UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 25, Page 1
March 21, 1996
Blue Hen Investment Club gains hands-on experience

     College of Business and Economics students in the Blue Hen
Investment Club are gaining hands-on experience working with a real-
dollar investment portfolio of $500,000.
     Faculty adviser Donald Puglisi, MBNA America Business Professor
of Finance, said the group was organized last spring and drew up
policies and procedures for a sound investment management process.
Members of the club then made a presentation for funding to the
Investments Committee of the Board of Trustees, which approved
$500,000 from the invested operating funds of the University.
     "The primary missions of the club are to provide the members
valuable educational investment and general business experiences,"
Puglisi said. "Managing an actual portfolio with a specific purpose is
different from theoretical investments on paper. Like any investment
manager, the club has a performance target. In this case, the goal is
to do better than the Standard & Poor's 500 Index in terms of return
on the investments."
     One of only 35 such campus organizations in the country, the Blue
Hen Investment Club is one of the 10 largest in terms of portfolio
size, Puglisi said. Student investment groups are at work at the
universities of Virginia, Maryland and Wisconsin, Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University and Ohio State University.
     At Ohio State, the funds managed by students doubled from the
original $5 million endowment to $10 million in five years. The fund
has generated $653,397 in dividend income for Ohio State.
     According to Dean Kenneth R. Biederman, the Delaware program,
initially suggested by President David P. Roselle, has been met with
enthusiasm.
     "I have attended meetings of the club, and the students are
excited about this opportunity," he said. "They are well-organized,
diligent and serious about their purpose. They have been doing their
homework on the best investments in different fields, such as
pharmaceuticals and technology. Above all, the club provides a
learning experience. The students also are enjoying themselves while
organizing the club, preparing the way for future members."
     According to the club's president, Tam Vuong, a senior finance
major, the club has provided a variety of valuable educational
experiences for its members, first in organization and then in
carrying out research on stocks in core industries, presenting
proposals and making investment decisions.
     The club emphasizes investments in common stocks. An investment
committee manages the portfolio, analyzes each stock considered for
inclusion in the portfolio and keeps detailed minutes of each meeting.
     An accounting committee is involved with internal and external
reporting requirements but is not involved with portfolio composition
decisions.
     To ensure proper University oversight, Puglisi and Peg Patten,
who administers the University's portfolio, serve on the club's
executive committee and are responsible for authorizing the execution
of trades for the portfolio account.
     The investment decisions, however, are strictly those of the club
members. The portfolio itself is held at Wilmington Trust Co.
     Puglisi said, "Members have to develop and present ideas that may
or may not be accepted by their peers, and this kind of group dynamic
is also educational and part of the 'real' business world.
     The group is moving in a timely fashion to make their investment
decisions. The club provides opportunities and accompanying
responsibilities, which help prepare students for their future careers
and, at the same time, benefit the University."
     For further information about the Blue Hen Investment Club, call
Puglisi at 831-1779.
                                                   -Sue Swyers Moncure