The Titan Capital Management lab takes the student investment experience to the next level with computerized terminals providing a professional environment for managing the fund and conducting research.

For the fourth consecutive year, Mihaylo’s Applied Security Analysis Program (ASAP), a student-managed investment fund, has donated to the Mihaylo Tutoring Center to help undergraduates stay on track with their academic plans and get the most out of their courses. This year’s contribution of $25,000 is more than three times last year’s previous record total of $7,500.

This has been a banner year for Mihaylo’s ASAP program. The new Titan Capital Management trading lab provides a venue for finance students to get hands-on experience in the world of investments by managing an actual securities fund, while a new donation doubled the assets the students work with, giving the fund record returns.

In keeping with ASAP’s commitment to creating a win-win outcome for the college, the program will present the Mihaylo Tutoring Center with its fourth annual donation, a $25,000 check.

“The funds will be used to pay tutors’ salaries, which are the bulk of our expenses,” says Emeline Yong, the assistant dean for student affairs who oversees the tutoring center.

“ASAP was designed so that students could effectively manage financial portfolios, with the proceeds of the fund endowing the tutoring center,” says Finance Lecturer Michael Milligan, the program’s managing director and director of Equity ASAP.

Beginning in fall 2012 with $180,000, the program now has more than $1.4 million, thanks to cash infusions and investment returns. Donations to the tutoring center were $5,000 for 2014 and 2015, $7,500 for 2016 and $25,000 this year.

CSUF President Mildred García (middle) and Provost Anil Puri (right) were among the academic and professional leaders who visited the Titan Capital Management lab on its grand opening in December 2016.

An ASAP Success Story

The ASAP program has provided an avenue for finance students to gain the skills and experience they need to launch rewarding investment careers. Among the many alumni now in the industry is Michael Neale ’13 (accounting and finance), who completed the program four years ago. Upon his graduation, he secured a position at the U.S. Export-Import Bank, where he works today as financial specialist of the board of directors, office of the Hon. Sean Mulvaney.

“Michael’s job is to review the financial statements of companies that want to get loans from the bank,” says Milligan. “He has the authority to deny loans based upon the company’s financials. After being on the job for several months, Michael wrote a letter to Dean Puri, donor Jeff Van Harte, Finance Chair Mark Stohs and me. In his letter, Michael said that in his job he was performing the very tasks he learned in ASAP.”

For More Information

For more on the ASAP program, contact Milligan at [email protected] or Finance Lecturer and Director of Bond ASAP Marcia Clark at [email protected]. For more on the college’s finance program, visit the Department of Finance at SGMH 5113 or call 657-278-2217.