If you ask Jackson Allen why he chose TCU, he'll tell you, “Days like Wednesday.”
The second-year financial accounting major found the 20th annual TCU Investment Strategy Conference (ISC) to be more than just attending an event. Co-founder, co-chairman, and co-CEO of Canyon Partners, there's no class like having Josh Friedman on his side all morning. There's no better sentence in the textbook than Cliff Asness, founder, managing principal and chief investment officer of AQR, giving career advice to Horned Frogs from a front row seat. There's no lecture equivalent to interning with TCU's Chief Investment Officer Jason Safran '01 and his investment management team and learning how to grow your endowment.
Mr. Allen said, “I am very grateful for the opportunity to attend the Investment Strategy Meeting.'' “I left with a deeper understanding of business, what it takes to be successful, and how I can leverage my skills and abilities in today’s world.”
TCU Investment Management and the TCU Neely School of Business's LKCM Center for Financial Research partner to bring the sold-out conference to campus each year, and Allen echoed a sentiment shared by nearly everyone in attendance. ISC brings together influential people in the investment industry. Over its 20 years, ISC has featured keynote speakers such as George W. Bush, Paul Ryan, and Janet Yellen.
The theme of this year's conference was “Exploring Alpha,” defined as excess return that captures investment skill. Asnes spoke directly to the students, many of whom were in the front row. His belief that grit and common sense were more important than technical proficiency felt like wisdom for life, not just economics. Keynote speaker Dmitry Baryasny, Chief Information Officer and Managing Partner of Baryasny Asset Management, also spoke about finding analysts and portfolio managers with mental decisiveness and flexibility. He talked about the importance of things.
Although the conference has grown in size and scope, it still maintains the spirit that J. Luther King Jr. '62 (MBA'66) intended. He is president and founder of his LKCM, and his generous gift in 2002 made possible the establishment of his LKCM Center for Financial Research at TCU Neely and his ISC.
“This is a great opportunity for TCU students to interact with successful investment professionals, many of whom have founded important companies and ,” said King, who was the keynote speaker at the first ISC in 2003. How TCU created these opportunities for me. ”
If alpha is excess returns that reflect investment skill, then King, his wife Teresa, and sons Mason and Brian have achieved alpha in terms of impact on students and the organization. This conference is the perfect collaboration between academic and practical applications, informing current professionals and teaching the next generation, and teaching during his time at TCU and beyond. His ISCs to date have covered topics ranging from “Activist Investing” to “Global Capital Race.”
“We want to put money into students,” Safran said. This conference establishes TCU as a leader in finance and investing and provides incredible access and benefits to students who are able to attend. ”
Safran acknowledged the leadership of outgoing TCU CIO Jim Hill in establishing the conference.
“We stand on Jim's shoulders,” Safran said.
Hill used his network to bring respected financial experts to Fort Worth for a conference.
“We wanted it to be like a conference that you attend on the coast. This area had been overlooked,” Hill said. “What’s really interesting is that the students are coming back into the workforce and the networks are being built.”
TCU Neely Professor and Beasley Finance Fellow Vasil Mikhov has taught graduate and undergraduate students at TCU since 2000 and has seen ISC grow to a standing-room-only audience this year. On April 24, he saw former students who are now establishing themselves as investment professionals. He believes it's just as important to hear from big names in the financial world as it is for horned frogs to be trained to become such people. Demi Fritz, senior investment analyst in the TCU Office of Investment Management, hosted an orientation session for all TCU students in attendance. She coached them on what to wear, how to interact with financial giants, and how to make an impression.
“Student participation is a very important part of this,” said Mauricio Rodriguez, director of the LKCM Financial Research Center at the Neeley School of Business. “We want them to interact with speakers and attendees.”
The LKCM Center and TCU Investment Management partner each year to bring this conference to TCU.
“My biggest takeaway today is nothing is handed to you,” Allen said. “Being in a room with such successful and intelligent people was eye-opening. I learned a lot from the conference. Like many people who attended the conference, I I want to be able to forge my own path and provide insight and experience that will definitely benefit those who come after me.”
