to have a great mix of updates from the Hawk Center, guest speakers discussing timely investment issues, Badger football, open bars and plenty of fun.     Hope to see you there !