Dear TCM Community,
I want to thank everyone who contributed to Titan Giving Day last Wednesday, March 12. We finished in 9th place university-wide with a total of just over $13,000. I’m happy to see it, and I’m even more happy to write a matching check. We are having many successes at TCM, but to maintain its success requires a certain amount of funding, not to mention our fantastic family of professors, constituents, and motivated students.
Following our Grand Opening last May, I had extensive travels and time away from home. I’m back now, and we are proceeding with the agenda I laid out at the Grand Opening. (By the way, we raised an additional $66,000+ at the Grand Opening.) Keeping the TCM program funded ensures its long-term success, and we have no shortages of good uses for your donations.
Where do your donations go? First and foremost, we take care of basic operating overhead that includes our Bloomberg subscription and allocated program overhead. After that, expenses for student travel to conferences and competitions, research subscriptions, and alumni events are a high priority for us.
The TCM Executive Committee oversees this budget, and we have expanded it to 11 members. We allocate capital to the TCM program just like a real business—by identifying where our highest and best returns are. Outside of our basic overhead, the highest and best use of funds is investing directly in our students to give them the opportunities to travel and learn. TCM students have found that being part of a presentation team is valuable experience that enhances their oral and written presentation skillsets and is a great addition to their resume when finding that first job. TCM students now have the opportunity to present outside of the CFA Institute Research Challenge competition. They have presented at the CFA Orange County RFP competition and the ACG Cup in Michigan, and UCI is hosting a stock pitch competition where we will have a few teams presenting as well.
As most of you know, the CFA Institute Research Challenge is a heavy lift on time. Not all our students can allocate that time, so having these other presentation opportunities is really great for the TCM program. The success we are having with fundraising and competition opportunities couldn’t come at a better time. The total enrollment between TCM and the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) classes has exploded from roughly 30+ students in past years to over 100 students currently. SMIF alone has had to expand to three classes from one, while enrollment at TCM has almost doubled. This happened right after the Grand Opening of our new facility, which is a great draw for the program. Titan business students walk by the facility and are curious about it.
It’s also no secret that we have had competitive successes: six straight CFALA championships and America’s Champions in 2023. TCM students are getting coveted entry positions at firms like PIMCO, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Canterbury, Mercer, and recently Bain and Coinbase!
While I love our competition wins, even more fulfilling for me personally is to hear how TCM has changed student lives. Particularly this year, one student told me that his starting job and pay would change his family circumstances, as he had been raised by a single mother. Another student expressed to me that TCM had focused him on what he really wanted to do for his future career. If we can be that fork in the road (or at least part of that fork) that changes student lives and their outcomes, then we really have something special.
A quick word on our board and opportunities to get involved with the TCM program. I asked Bob Kargenian to join the Executive Committee and chair our newly created Alumni Committee. As you all know, Bob has been affiliated with the TCM program since inception and has been a generous donor through scholarships for TCM students as well as his service on the Advisory Board. The initial mandate of the Alumni Committee will be to plan an annual event that will serve as a reunion for TCM alums as well as an opportunity to do something fun for a day or half-day. There are no limits as to who can serve on a committee, so by all means contact Bob if you would like to be on this committee or eventually chair it.
I have also asked Garrett Jackson of Canterbury to chair the Advocacy Committee. The mandate of this committee will be to engage the investment community in Southern California to increase visibility for the TCM program and graduates. TCM has a very deep relationship with Canterbury as many of our students work there. Again, this can be a fun committee to be a part of while helping to improve TCM’s visibility with local investment management firms. The goal would be to engage firms that are interested in recruiting our students and supporting our program. Many of these firms often present at our annual student investment conference.
Successful businesses or academic programs require money and many people to make them great. Charitable support is very important, but throwing money at a program without great professors, a supportive practitioner community, motivated students, and university support does not work. I think we are all grateful to have been part of the TCM journey, but I’ve seen firsthand why it has succeeded. The collective effort of many dedicated professors, deans, department chairs, faculty, program supporters, and students is the DNA that has built TCM. The culture of hard work, dedication, and collaboration is the embedded culture of the TCM program today. The collective power of the many continues to be the lifeblood of the program’s success.
With warm regards,
Jeff Van Harte, Chair, TCM Executive Committee