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Alumni News
Justin Lueger (APM S09) accepted a position as a Financial Specialist at Bayer Animal Health in Shawnee, KS.
Chris Carr (APM S09) accepted a position at Edward Jones Investments in Overland Park, KS as a Financial Advisor.
Steve Lane (APM F01) welcomed son Grant to the world on April 17. He weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz.
Scott Baker (APM F06) accepted a position as an associate at Mesirow Financial Consulting in New York.
Gene Diederich (APM F94) has been named CEO of the Moneta Group in Clayton, MO.
JP Michaud (APM F08) accepted a position as an Industry Manager at Performance Fibers in Charlotte, NC.
Alex Earl (APM F08) accepted a position as a Financial Analyst at Sabre Holdings in Dallas.
Alex Mack (APM F08) accepted a position in Investment Banking at Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis.
Christopher Eckard (APM S08) accepted a position with Exxon Mobil in the Tax Reporting and Analysis Center in Houston.
David Holzman (APM F08) accepted a position as an analyst with Allied Business Group in Kansas City.
John Krenger <(APM F08) accepted a position at BOKF in Tulsa. He will be in the accelerated management rotation program.
Phil Linville (APM S08) accepted a position as an Investment Banking analyst at Southwest Securities in Dallas.
Brian Reynolds (APM F08) accepted a position as an analyst with the Alternative Capital Finance Group of Lazard Freres in New York.
Charlie Shreve (APM F08) accepted a position as an investment banking analyst with Fieldstone in New York.
Annie Van Allen (APM F08) accepted a position with Deloitte Consulting in Kansas City.
Megan Wood (APM S05) has finished her analyst program with Citi's Sales and Trading in Chicago. She will be entering the University of Chicago's Booth MBA program in the Fall.
Erin Nichols (APM S03) finished her MBA in May at Daniels College at the University of Denver.
Michael Gentry (APM F01) is with Credit Suisse in Chicago. He is the HOLT Technology Sector Specialist. He recently completed his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Kalem Kopf (APM F08) has accepted a position with the FDIC. After a summer of training, he will be stationed in Ft Lauderdale. Kalem was featured as one of the University's outstanding graduates. Read the story at this link.
Luca Cetrano (APM F08) has completed his thesis and will graduate from the University of Trento with an MS in Banking and Financial Markets.
Jason Lindshield (APM S06) has been awarded the professional insurance designation Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) by the American Institute for CPCU.
Alumni - Send us your updates! |
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School of Business Endowment
Applied Portfolio Management
c/o Kacy Schmidt
KU School of Business
1300 Sunnyside Avenue
Lawrence, KS 66045-7585
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Wrapping up the Year: Final Exam & Awards at Professor Shenoy's House
Following our last class period, the entire class attended the final exam and awards ceremony at Professor Shenoy's house. This long-standing tradition is an opportunity for the entire class to get together one last time in a setting other than the classroom. Awards were handed out as the Spring 2009 class reflected on semester. One thing that's certain is everyone is happy to have their Sunday nights back! |
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A Fortress Balance Sheet: Class Adds to its Garmin Position after CFO's visit
 By Group 2 - Ryan Drigans, Lucas Kempke and Joe XuOn April 6, Kevin Rauckman, CFO of Garmin, visited the APM class to discuss some of the key financial features that make Garmin a successful business, as well as the competitive advantages that the company possesses. Garmin is the leading global provider of GPS devices and is headquartered in Olathe, KS. It operates in four segments: Automotive, Aviation, Outdoor/Fitness and Marine. Mr. Rauckman emphasized Garmin's strong financial status, noting the company has not experienced internal financial pressures arising from the recent freeze-up in credit markets due to the macroeconomic environment. Garmin has no debt and more than $700 million in cash. Mr. Rauckman also pointed to Garmin's robust financial metrics, including its high operating margins and high return on invested capital, as reasons to own Garmin stock. Garmin has a competitive advantage in the GPS industry because it is the only company that does not outsource any of its operations, including manufacturing and marketing. This vertical integration strategy allows the company to effectively control costs, which helps sustain its industry-leading margins. Vertical integration also allows Garmin to respond quickly to changes in customer preferences and technological advances because it owns the manufacturing lines and distribution channels, allowing it to be more nimble than competitors. The week prior to Mr. Rauckman's visit, the APM class groups completed their analyst reports on Garmin. After reviewing the reports and hearing Mr. Rauckman's perspective on the company's future opportunities, the APM class decided to purchase 650 shares of Garmin at $22.17 a share. Mr. Rauckman grew up in Lawrence, KS, and graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor's degree in accounting, later earning an MBA in finance from KU as well. He also currently serves on the School's Board of Directors. He has been with Garmin for 10 years. |
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Waddell & Reed Analyst Dissects the Financial Crisis
 By Group 4 - Chris Carr, Vincent Hayes, David Kohtz and Rachel Sanner
"If you're right 51% of the time, you're doing well." ~ Dr. Laurian Lytle
On April 13, Dr. Laurian Lytle visited the APM class to discuss the current financial crisis. She works as a financial securities analyst at Waddell & Reed and shared with the class her insights into the financial crisis as well as insights into her life as an investment analyst.
