ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – Combine believing in yourself with a great professor and what do you get? National recognition!
Winthrop University student Ethan Scott placed first at the on-campus competition and fourth nationally in the E-Valuator Software for Fiduciaries’ TEAM Challenge. Considered an industry leader in providing investment analytics software for financial investors and advisors, the organization noted Scott’s portfolio stood out for “its performance, volatility and cost – amazing work.”
As part of the hypothetical challenge, students nationwide compete by making a minimum of six “investments” and investing 100 percent of their fictional $100,000. They then see whose portfolios perform the best after a two-month period.
Professor of Finance and Associate Dean Philip Gibson said this is his seventh year having students participate in the competition and has built it into his introduction to financial planning course.
“Given that this is an introductory class, most students have not taken our investment course, so I take some time to teach them how to build an investment portfolio,” Gibson explained. “As you can see from the results, Ethan Scott came in fourth nationally and first at Winthrop. I am very proud of Ethan, who just started at Winthrop last fall.”
Scott said that while he was not initially confident in his portfolio, he was surprised and extremely proud of himself for his ensuing performance.
“Dr. Gibson did a great job teaching us and giving us examples on how to create a well-performing portfolio,” Scott said. “The most important lesson I learned from this was that you have to believe in yourself. I put in a lot of time and did thorough research into my investments to choose what I believe to be the best. If you put forth your best effort and believe in yourself, you can accomplish so much more than you think.”
Scott, a Lancaster native, chose Winthrop because of the College of Business and Technology’s reputation for its degree programs and its proximity. He plans to earn a business administration degree with a concentration in finance and accounting and hopes to one day become a financial planner or accountant.
For more information on Winthrop’s financial planning program, visit the website.
