Do Business School Students Get to Practice Investing with Real Money?

Yes, they do — over $25 million, in fact! The Wisconsin School of Business is invested in getting students real-world experience as soon as possible, which is where the Applied Security Analysis Program (ASAP) comes in. In 1948, legendary finance professor Frank Graner PhD’48 developed a risky idea –– give 20-something college students hundreds of thousands of dollars.  While other schools gave students “paper portfolios” (à la Monopoly money), Graner believed the best education students could get would come from capitalizing on the real-time rewards (and consequences) of the stock market. His former student Stephen Hawk BBA’63, MBA’64, PhD’69 officially launched the ASAP program in 1970 and handed students $100,000 of real money to start investing. Housed within the Hawk Center for Investment Analysis, the two-year MBA concentration gives students opportunities to analyze stocks and bonds, actively invest, and navigate market volatility. In 1987, they faced “Black Monday,” the worst financial crash in Wall Street history, and in 2020, students had a portfolio full of cruise and airline stocks just as a global pandemic hit and sent the travel industry into a tailspin. By the time participants graduate, they’ve gained invaluable experience in resilience, decision-making, and teamwork, and are stand-out candidates when they hit the job market. As they move on to new opportunities, their portfolios are handed down to the next year’s class, ensuring the cycle continues, year after year.