Wall Street is closer to Baton Rouge than you think.
The Securities Markets Analysis Research and Trading Lab, or SMART Lab, is a simulated trading floor designed for students to advise the LSU Foundation on how it should invest money in the Tiger Fund portfolio.
Students are able to gain experience and knowledge in securities analysis, research and trading by working in the SMART Lab. The lab is equipped with the latest hardware and professional analytic software to give students real life experience in portfolio construction, risk management and financial engineering.
The software includes 12 Bloomberg Terminals, FactSet, Morningstar Direct, Ibbotson Investment Analysis Software, OS Financial Trading System, IPS AdvisorPro, Zywave, Interactive Library-Virtual Assistant Financial Advisor Toolbox and ARGUS.
The SMART Lab has 50 networked workstations, 12 of which include Bloomberg terminals. This allows students to complete Bloomberg online training.
Caleb Andrus, graduate student in finance and the graduate student assistant at the SMART Lab, said the Bloomberg terminals have too many capabilities to name.
“I can’t begin to go into detail about what the capability of the terminals are,” Andrus said.
Bloomberg is a comprehensive interactive system that supplies financial information about publicly traded companies worldwide, extensive data and analytics for equities, fixed income and derivatives. Bloomberg also provides news and economic data.
Andrus said he feels lucky to have SMART Lab access to the terminals.
“The research that it facilitates is an absolute invaluable resource that we are lucky to have,” Andrus said.
The Bloomberg Essentials Online Training Program helps students get familiar with Bloomberg’s system. The program has five different modules that break down the system. The first module starts with the basics and delves into more detailed topics including equity, fixed income and foreign exchange.
The SMART Lab was created in 2002 and funded by the Louisiana State Legislature. John Tarleton, an alumnus of the LSU Department of Finance, was the lab’s first donor in February 2011. The SMART Lab is maintained through private funding.
In April 2009, the E.J. Ourso College of Business’s Department of Finance met the requirements to become a CFA Institute Program Partner. The College of Business used the SMART Lab to make this announcement.
The CFA Institute is a global association of investment professionals that provides continuing education conferences, seminars, webcasts and publications to allow members and other participants to stay up to date on developments in the investment industry. To become a CFA Institute Program Partner, an institution has to meet the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge and CFA Institute’s ethical and professional standards.
The SMART Lab also provides a classroom and teaching aid for students managing the Student Managed Investment Fund or Tiger Fund. The purpose of the Tiger Fund is to obtain long-term capital growth by investing in U.S. equities that are members of the Russell Top 200 Index and exceed the total return of the index. It also gives business students experience in security analysis and the management of an investment portfolio.
Andrus said the main purpose of the SMART Lab is to support the Student Managed Investment Fund.
“The Fund right now is about $2.5 million,” Andrus said.
Because of the Tiger Fund, students become more confident in their skills in market analysis, financial research, oral and written communication and teamwork. The Tiger Fund was founded in 2005 through a grant from the LSU Foundation.
Andrus said he feels the Student Managed Investment Fund class is one of the most important classes a business student can take at the University.
“As you could imagine, it is not your traditional class where you have a book and test,” Andrus said. “You’re trading real stocks with real money. It’s probably the most practical course offered — at least in the business school.”

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Michael Palmer

Workstations are available for student use on Nov. 17, 2016, at the SMART Lab located in the Business Education Complex.