Download College of Business Trading Room LCD Stock Ticker

College of Business Trading Room LCD Stock Ticker Project Description Our intent is to take an existing space, already designated for the management of the Student Investment Fund, and equip it with the technology befitting a professional stock trading environment. This will include LCD stock ticker displays, TV monitors that stream Bloomberg, CNBC, other financial news outlets, and 9‐12 Bloomberg terminals which are standard in the industry. Once funded, setting up the facility will commence immediately, and should take less than six months to complete since we have already communicated with many of the providers and they know of our intent and needs. This proposal is for only the LCD stocker ticker display. Impact on Instruction We are applying for this grant to help establish a professional trading room facility. The College of Business strives to provide our students the competitive edge over other institutions by not only understanding the theory of finance and economics, but also utilizing the tools and gaining practical experience. While the primary beneficiaries of the facility will be the 1000+ undergraduate Finance students, over 50 MBA students, and over 30 MS in Finance students, once completed, this project will continue to beneficially impact the College of Business and Florida State University. Access to a professional trading room will give students, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, substantial competitive advantage over the majority of universities and narrow the gap between FSU and the many institutions that already have such a facility. Among the institutions that already have trading rooms are the University of Washington, Florida Atlantic University, Penn State, Texas A&M, MIT, Carnegie‐Mellon, Vanderbilt, Bentley College, the Illinois Institute of Technology, Michigan State, Tulane, Baruch College and Saint Joseph's University. Establishing this trading facility will help the current students who are actively managing the College of Business Student Investment Fund. The trading room will also be beneficial in the possibility of starting and hosting future National Trading Olympiads between the Florida State and other top universities. Tulane University has recently started a Collegiate Energy trading competition but we would like to have a much broader and more encompassing series of competitions substantially raising the status of Florida State University and the College of Business. Such a competition can also lead to attracting investment from trading software and technology companies through sponsorships. All of this will also aid in attracting professionals in both industry and academia to give talks and other presentations to our students and faculty. The presence of a premier facility will also increase FSU exposure nationally, especially at the R.I.S.E conference, which is the premier portfolio management competition and recruiting base for financial professionals. The planned Bloomberg terminals will be of great benefit to students as they will now have access to world class information and analytical tools currently being used in industry. Bloomberg Professional is the world leader in financial information used by the largest corporations across all industries providing a massive data stream, unparalleled in scope and depth. Both the trading room and Bloomberg terminals will give students in portfolio and financial analysis courses firsthand experience to apply the theories they have been taught. There is also a Bloomberg Certification which students will be able to acquire while enrolled here offering another way for graduates to stand out while involved in the job search. The trading room and Bloomberg terminals are not simply focused on creating and training future traders either. Such a room with the hi‐tech systems can lead to opportunities for students in technical areas such as IT, computer science, and mathematics to understand, manage, and develop software on a trading desk. All of the above mentioned benefits will also greatly aid in recruiting at both the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels. Even the ability to mention the planned construction of such facilities and technologies will entice potential recruits. In summary, the overall project has significant benefits in many areas but specifically, 
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Raise the College of Business’s level of technology facilities to that on par or superior to top business schools across the nation Give Florida State University students a competitive edge when entering the job market through real world experience with the premier industry standard data service used by the largest corporations Raise the overall viability of both the College of Business and Florida State University brand Aid in recruiting However, the first phase of the project (this proposal) focuses on acquisition and installation of the LCD stock ticker. Project Plan With these funds, we can add to the existing technology quickly. Once we receive funding, it should take less than two months to sign a deal with the appropriate vendors, receive the hardware, and begin to receive service. We plan on enhancing the room where the technology will be housed, but not in a way that involves major reconstruction. Relationship to Other University Activities The College of Business is designing a Professional Business Certificate for non‐business graduate students. This certificate will likely consist of four classes, including one in basic finance. There is a potential for the students in this certificate program to also have an experiential learning experience in the financial trading room facility. Cost and Plan for Ongoing Support The on‐going cost of the ticker is minimal ($2000 annually). The Finance Department and the College of Business have several endowments that could be used to cover this recurring cost. Project Team The project team will be the technology staff assigned to the College of Business and appropriate faculty from the Finance department. Budget Please refer to the template provided by the Technology Fee Committee.