Cornell Outperforming the Other Top-10 B-Schools
Shocker?
Daniel Wells '00
Issue date: 4/6/00 Section: Johnson News
"Who is this BZOD Guy? What's he like? Is he a cool guy?" "Cornell is tiny! How in the world are you winning the competition?" These are a few of several questions fielded by Jenny Loveland when she bumped into Dartmouth and Chicago MBA's on Spring Break.
Currently, Cornell leads the Fidelity Business School Investment Challenge with a 55% return. As one might expect, the largest schools: Harvard, Chicago, and Wharton follow with returns of 43%, 35%, and 33%, respectively.
The competition allows MBA students from the Top 10 schools to build a $100,000 mock equity portfolio and compete with other participants in a 10-week test of their financial acumen. The winning portfolio earns $5,000 cash. The B-School with the highest return on its top 10 portfolios wins the Investment Challenge Trophy and, of course, bragging rights.
Enthusiasm. Teamwork. Friendliness. The other Top 10 B-schools often frown on the extent to which such characteristics are engrained into our culture... as though a cutthroat environment of internal competition is the only road to success.
Marketing. Corporate Finance. Brand Management. Asset Management. High Technology. First Year. Second Year. TMO. You'll find it all when you look closely at the students that comprise our top portfolios. Sounds like teamwork to me. Or is it the stellar foundation engrained into us by Roni Michaely? Perhaps it's our aptitude for hands on learning: Marketing Club President Laurel Greenberg simply wanted to learn how to manage an on-line portfolio (she currently maintains Cornell's eighth best portfolio with a return exceeding 32%). Could it be the result of better resources? After all, the Parker Center and Management Library are the envy of every business school in the world. Maybe it's the result of the meetings and email lists devised by student leaders like Drew Pascarella that allowed us to shape and define our strategies for outperforming the larger schools. Most likely though, our success has come from the unique combination of many things that make up the Johnson School
I look forward to seeing how the characteristics of the "friendly school" pan out in the "marketplayer" game. I also anxiously await the results our combined performance later in life. As we finish our final two months at Cornell, I know that I speak for the entire Class of 2000 when I say that I've got a pretty good feeling about both.
Currently, Cornell leads the Fidelity Business School Investment Challenge with a 55% return. As one might expect, the largest schools: Harvard, Chicago, and Wharton follow with returns of 43%, 35%, and 33%, respectively.
The competition allows MBA students from the Top 10 schools to build a $100,000 mock equity portfolio and compete with other participants in a 10-week test of their financial acumen. The winning portfolio earns $5,000 cash. The B-School with the highest return on its top 10 portfolios wins the Investment Challenge Trophy and, of course, bragging rights.
Enthusiasm. Teamwork. Friendliness. The other Top 10 B-schools often frown on the extent to which such characteristics are engrained into our culture... as though a cutthroat environment of internal competition is the only road to success.
Marketing. Corporate Finance. Brand Management. Asset Management. High Technology. First Year. Second Year. TMO. You'll find it all when you look closely at the students that comprise our top portfolios. Sounds like teamwork to me. Or is it the stellar foundation engrained into us by Roni Michaely? Perhaps it's our aptitude for hands on learning: Marketing Club President Laurel Greenberg simply wanted to learn how to manage an on-line portfolio (she currently maintains Cornell's eighth best portfolio with a return exceeding 32%). Could it be the result of better resources? After all, the Parker Center and Management Library are the envy of every business school in the world. Maybe it's the result of the meetings and email lists devised by student leaders like Drew Pascarella that allowed us to shape and define our strategies for outperforming the larger schools. Most likely though, our success has come from the unique combination of many things that make up the Johnson School
I look forward to seeing how the characteristics of the "friendly school" pan out in the "marketplayer" game. I also anxiously await the results our combined performance later in life. As we finish our final two months at Cornell, I know that I speak for the entire Class of 2000 when I say that I've got a pretty good feeling about both.