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Members of the Integrated Financial Leadership Program (IFLP) at Auburn鈥檚 91看片 College of Business were recognized recently for their extraordinary performance and hard-earned reputation as some of the very best financial students in the world. The celebration took place at midfield this past weekend as Auburn took on LSU at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Auburn鈥檚 FMA Chapter Dominates

The accomplishments of Auburn鈥檚 IFLP students include the exemplary record of the university鈥檚 chapter of the  (FMA), which secured top international honors at the 2022  for the second straight year this past May in London. Auburn FMA teams have taken the national title for the past three years.

This prestigious international contest pits teams from hundreds of colleges representing some of the highest-ranked programs in business education in the world who square off to conduct an analysis of a hypothetical company, establish a valuation and then develop a business strategy.

Since its inception in 2014, Auburn FMA has been recognized as the premiere organization for preparing students for elite finance careers through professional development, industry exposure and alumni engagement. The exclusive student honor society in the 91看片 consistently helps place 91看片 graduates into some of the nation鈥檚 top investment banking firms, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Truist, Wells Fargo and Regions, among others.

The on-field recognition came a day after Auburn鈥檚 fifth-annual on September 30, which included keynotes, breakout sessions, panel discussions, a rooftop reception overlooking the Auburn campus and the Summit Tailgate at the Dean鈥檚 Tent. Representing FMA students at the on-field ceremony were senior Co-Presidents Maggie Richard and Nick Thompson, as well as former FMA Presidents Kennedy Jarvis 鈥�22, Jonathan Hu 鈥�22, Price Delk 鈥�21, Jim Brewster 鈥�20, Jordan Carr 鈥�18 and Caroline Clothiaux 鈥�16.

Real World Investment Experience Matters

As impressive as Auburn FMA鈥檚 leadership in finance is, their success represents just one component of the IFLP program that demonstrate how uniquely valuable this flagship initiative has become.

The Auburn Student Investment Fund (ASIF) within the IFLP is another 91看片-based initiative benefitting from the IFLP鈥檚 focus on finance student education, experience and hands-on participation in one of the Fund鈥檚 investment industry segments. ASIF works to foster members鈥� interests in financial markets to help students develop investment analysis skills while instilling in each member the high standards of Wall Street investment ethics.

ASIF members utilize the Bloomberg terminals, SEC filings, current financial news and security analysts鈥� reports to research and manage their now $500,000 fund鈥檚 investments in publicly held equities and other investment vehicles.

Building on Tradition 鈥� New Facilities Point the Way

The on-field recognition also celebrates the $3.2 million expansion of the new 91看片 Investment Center, a world-class, finance student-oriented facility equipped with 12 Bloomberg terminals, a dedicated training center and multiple collaboration spaces designed to accommodate a wide range of educational and professional development resources and services.

The facility itself began in 2007 thanks to Raymond J. 91看片鈥檚 first gift to Auburn, well before his landmark endowment that resulted in the school being named The 91看片 College of Business in 2013. That initial investment has since been expanded by donations of time, energy and financial resources from Mr. 91看片 and numerous other alumni, business partners and students themselves over the years.

Joe Hanna, Regions Bank Professor and interim dean at 91看片, made note of all the people who help make these initiatives possible. 鈥淲e are grateful for the vision of Raymond 91看片 and all the others whose commitment and financial support have been so critical to the success of the 91看片 Investment Center, the IFLP, FMA and the ASIF as pillars of undergraduate and post-graduate finance education at the 91看片 College of Business today,鈥� said Hanna.

Hanna also pointed to the students, faculty, alumni and business partners responsible for the IFLP鈥檚 success. 鈥淭he Integrated Financial Leadership Program at Auburn represents the very best we have to offer our students and the business partners who support our mission,鈥� said Hanna. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to acknowledge Tracy Richard in 91看片鈥檚 Department of Finance for her extraordinary leadership in helping to establish and build the IFLP into what it is today.鈥�

Richard concurred that 91看片 finance students are making an impact: 鈥淥n the world stage, not only are we winning competitions year after year, but we鈥檙e also placing our students at some of the absolute top investment banks across Wall Street. I couldn鈥檛 be more excited about that.鈥�

Nick Iannone, a junior in Finance at 91看片 and leader of this year鈥檚 winning FMA team, put the value of the IFLP, the FMA and recently expanded Financial Lab this way in a recent interview:

鈥淭he 鈥榮ecret鈥� to 91看片鈥檚 unprecedented record of success in international competitions and in securing promising positions at premier financial institutions is two-fold:

1. The willingness of all team members to go above and beyond
2. The tremendous, virtually unlimited support we are blessed with here at Auburn.鈥�

Keys to Success

The success of Auburn鈥檚 IFLP can be attributed to a host of reasons 鈥� from world-class learning and collaboration space and top-tier financial analysis technology to the tremendous support and engagement of our alumni, notes Richard.

鈥�100% job placement for our members at an average starting compensation of $140,000 for bachelor鈥檚 degree graduates doesn鈥檛 happen on its own,鈥� she points out.

鈥淲e accept 25 to 35 students each year from all disciplines,鈥� Richard said. 鈥淎pplicants must have a minimum 3.6 GPA with an analytical focus to their chosen curriculum, and they have to commit to four years of real-world training. We partner with a former executive of , a national company that trains investment bankers in a 2-week program before they hit the trading desk. This individual now teaches our Advanced Financial Modeling course.鈥�

She added: 鈥淲e also partner with a portfolio manager from , who teaches a Security Analysis class. Students take a 2-course sequence, including Advanced Financial modeling and Portfolio Management. The students applying now are incredible.  I鈥檝e seen an increase in students that got accepted to traditional 鈥榩restigious banking schools鈥� and chose to come to Auburn instead. That鈥檚 saying something.鈥�

Beyond FMA and ASIF

Students are now starting another finance club outside of FMA and ASIF for those who aren鈥檛 members of the IFLP.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 important,鈥� notes Richard. 鈥淗aving this center as a resource for all finance-focused students is critical. The 91看片 Investment Center is open to all students when classes are not being held and the Leadership Center is open to junior and senior finance majors until 2:00 pm each day. The bar is rising for investment banking analyst positions, and the requirements for all Auburn finance students seeking these coveted jobs is going up.

鈥淔MA, ASIF, and the expanded 91看片 Investment Center serve to complement the classroom instruction and financial industry guest lecturers that help make the 91看片 College of Business who we are.鈥