According to Lytle, the financial crisis brought about by low interest rates which led to over-extended consumers. She also discussed deteriorating banking conditions abroad, pointing out that markets in Europe have not been immune to the financial crisis. She estimates banks in Europe are nine months behind those in the U.S. in terms of recognizing problems.
Lytle also commented on the rebound in the equity markets. Specifically, she mentioned that when credit markets diverge from equity markets, credit markets are usually right. In April, although equity markets were up, credit markets had remained unchanged. Using this logic she agreed with the APM class's viewpoint that the recent movement was a bear-market rally.
In preparation for Lytle's visit, the class analyzed Commerce Bancshares, Inc. (CBSH). Upon reading the cases, Lytle provided students with tips on how to value commercial banks and financial institutions in the current environment. She uses Price/Tangible Equity rather than Price/Earnings for valuation purposes. Moreover, she stressed the importance of getting to know management teams, and the methods they use to manage their balance sheet in order to mitigate interest rate risk.
Lytle said she enjoys her work as an analyst. "It's like putting a puzzle together," she said. "You have to figure out what pieces you have - and you don't have all the pieces - but you still have to put them together and try to see the bigger picture."
Dr. Lytle earned her doctorate degree in finance and economics from the University of Kansas in 1992. After receiving her Ph.D. she taught finance at the University of Wisconsin. She continued teaching until she was approached by a bank to work as an investment analyst. She's served in that role for the last several years with Waddell & Reed. |
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School of Hard Knocks: CEO Gives 10 Lessons of Leadership
By Group 3 - Chet Batson, Joe Hattam, Scott Miller and Spenser Samms
On March 30, Sam Duncan, chairman and CEO of OfficeMax, attended the APM class to give students a presentation on leadership. Drawing upon his deep experience, Mr. Duncan presented what he calls the "10 Lessons of Leadership," a list of traits and attitudes that he believes are required in order to be a successful leader. OfficeMax is an international supplier of office products with operations in Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Canada.
Mr. Duncan's successful retailing career started in 1969, when he worked for Albertson's Inc. in several merchandising positions, rising through the ranks until 1992. He began as a lowly bagger, eventually working his way into management roles. Based on this experience, Mr. Duncan said one of the key lessons he learned was to never put limitations on himself. By thinking big and expecting more of himself, Mr. Duncan said he was forced to stretch his abilities. He also referred to the "window of success," which is each person's view of what success means to them. Mr. Duncan said the sky was his window of success, as he refused to cap his achievements.
Other lessons Mr. Duncan impressed upon the class included always remembering where you came from, being yourself, knowing your audience, never giving up, and being honest.
Mr. Duncan came to the University of Kansas because of his friendship with Professor Bill Beedles. According to Mr. Duncan, Professor Beedles taught him the concept of Economic Value Added. Mr. Duncan says that one concept has helped him become a better CEO by explicitly taking shareholders into account when making managerial decisions.
Mr. Duncan assumed the Chairman and CEO positions at OfficeMax in 2005. From October 2002 to April 2005, Mr. Duncan was President and CEO of ShopKo Stores Inc., a multi-department retailer. From February 2001 to October 2002, Mr. Duncan was President of Fred Meyer Inc., a grocery retailer, and was President of Ralph's Supermarkets from 1998 to 2001. Mr. Duncan currently serves on the Board of Trustees of North Central College and is a director of the Nash-Finch Company. |
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Portfolio Performance Report
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2nd Qtr Return |
Year to Date |
Last 4 Qtrs |
3 Yr Return |
| SP500 |
15.2 |
1.8 |
-28.2 |
-27.6 |
| SP600 |
20.6 |
-0.2 |
-25.6 |
-28.6 |
| NASDAQ |
20.0 |
16.4 |
-12.3 |
-15.5 |
| APM |
24.6 |
7.7 |
-35.7 |
-10.1 |
The portfolio ended the quarter at $786,229, up almost 25% over the quarter. We closed positions in two long-term holdings, Inergy Partners (NRGP) and Jos A Bank (JOSB). We realized an annualized return 6.67% over 3 years for JOSB thanks to our mentor, Jim MacMurray. That's a much higher return than any of the indices over that time.
We added several new equity holdings - Cerner (CERN), BlackRock (BLK), and Paychex (PAYX). We've realized a gain of almost 49% on CERN, while the others have been flat. In addition to the equity holdings, we added fixed income components to the portfolio. Those holdings include two funds: Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund (FAX) and Legg Mason's Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio (ESD). Finally, we bought ConAgra 5.82% Senior Notes due in 2017.
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