Students Val Zarkh, Brock Lauer, Kevin Dodds, and Professor Duke Rogers.
The McPherson College Board of Trustees approved a motion to increase the portion of the college’s endowment allocated to its student-managed investment portfolio, bringing the fund’s total valuation to more than $1 million.
Since 2011, students in the college’s Investment class have gained real-world financial experience managing a portion of the college’s endowment. What started as incremental $100,000 investments in both 2012 and 2013 has grown over time to approximately $700,000, with the latest increase pushing the portfolio over the $1 million mark.
“It’s a huge vote of confidence in what we do and trust in the class that Rod Gieselman built during his tenure on the business faculty,” said Duke Rogers, associate professor of business, who teaches the course. “To the best of my knowledge, no other KCAC-affiliated institution offers this kind of real-world hands-on experience where students get to trade in real money. It raises the stakes and accountability much more than simulators or alternative modalities for teaching the concepts.
“As with any professional money manager, if the client doesn’t see the growth or doesn’t like or agree with the decisions made with the fund, they retain the right to terminate our services. It doesn’t get more real-world than that.”
The student investment fund has paid dividends beyond just the fund’s growth. The unique class gives students real-world experience in investing before they graduate, offering marketable skills they can list on résumés. And, it has benefited student recruitment and retention.
The investment class is offered each spring and is required for business majors with a focus on finance. However, its reputation also attracts students outside the business program.
That was the case for Andy Skinner, a 2012 graduate. Skinner started as a pre-med major, but after three years, he decided to explore other options and added a minor in business administration to his biochemistry major. In his final semester, he took the investment class and was part of the first class to manage a portion of the college’s endowment.
Managing real money with real consequences fueled his excitement about investing, and today, Skinner is a certified financial planner and a member of the McPherson College Board of Trustees, serving on the financial affairs committee.
“For me, the class was the spark that led me to my future career,” Skinner said. “It was exciting to see it come full circle for me when the students presented to the board of trustees.”
Each year, students make a presentation to the financial affairs committee, walking members through the process and structure of the class, it’s trading decisions for the year, and an assessment of the portfolio’s overall performance. Val Zarkh, Brock Lauer, and Kevin Dodd represented the Spring 2024 investments class and presented the annual report at the March 7, 2025, committee meeting.
“My favorite part of the class was doing the research on current events and seeing how they would translate into what was going on in the market,” said Zarkh, a senior from Chicago. “We were able to see, given what might happen in the next year with tariffs, for example, what stocks are going to do well and what are not.”
About 30 stocks are assigned to students who do research and make recommendations to the entire class. All students in the class vote on whether to buy, sell, or hold in May each year.
“The class teaches you to do your research,” said Lauer, a senior from Strong City, Kan. “Just because everyone else thinks a stock looks good, doesn’t mean you have to.”
“It teaches you to do your due diligence before investing in a stock,” added Kevin Dodd, a senior from Tecumseh, Okla. “It helps us look at the ratios and know exactly what they mean.”
Each stock has a binder that is passed down to the next class for analysis. The students have maintained an 11% average annual return, on par with professional investors and the S&P 500. Like professional funds, the student portfolio earns a modest management fee that supports the Business Club activities, such as trips and the annual protocol dinner.