Rutgers School of Business-Camden Opens Finance Lab and Center for Investment Management

CAMDEN — Rutgers–Camden business students no longer have to wait until they graduate to experience all the excitement of the trading floor.

The brand new Finance Lab and Center for Investment Management is bringing an authentic trading environment to the Rutgers School of Business–Camden.

The center features 16 Bloomberg-certified student workstations that will enable Rutgers–Camden undergraduate and graduate students to practice wealth management and learn what trading is like in the real world.

“By the time our students graduate, they will have already had experience managing an investment fund and will understand the concept of trading with the help of faculty and alumni who work in the industry, and they’ll do it in this lab,” says Jaishankar Ganesh, dean of the Rutgers School of Business–Camden. “Finance labs like this one are an essential part of bus

The center, located on the first floor of the Business and Science Building on the Rutgers–Camden campus, is part of a broader plan to continue to develop future business leaders through innovative opportunities and redefine the student experience.

Beginning in the fall 2013 semester, finance and accounting majors will use the lab to research companies and simulate investing and managing funds with faculty assistance.

“A major benefit of our finance laboratory is the opportunity for students to gain hands on experience with the Bloomberg computer system,” says Eugene Pilotte, a professor of finance at the Rutgers School of Business–Camden.

Bloomberg is a major global provider of financial market information used by major financial firms 24 hours per day. The system provides access to breaking news, current and historical prices, firms' financial statements, and analysts’ opinions.

“The information is the kind used every day to make informed investment and trading decisions,” Pilotte says. “Our students will benefit from the opportunity to link classroom theory to practice, and the opportunity to gain the Bloomberg certifications that are a big plus on a resume.”

The finance lab features 12-foot and 32-foot LED stock tickers as well as two “market walls” that come alive with real-time stock market information. Additionally, a 106-foot LED stock ticker wraps around the lobby in the Business and Science Building.

“The lab also has TraderEx software that allows students to participate in simulated market settings, where they can implement trades in a variety of market environments,” Pilotte says. “Students can see and analyze the results of their trading strategies. In doing so, they will gain an understanding of how the structure of a market influences trading behavior.”

Ganesh says the lab won’t only benefit Rutgers–Camden students. It will serve as a critical resource for high school students and members of the public and educate them on personal finance through a variety of programs offered by the Rutgers School of Business–Camden.

“We want to use the lab as a springboard to promote financial literacy to the local community,” Ganesh says. “High school students and adult Camden citizens can use the lab to learn personal finance, which is a very big part of everybody’s life. This lab will be an integral part of Rutgers–Camden’s civic engagement goals.”

The Finance Lab and Center for Investment Management was formally dedicated on April 13 during the 25th anniversary celebration of the Rutgers School of Business–Camden.

The business school on the Rutgers–Camden campus began as the Department of Business and Economics in 1950 and was expanded into the Rutgers School of Business–Camden in 1988.