Central Michigan University

CMU lands top rankings on Barron's lists for fifth straight year

Friday, May 9, 2008

Topics in this story: Business, finance, jobs and the economy, College of Business Administration, Finance and Law

James Felton

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Media Contact(s):

Heather Smith
989-774-1702

Program Contact(s):

James Felton
989-774-3269

As the Barron's Challenge stock-picking contest marked its fifth anniversary, Central Michigan University has maintained its record for holding at least one top 10 spot in each of the contests to date.

CMU finance professor James Felton has achieved high ranks in the challenge before, but this year he managed to secure the top spot among the nearly 200 professors who competed. More than 1,800 students and professors participated nationwide.

Felton, who generated a net gain of nearly 22 percent on his hypothetical stock portfolio, will receive a grand prize of $1,500. This is the fourth time that Felton has placed in the top 10 in the professor category.

CMU senior Tyler Stovall of Loveland, Ohio, took ninth place in the student category, marking the third time that the university has had both a faculty member and student among the nation's top 10. A personal financial planning major, Stovall decided not to invest in companies with interest in mortgage-backed securities and generated a net gain of nearly 23 percent.

"I felt that betting against such companies was my best chance for success," said Stovall. "I am surprised to have done so well amongst so many successful students and professors, but I feel that it is truly a reflection of the education I have received at CMU."

Stovall, a member of CMU's baseball team, has received many awards for his academic and athletic accomplishments. Some of his 2007 recognitions include being named the Mid-American Conference player of the year, an All-MAC first team selection, a third team All-America selection by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Collegiate Baseball magazine, and a second team Academic All-America selection. This year, he is a 2008 Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American, is on the 2008 ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District IV first team and is one of 10 national finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, an honor presented to the nation's best senior athlete who demonstrates significant accomplishments in the areas of classroom, character, community and competition. Stovall also is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Golden Key Honor Society.

Tyler Stovall














In addition, CMU seniors Nick Schmidt of Fenton, and Matt Rogal of Grand Rapids, both received a more than 12 percent increase on their portfolios and placed 26th and 27th in the contest, respectively.

Each year, professors and college students across the U.S. compete in the Barron's Challenge in an effort to create the best $100,000 hypothetical portfolios by generating the most revenue.

Barron's financial magazine also has named CMU Board of Trustees co-vice chairman and alumnus John G. Kulhavi among the Top 100 Financial Advisors in the nation for the fifth straight year. The 1965 CMU graduate ranked 77th on this year's list. Kulhavi is the senior vice president for Merrill Lynch in Farmington Hills.

Barron's ranks financial advisers by size-assets under management, assets farmed out to other institutions and revenue produced for their firms. The Barron's list relies on nominations submitted to R.J. Shook, a subgroup that works for brokerage houses and affiliates, in order to rank the candidates each year.