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USM trading team invites outside investors

Trading team students Devin Watkins, a junior applied math major from Ozawkie (left), and Benjamin Brandt, a junior business management major from Overland Park, analyze market trends at the team’s weekly meeting. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SAINT MARY, HAYDEN PARKS

by Dean Backes
Special to The Leaven

LEAVENWORTH — After allowing students to invest house money over the past four school years, the University of Saint Mary (USM) is expanding its Spires Trading Team to include outside investors.

The move will allow the liberal arts Catholic university in Leavenworth to educate even more students in the fields of investment trading and finance.

While assisting USM’s students in pursuit of career endeavors, outside investors may also have an opportunity to make money off of the trading team’s efforts. But first, USM must locate those outside investors.

“It does take a certain number of investments to pay [a student’s] tuition and room and board,” said Spires Trading Team coach, professor and program director Phil Watlington. “In the future, there’ll be just a flat amount (a $10,000 annual scholarship for team members) and that will allow us to bring in more students.”

For every $1 million invested, it is believed that the university can support one more student. Watlington said the program is so accomplished that USM faculty members themselves have inquired about joining the team.

“We teach [students] all about investing and portfolio management,” explained Watlington, who revamped the university’s accounting program before taking on the trading team. “They can also use what they learn personally.

“Of course, we help them find a job. I’d say maybe a third of our students aspire to work in wealth planning, personal finance planning and support areas around the industry.”

Spires Trading Team coach and University of Saint Mary accounting program director Phillip Watlington, MBA, addresses the team’s agenda during its weekly meeting. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SAINT MARY, HAYDEN PARKS

Watlington said the leadership team — which consists of leader Kevin Fox and consultants Harold Bradley and Andrew Black — provide oversight to  a separate corporation established by the university where the trading team conducts its investing activities.

The Spires Trading Team takes on qualified second semester sophomores, juniors and seniors and students from any of USM’s courses of study. Watlington and company train students on the stock market, investments and risk management. Students also learn how to find trades.

For their efforts, students earn full-ride scholarships that cover tuition, housing and meal plans.

“None of our students can actually put in trades,” Watlington said. “They feed them to us. Because of the type of trading we do, a slip of the finger can cost us a lot of dollars, so we control that. But we do trade with real money on the real market, and we do win and lose on real markets. So, it’s as realistic as it can get.”

In its early years, the Spires Trading Team consisted of five students who traded securities under Watlington’s watchful eye. The program has since grown to about 15 students and hopes to expand to 30 or more students in the future.

Members of the Spires Trading Team have received numerous opportunities to network with their peers, industry experts and potential employers.

Team members often list experiences and skills that stand out on their resume while Spires Trading Team alumni often acquire employment with investment management firms, global banking organizations and mutual fund companies.

Currently on the Spires Trading Team, Luke Sessler entered USM with the desire to work in accounting. He has since added a second major in business administration.

“I would say to any of my peers, knowledge is this amazing thing right now,” Sessler said. “And even if it’s not in finance, learning something new at this point in our life is spectacular.

 “Learning about finance and learning how to control your own portfolio and build long-term wealth — build possible generational wealth — is an amazing skill. And it isn’t luck. It takes a lot of hard work, and it takes a lot of knowledge together to pass that wealth through your life.”

Spires Trading Team member Devin Watkins and alumnus Aaron Schafer are among the team members that have already landed positions in the field. Watkins works at Financial Strategies in Leavenworth while Schafer is employed as an analyst after starting off as trader at Kornitzer Capital in Overland Park.

Watkins started out in engineering but has since shifted to actuarial science, which is the science behind dealing with stocks and insurance products, along with holding a major in accounting.

“I love that it’s always changing,” Watkins said of the Spires Trading Team and the finance field. “I love that there is never the same thing every day. There is always new news coming out. There is always politics that deal with the stock market.

“There’s all of these different companies and, for me, I’m always enjoying learning. I feel like there is so much to learn that I’m never going to be not busy. So it’s like a really big challenge. I love that it’s a big challenge for me.”

Shafer, who was a member of the inaugural trading team during the 2021-22 school year, decided to stay in finance as a way to utilize his math degree and crunch numbers while also applying what he learned on the trading team.

His mentors at USM had a huge impact on him by providing Shafer with the groundwork needed to further his career in finance.

“I would sell the trading team as a learning opportunity,” Shafer said. “I would always encourage young people to pursue any opportunity to learn, and the trading team is a unique opportunity for USM students. It’s a good way to gain exposure to financial markets and concepts, and a great scholarship opportunity.”

For more information on Saint Mary Fund Investments and the Spires Trading Team, visit the website at: saintmaryfund.com.

About the author

The Leaven

The Leaven is the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.

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1 Comment

  • I fear that this article misses important context about the Spires Trading Program at St Mary’s University. Student led investment management teams have managed money for endowments at major universities for several decades. To my knowledge, St. Mary’s is one of few schools offering this opportunity to students in undergraduate programs. The trading team undergoes rigorous training in all facets of investment management; and receives coaching on complex statistical functions such as value at risk (so-called VAR), diversification, options theory, publicly traded company financial reporting, loss management, trading platforms, term structures and such. Furthermore, the three year return on invested capital vastly exceeds reported comparable returns of professional managers across categories. The article also did not capture the commitment of Mr. Fox to the students of the university and to the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. I first heard about this idea from Mr. Fox and thought it to be audacious. What he has accomplished with the help of Sister Diane and a few friends astounds me today.