LSU Department of Finance

Strategic plan and mission

The Department of Finance is a cooperative and productive unit of the E.J. Ourso College of Business at Louisiana State University. Its mission is to create innovative, challenging, high quality educational experiences for its students; to conduct, publish, and apply meaningful scholarly research; and to provide excellence in service to the state and local community, the profession, and the university. The E. J. Ourso College of Business’ Five-Year Strategic Plan for National Prominence 2010-2015 aims for the Department to be recognized in the top twenty departments of finance at public universities for excellence in the production, dissemination and application of financial knowledge.

History

The Department of Finance is one of seven degree-granting units in the E. J. Ourso College of Business. The roots of the department and college go back to 1899 when LSU created a four-year curriculum in commerce within the College of Arts and Sciences. By 1928, roughly coincident with the university's move to its present campus, a separate College of Commerce was established, in which the Department of Economics and Business Administration provided instruction in finance.

Graduate education became part of the department's mission in the mid-1930s, with the Master of Business Administration (1935), the Master of Science (1936), and a doctoral program (1938). "Insurance and Real Estate" was the first finance-specific undergraduate curriculum to appear in the university catalog, in 1945.

In 1959, the college was reorganized and renamed the College of Business Administration, with a separate Department of Finance, consisting of eight faculty members, and a curriculum in Finance. Business law was included within the department, possibly because of the financial aspects of property law, securities law, and contract law.

Reflecting the trend toward quantitative analysis as a part of the research and practice of finance; between 1963 and 1971, the department provided instruction in statistics, and was titled the Department of Business Finance and Statistics. In 1965, the first privately supported, named chair on campus, the Louisiana Bankers Association Chair of Banking, was established in the department.

In 1971, the college again reorganized, separating the department into a Department of Quantitative Methods and a Department of Finance. Business law faculty remained within the Department of Finance. In 1978, the college moved from Himes Hall to Patrick F. Taylor Hall (Formerly known as the Center for Engineering and Business Administration, or CEBA). In 1981, the Louisiana Real Estate Commission Chair in Real Estate, the first fully endowed chair on the LSU campus, was established. The mid-1980s also saw the establishment of the Real Estate Research Institute within the department. In 2002, the Department opened the SMART Lab, a 50-station simulated interactive trading floor and research facility. In 2005, the LSU Foundation established the Student Managed Investment Fund, an investment portfolio funded by the LSU Foundation and managed by a select group of students each semester. The contributions of alumni and other benefactors over the years has resulted in the endowment of five chairs and several professorships for the department.

In 1996, the college was renamed the E. J. Ourso College of Business Administration in honor of its major benefactor. In 2005, the name was officially shortened to the E. J. Ourso College of Business. The college also recently unveiled its state-of-the-art Business Education Complex, designed to provide business students with a "campus within a campus."

CFA partnership

In 2009 the E. J. Ourso College of Business was named a CFA Program Partner by the CFA Institute, a global association for investment professionals that awards the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Recognition as a CFA Program Partner provides a signal to potential students, current students, and the marketplace that the E. J. Ourso College's curriculum is closely tied to professional practice and is well suited to preparing students to sit for the CFA exams.

The official partnership signing for LSU was held in the Securities Markets Analysis Research and Trading (SMART) Lab on April 21, 2009 with CFA Institute University Relations Head Bob McLean, CFA representing the organization. Representing LSU were E. J. Ourso College Dean Eli Jones and Gary Sanger, distinguished chair in finance and director of the SMART Lab.

Registered CFP Program

Department of Finance has registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. to provide a new financial planning undergraduate specialization (Fall 2011). Students who complete the financial planning pathway at LSU will be eligible to sit for the national CFP® Certification Examination administered by CFP Board to become Certified Financial Planner™ professionals. Chad Olivier, CFP®, president of the Baton Rouge Financial Planning Association, has vocally voiced his support of the program. LSU Finance also offers a new option for MS Finance CFP concentration, where MS Finance students can specialize in financial planning.

Securities Market Analysis Research and Trading (SMART) Lab

Funded by LSU's Center for Computation & Technology (CCT), the E. J. Ourso College of Business's Securities Markets Analysis Research and Trading Lab, or SMART Lab, recreates a simulated interactive trading floor where students gain experience in securities analysis, research and trading. The lab's 50 networked workstations are equipped with professional analytic software, which gives students significant on-the-job-style training in portfolio construction, risk management, and financial engineering. In addition, the SMART Lab provides faculty and graduate students access to professional tools for research in experimental economics and price discovery theory. The SMART Lab is home to no less than Twelve Bloomberg Terminals.

