TVA Investment Challenge
MSU Students Win $20,000 of Prize Money by Finishing 1st in the 3-Year Competition!
Murray State students finished in 1st place in the TVA Investment Challenge's 3-year competition!
The TVA Investment Challenge is a unique partnership between TVA and 25 universities in its service territory that provides a real world learning experience in portfolio management. The Challenge gives teams of students hands-on experience managing TVA stock portfolios.
Students actively manage real money by analyzing common stocks, placing trades, and providing performance reports to TVA — all under the guidance of a faculty member. The activity helps to prepare students for a career in investment management or simply to assist them in investing their personal savings. Currently, MSU finance (undergraduate) and MBA students manage an $850,000 portfolio, making buy and sell decisions, then implementing these changes.
How did we do in the most recent year (2005)? MSU students outperformed their S&P 500 benchmark for the 7th consecutive year, the only school among the 25 competing universities to do so. The students also earned the highest portfolio return over the past three years of the 25 competing universities, winning $20,000 in prize money for 1st place.
Total MSU prize money over the past five years now totals $120,000. Interest earned on this money is used for the benefit of students in the Department of Economics and Finance (scholarships, etc.).
Here are MSU's annual ranking (and prize money) over the six-year competition period:
| Year | 1-year return | 3-year return | # of universities | MSU prize money |
| 2005 | Unknown | 1st | 25 | $20,000 |
| 2004 | 1st | 1st | 25 | $35,000 |
| 2003 | 5th | 2nd | 25 | $15,000 |
| 2002 | 1st | 2nd | 19 | $30,000 |
| 2001 | 2nd | 3rd | 19 | $20,000 |
| 2000 | 5th | N/A | 19 | $0 |
| 1999 | 5th | N/A | 19 | $0 |
Congratulations to all the students that have competed in the TVA Investment Challenge! You have helped MSU to compile the best record of all the competing universities since the Investment Challenge was created seven years ago.
Additional Information:
A Methodology for Analyzing the Stocks
A Helpful Collection of Websites
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