FEP Competition Winners Featured in The New York Times
04 February 2013 3:12PM
Duke students participating in a Financial Education Partnership (FEP) competition last fall were featured on the cover of the Business section of the New York Times in an article titled 'Conceived by Students, a Portfolio that Pays.' The students, Alex Kim, Jenny Zhang, and Mike Du, worked together on an asset allocation competition intended to help students learn more about the portfolio allocation process within the Asset Allocation Management group of a large financial institution. The competition was a new addition to the fall FEP competitions thanks to the 2012-2013 sponsor, BlackRock.
Each team was expected to act as a portfolio manager and to create a portfolio designed for a particular kind of investor in mind. As a manager, the team was responsible for determining the allocation of different assets within the portfolio for a one year horizon. More than forty teams applied to compete but only the top ten best teams were asked to give a presentation to a panel of BlackRock professionals. Students had to explain how they decided upon their portfolio allocation and justify their decisions to the judges.
The featured article written by reporter James B. Steward discusses the hardship many investors face in a time of low interest rates.
The winning team received an interview and a chance for an internship with BlackRock the following summer.