Fall 2005: Finance

In this issue, we reveal how professionals in the financial services, real estate and insurance industries are providing creative solutions to problems and opportunities that they encounter. We even take the liberty of having a little fun with the language of finance, ala Grimm’s fairy tales.

Back in the 1800’s Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, “A creative economy is the fuel of magnificence.” He could hardly have imagined the dozens of creative ways modern finance and risk management would evolve. Still, his words are a prophetic description of the myriad ways finance powers American business and today’s global economy.

“More than most disciplines, the world of finance operates using a core of colorful and playful language,” says Allen Seward, Ph.D., an associate professor of Finance and Insurance at Baylor. “By ‘colorful,’ I mean that we take words or phrases recognized in a specific context and attach an entirely different, yet equally logical, meaning to them.”

The gold watch often symbolizes the retirement that employees enjoyed in the past. The symbol now carries a disconcerting implication: today’s employees can no longer expect the same security that characterized their predecessors’ golden years.

People who try to live their lives by a book of rigid rules may find pages missing when crucial events come up. Unexpected occurrences happen. Plans go awry. Life can be a benevolent teacher at times and a harsh taskmaster at others.

Money may not buy happiness, but one can certainly build a successful career out of it. Several Baylor business school alumni have proven they are worth their weight in gold by launching reputable careers in financial services. While they chose different paths, they all share the common denominator of possessing a sixth sense for how the dollar bill works.

The world-class Southwest Securities Financial Markets Center is the new home to finance course 5381, Practicum in Portfolio Management, which has provided hands-on experience for top students with an eye on the market since its inception in 2001. These apprentice money managers learn how to research securities, evaluate risky assets and allocate assets by actually managing Philip M. Dorr Alumni and Friends Endowed Investment Fund, one of the largest student-run portfolios in the nation – currently worth over six million dollars.

When discussing personal financial planning and retirement, it’s impossible to ignore the Social Security debate currently brewing in our country. Is there a crisis? Will privatization solve it? The White House is convinced the answer is yes. But would it be too risky and exclusive for all Americans?

Harry Provence, editor of the Waco Tribune-Herald from 1951-1979, has been quoted saying that a good banker is better for a city than a two-inch rain. David Lacy, president of Waco’s Community Bank & Trust, remembers hearing this bit of wisdom and suspects his father had the same idea when deciding to establish the Harriette L. and Walter G. Lacy, Jr. Chair in Banking in the Hankamer School of Business. However, this chair is not the only endowed position from which students in the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate department benefit. In fact, this single department in Hankamer boasts five endowed chairs, in concentrations ranging from entrepreneurship to investment management.

“Goldman Sachs actively recruits Baylor graduates. These graduates show a skill set, determination, and poise that align with the Goldman Sachs culture. Baylor graduates have done extremely well here at the firm and we are excited by our continued relationship with this school, as some of these graduates will be the leaders of our tomorrow,” John Burpee, Vice President Investment Management Division, Goldman Sachs & Co.

1952

Patsy Vaughan Pentecost, BBA 1952, feels her main present accomplishment is that keeping in great health and is proud to have been an early graduate of the business school that she feels is ever gaining respect.