The current lab Director is Dr. Gary Sanger, former Department Chair,and active CFA Institute member. Dr. Sanger is most noted for his contributions to the CFA Exams by volunteering to write questions grade exams. In 2010 he was awarded the C. Steward Sheppard Award by the CFA Institute.

Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF)

Each semester the SMART Lab serves as both a classroom and teaching aide for the students managing the LSU Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF), or the Tiger Fund. The Tiger Fund was founded in the spring of 2005 by a grant from the LSU foundation. The primary investment objective of the Tiger Fund is to achieve long-term capital growth by investing in marketable U.S. equities and exceed the total return of the Fund's benchmark index. The Fund previously used the Standard & Poor's 100 Index as a benchmark, but now uses the Russell Indexes, specifically 200 Index. The secondary objective of the Fund is to enhance the educational programs of the E. J. Ourso College of Business by providing its students with valuable hands-on experience in security analysis and the management of an investment portfolio, and by strengthening their skills and abilities in market analysis, financial research, oral and written communication, and teamwork.

Real Estate Research Institute

The Real Estate Research Institute was formed to encourage, support, and conduct research in real estate. The Louisiana Real Estate Research Institute was established in 1985 with funding from the E. J. Ourso College of Business and the Louisiana Real Estate Commission.

Continued funding for the institute has been provided various private sources along with grants. Institute faculty are subsidized by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission Endowed Chair of Real Estate, the Latter and Blum Professorship of Business Administration, and the C. J. Brown Professorship of Real Estate.

In terms of professional outreach, the RERI, along with the Baton Rouge Association of Realtors, hold the annual Trends in Baton Rouge Real Estate which typically attract between 300-500 attendees. In terms of academic research, Ong, Ooi, and Wong (2001) ranked LSU as third in terms of publishing in US real estate journals. Dombrow and Turnbull (2002) ranked LSU as third out of 40 institutions for publications in the core real estate journals during the time period studied (1988-1999). RERI is also a 2013 contributing member of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association.

Tigers on the Street

Founded by LSU finance alum Ryan Roberge, Tigers on the Street will assist in placing LSU finance majors in investment banking internships, full-time positions and other institutional finance related careers. TOTS is a network of successful undergraduate and graduate finance majors who develop top students through creating a centralized network, increasing awareness of financial firms and assisting students with resume building as well as the interviewing process.

Student Finance Association

The Student Finance Association (SFA) is an informative support group for finance students and faculty. Activities are designed to encourage students to socialize with fellow students, faculty members, and economists in the business community. The society also offers assistance with job searches and graduate school information.

Student Real Estate Association

The Student Real Estate Association is an organization that aims to provide connectivity, education, and guidance to students interested in the real estate industry. The Student Real Estate Association's goal is to promote awareness of career opportunities in the business-related areas of real estate. The association strives to promote the development of skills and knowledge beneficial to employment and investment opportunities in the real estate field. These goals are achieved through contacts with professional personnel from local real estate businesses and associations. Through its efforts, the SREA yields a supportive network of students with the singleness of purpose to prosper in the real estate industry.

Masters Student Finance Association

The Masters Student Finance Association (MFSA) is a registered student organization concentrated on educating Finance majors by bringing in professional speakers, opening the door to various internship/career opportunities, and participating in outside activities such as the investment club, the annual trip to New York City, community service around Baton Rouge and more.

Master of Science Program

The Master of Science program in Finance provides its students with the analytical and communicative skills necessary for effective financial decision making through the application of financial theory and quantitative techniques. The Louisiana State University MS Finance Program offers a challenging advanced degree that prepares its participants to become the leaders of this rewarding and dynamic field.

PhD Program

The PhD program in Business Administration with a major in Finance is an intensive course of study in the theory and empirics of Finance. Coursework has been designed to introduce the student to all basic areas of Finance, but the responsibility for mastering the material, of course, lies with the student. To be successful in this program, the student must be committed to the highest level of academic achievement.

Those in the program are "lifetime students," for whom the learning process does not end with the granting of the degree. The doctoral program requires the development of a sense of scientific curiosity. These traits along with intensive study of the theory and empirical analysis of Finance form the essence of the PhD program.

Forums

The LSU Finance Stakeholder's Forum provides involvement and internship opportunities for LSU Finance students.

Awards and recognition

MS Finance ranked 40th in North America for 2012–13 by Eduniversal (11th among public universities).