How long have you been involved with UP/Pamplin School of Business? 

My involvement with the school began in 2007 when I was invited to the UPIA (University of Portland Investment Association), which is a student managed investment club.  Dr. Brian Adams asked me to come to these meetings to provide my thoughts on how the students were going about managing the investment portfolio.  I really enjoyed working with the students and hopefully provided them with more knowledge of investment industry best practices.  

 

Why did you want to teach at UP?

Simply, I enjoy teaching.  I taught a class several years ago at PSOB on the subject of corporate mergers and restructurings.  This was a super fun class for me to teach as it allowed me to go back to my roots when I was a portfolio manager for a proprietary trading firm.  Also, I really enjoyed the dialogue the students and I were able to have throughout the course.

Any fun or memorable moments?
Well… not sure I’d say fun, but certainly memorable.  I remember speaking with students in UPIA during the Great Financial Crisis of 2008.  It’s certainly not fun to go through moments like that, but I do think that the students involved in the club during that time period of 2008-2009 had an amazing opportunity.  There is so much to learn when your investment portfolio is going against you.  It’s easy to think that you’re smart and good when the markets are going up.  It’s more difficult to stay the course and have conviction in your beliefs and processes when the markets are going down, especially in such a dramatic way as it did during the Great Financial Crisis of 2008.

What course will you be teaching?

The official title is “Corporate Finance BUS 530”.  The course examines ways financial officers at corporations analyze financial information in order to estimate the value of investments and projects and to understand the risks associated with those projects.  Students will get the opportunity to analyze financial statements and work on valuation methodologies.