Applied Portfolio Management program builds financial acumen with curriculum, guest speakers
The Applied Portfolio Management (APM) program at the University of Kansas School of Business offers students a rare and valuable opportunity to manage a real investment portfolio. Enrollment is open to students of any major across the university and provides participants a chance to apply classroom knowledge to real-world investment decisions.
Each week, students analyze a different publicly traded company and evaluate whether to buy, sell or hold its stock. Boone Bradley, lecturer and Applied Portfolio Management program director, has led the course for more than 10 years, bringing enthusiasm and a deep industry knowledge.
What sets the program apart is its strong integration of guest speakers. Throughout the years, more than 200 top executives and Wall Street professionals have joined the class. These speakers give students a behind-the-scenes look at how companies operate and how investment decisions are made in the real world. Established in the early 1990s, APM has more than 30 years’ worth of alumni to use as guest speakers and the entire Jayhawk network across the entire world. Speakers fly in from places such as New York, Dallas and Chicago, and people from outside of the U.S. even will call in during class time to speak.
“Between all those sources and the various investment conferences I attend, or internships students have, there’s no shortage of guest speakers who love to get to campus and give back to the next generation,” Bradley said. “We’re so incredibly lucky to have the network we do; it’s by far the best thing I’ve ever experienced professionally.”
The program supports not just student learning but also the community. The fund is managed by students who contribute to the KU Student Senate’s annual budget and previously donated $1.25 million toward the construction of Capitol Federal Hall. Applying to APM is competitive but not limited to any student.
“There’s no expectation that students already know everything or have the subject mastered,” Bradley said. “Showing that you are legitimately interested in the subject and eager to learn is a huge plus.”
The application process involves a resume, cover letter, degree progress report and a short survey. The process usually starts at spring and fall breaks, and decisions are made every week until the class is full. Classes are typically 20 to 25 students. So, it is beneficial for students to apply early. Bradley tries to be accommodating because he wants as many students as possible to have the opportunity to join the course.
There are many ways students can express their interest and stand out as a candidate. This can be investing on their own, reading outside of the required class materials, following market news and more. Bradley emphasized there is no set checklist that will automatically make someone a good investor, so having a growth mindset and motivation to learn outside of a textbook is a positive for both the application and life in general.
For students in the APM program, it is not just a class but a defining experience. Luke Schaefer is a senior from Minneapolis, Minnesota, double-majoring in finance and management and leadership, with a minor in professional selling. When he was a freshman, Schaefer saw the McCarthy APM Finance Lab and was immediately intrigued by what program he could join to get access to that room.
Schaefer worked as a wealth management intern with J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Scottsdale, Arizona, the summer before his junior year. After that experience, he knew he wanted to take a class that focused on stocks and equity research. This is when he learned about APM.
“After talking with advisors and looking at different class descriptions, I knew this class would be perfect to learn more about the stock market while learning about companies in the real world and how to value them and forecast what we think will happen to them in the future,” Schaefer said.
Through APM, Schaefer has developed both soft and hard skills. The soft skills include networking with full-time employees, presenting in front of professionals, and learning how to interact in a group setting over a semester. On the hard skills side, he has gained an understanding of how to value a company, make stock recommendation write-ups, and learn how to sift through investor relation reports.
“A great example I can think of is that one of the week’s assignments is to do a three-page write-up by yourself on a company of your choice and choosing whether to ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ it,” Schaefer said. “All of the other projects are majorly in a group setting, but this allows you to showcase what you have taken out of the class.”
For Schaefer, there are very few comparable programs in the business school to APM. It provides skills to showcase in future interviews, which differentiates it from other programs.
“We are encouraged to be tuned in to what’s going on in the market to see if there are any companies that make sense to buy or if there were any macroeconomic trends that would support looking at equities within a certain industry,” Schaefer said. “Whether you are studying computer science, finance, business administration — you name it — I can guarantee you will take something beneficial out of the APM program.”
Isabelle Demeo is a senior from Denver, Colorado, majoring in finance with a minor in international business. This past summer, Demeo completed an eight-week internship abroad in Vietnam at a fintech company called Payo as a business intelligence analyst intern. There she studied different fintech landscapes across southeast Asia and different payment processing competitors in Vietnam. While this internship provided her with great experience, it was not as finance-related as she would have hoped. Demeo knew she wanted more experience in her field, which was another reason she joined the APM program.
“I’ve had a lot of quality experience in this program,” Demeo said. “We’re managing an actual portfolio that has real returns. It really stands out because you can show you have a different experience than other students. For me, my internship was not a traditional finance internship, and this class really helps with that.”
Demeo did not initially feel she belonged in the program. One of the first assignments required her to pick a stock pitch for a company, which included complex DCF valuations. That meant finding the value of a business or asset based on its ability to generate cash flows. Demeo felt intimidated and out of her comfort zone. However, looking back, she is grateful for the relationships she made and the challenges that made her stronger and encourages students with an interest in the program to check it out.
“Professor Boone is really helpful and supportive,” Demeo said. “I am so happy I did this program because I have truly learned the most out of any class I have taken at KU. Definitely do it. Do not stress if you feel like you are out-of-place because everyone is learning and figuring it out too. Really just go for it because it is worth it.”
Learn more about the Applied Portfolio Management program at business.ku.edu/apm. Those interested in in guest speaking or sitting in on a class are encouraged to email apm@ku.edu.
By Grace Ludes
