Intrieri Family Student-Managed Fund Thriving
The Intrieri Family Student-Managed Fund, established in 2012 with a $100,000 gift by Vincent Intrieri ’84 and his wife, Joanne, is now valued at more than $800,000. A portion of that growth has come from additional gifts, although much of it is from the returns on investments made by Penn State Behrend students.
“The fund has gained 23.12 percent this year,” said Dr. Timothy Krause, assistant professor of finance and director of the fund. “Its benchmark rose 22.82 percent, so we are now outperforming our benchmark.”
About fifty students are participating in fund activities this semester; that includes nine World Campus students. Six student fund leaders recently traveled to Chicago with Krause for the annual Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium Conference.
Encouraged by the students’ work, the Intrieri family and Samuel P. “Pat” Black each added $150,000 to the fund in 2017, giving students an additional $300,000 to manage.
“When the fund hits $1 million, earnings over that mark will generate scholarship money for students working on the fund,” said Kevin Moore ’85, ’89 MPA, director of development and alumni relations.
If you’re interested in contributing to the Intrieri Family Student-Managed Fund, contact Britt Daehnke, Development and Alumni Relations, at [email protected] or 814-898-6383.
Kristen Santiago was recently recognized with the 2019 Celebrating Success Award from Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania.
MBA Student Honored for Achievements
Penn State Behrend MBA student Kristen Santiago was recently recognized with the 2019 Celebrating Success Award from Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania. The award recognizes young professionals who are making a positive social, business, or culture change in their community.
Santiago is the owner of a consulting business, Ivy + Atlas, and the president of Erie Clayspace, a ceramics studio in downtown Erie. She has made significant contributions to the arts and culture of downtown Erie while also pursuing her MBA at Behrend.
Bloomberg Terminals Added
The Black School of Business has added ten Bloomberg Terminal subscriptions to its finance lab in Burke Center. The Bloomberg Terminal provides real-time and historical financial data, analytics, and market news for every asset class.
An eleventh new Bloomberg Terminal has been installed in Trippe Hall, the college’s newest residence hall. That brings the total number of Bloomberg Terminals at the college to twelve.
“In terms of business data, Bloomberg is the gold standard,” said Dr. Greg Filbeck, director of the Black School of Business. “There is no more comprehensive database of news, market data, and financial information.”
Bloomberg was founded in 1981, creating an electronic network long before investors had access to the internet and 24-hour financial news networks. The platform integrates real-time data and research in every market and asset class, from fixed income to equities, commodities and derivatives.
Bloomberg’s color-coded keyboard allows users to quickly complete common actions. An early model was included in the “American Enterprise” exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Penn State Behrend was the first college in the region to have a Bloomberg Terminal. “It was being used constantly,” Filbeck said. “People were coming in at all hours, including late in the evenings, to have access to it.”
The new Bloomberg Terminals will improve student access to the Bloomberg network: Faculty members will now be able to incorporate Bloomberg data in their in-class teaching. Students also can earn a Bloomberg Market Concepts certification by completing an e-learning course.
Faculty News
New Faculty
- Zachary Williams has been hired as a lecturer in accounting.
Promotions
- Dr. Mark Owens has been promoted to associate professor of economics.
- Dr. Sourish Sarkar has been promoted to associate professor of operations and supply chain management. Eric Robbins was promoted to assistant teaching professor of finance.
- Dr. Val Vlad was promoted to associate teaching professor of economics.
Accomplishments
- Robert Patterson, lecturer in management, recently received the Steel Valley Region Chapter Advisor of the Year award from Delta Sigma Pi, a professional business fraternity.
- Dr. Xianghui (Richard) Peng earned the distinctive CAP Certification. Fewer than 2,000 people world-wide hold this distinction, which requires a deep understanding of business problem framing, analytics problem framing, data, methodology selection, model building, deployment, and model life cycle management.
- Dr. Jeff Pinto, professor of management, celebrated 25 years of service.
- Dr. Jessica Zhao has been named co-chair of the Samuel A. and Elizabeth B. Breene Professorship in Business.
Students in the Black School of Business now have access to programs and curricula developed by the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA).
Behrend Partners with Association Focused on Alternative Investments
Students in the Black School of Business now have access to programs and curricula developed by the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association (CAIA), the global leader in alternative investment education. Students also will be eligible to apply for scholarships to earn the CAIA Charter designation.
CAIA is a global network of 9,000 investment professionals, offering the only credential focused on the alternative investment space, which includes private equity, hedge funds, managed futures, and real estate. To earn a CAIA Charter, candidates must complete two levels of qualifying exams and show relevant professional experience.
“Alternative investments are a growth sector in the investing world, and our students will have comprehensive training in those strategies,” said Dr. Greg Filbeck, director of the Black School of Business. “This formal partnership with CAIA enhances our existing curriculum and sharpens our focus on industry-tested best practices. Access to that training will better position our students for success in a broad range of investment products.”
CAIA will annually provide up to eight scholarships to students in the Black School. That funding will cover the cost of registering for the CAIA Charter exams.
The organization also will provide one year of free access to the CISDM-Morningstar Hedge Fund Database, which tracks qualitative and quantitative information for more than 6,000 hedge funds and commodity trading advisers.
“Gaining access to the database allows our students and faculty members to engage in meaningful research in an area in which data is quite sparse,” Filbeck said. “The database complements the resources available to our students, including our Bloomberg terminal, which provides real-time, professional-grade investing support, and will help guide the investment strategy for our Intrieri Family Student-Managed Fund.”
Featured Scholars
Support from donors helps our students succeed. Scholarship recipients featured in this publication include:
- Kayla Freyermuth: Lawrence and Elizabeth Held Scholarship
- Nick Mckee: American Production and Inventory Control Society Erie Chapter
- Olivia Pupura: Lawrence and Elizabeth Held Scholarship; Allyn and Alice Wright Leadership Scholarship; Edward P. and Barbara F. Junker Scholarship; National Bank of North East Leadership Scholarship
Mentors Needed
Would you like to help mentor the next generation of business leaders or share your experiences with students in the Black School’s professional mentoring program? Designed to bring Behrend seniors and juniors together with alumni in their chosen fields, the program encourages participants to meet, on average, seven times between October and May and participate in activities to help graduating students develop their résumés. Through the program, professionals share their knowledge and life experiences with their mentees and provide students with the support to explore career options. Contact Dr. Severine Patanakul at [email protected].