Business
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Professors give advice on "investing in the 2010 s"
CHRIS HOLMES
business Writer
As we near graduation
and start earning salaries,
we start to wonder what we
will do with our money.
Some of us will pay back
loans or buy new cars, but
how should we invest the
rest of the money that
we're making?
Although most of us may
be happy storing our
money in a checking ac
count for now, it is impor
tant that we learn how to
properly invest for the fu
ture.
Last week, a panel of fi
nance experts, including
several Behrend profes
sors, sat down to discuss
the topic "Investing in the
2010 s" in the REDC 180
Conference Room.
Considering the limited
background in finance and
all-red bank statements
that many students have,
they may have thought that
it would be way over their
head.
However, within an hour
and a half, it was as though
one had become a genuine
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Women on
the rise in
foreign
nations
ALLISON QUIGLEY
business tti wet
It is a well known fact
that women hold less
power positions than males
throughout the world.
However, recently there
have been companies mak
ing leaps and bounds to
create more opportunity
for women in the business
world.
One country that is tak
ing these steps is Norway,
who has put quotas on
women in the workplace.
In 2008, Norwegian law
required that forty percent
of the boardroom must
consist of females for those
companies that are pub
licly listed.
Other countries are be
ginning to follow suit with
Sweden hoping to reach
this goal of at least forty
percent by the year 2015.
qUot i e crc
ehe week:
"An economist is an
expert who will know
tomorrow why the
things he predicted
yesterday didn't hap
pen today."
-Laurence J. Peter
Market results for the week of September 14, 2010 through September 20, 2010
financial guru.
It was quickly learned
that making good financial
investments will greatly af
fect each and every one of
our futures, and it is vital
that we realize the impor
tance of investing at a
young age.
While investing may
seem confusing, it can be
very easy to find good in
vestments and
create your own
portfolio
The start of
your investment
portfolio may
arise when you
are hired at a job
and start earn
ing a salary.
Companies
generally offer
many ways to
invest your
money, such as
an IRA, 401 k, or
company stock.
This is a good
time to do some
research and
find the best
choices for in
vestments.
While retire-
Celebrate China: business and culture
AYAN CHOUDHURY
businetiff t‘ it t.l
The Sam and Irene Black
School of Business, hosted
"Celebrate China," two
days of programs and lec
tures to bring awareness to
Chinese business and cul
ture.
It began with a faculty
research roundtable at
noon where faculty mem
bers discussed ways in
which the college can col
laborate with Chinese part-
MBA grad becomes finance professor
STEVEN GALDO
business writer
Finance professor Rick
Hedderick has now begun
teaching full time at
Behrend.
Since spring 2008, Hedd
erick has been teaching
part time.
With this change, he is
now taking on a full load of
classes and assumes more
of a role in the Black school
of business.
Hedderick, having re
ceived his masters in busi
ness administration from
Behrend, is quite familiar
with this place.
Professor Hedderick
completed his undergradu-
ment plans such as IRAs
and 401 ks are popular and
safe, investing in stock or
mutual funds tend to be
more profitable.
Mr. Edward Miseta, Penn
State Behrend's own
Money and Banking pro
fessor, claims to still be
shooting himself in the foot
for investing too much in
retirement plans when he
Local Behrend professors speak to a group of students on the importance of investing
Later in the evening a
Chinese dinner with guest
speaker Michael Elchik,
Pittsburgh-based high
technology executive and
entrepreneur, was held in
Reed Union Building's Mc-
Ga►vey Commons.
Michael Elchik, provided
the diners with a few
laughs as he spoke about
his personal experiences
while doing business with
hi-tech companies in
China.
ate studies at Clarion Uni
versity. There he received
his Bachelor of Science de
gree in Accounting.
Shortly after graduating
Clarion, he started his own
small retail business at 21
years old.
The Business lasted for
15 years until Hedderick
sold it, and moved on to
bigger and better things.
After attending Behrend
and receiving his M.8.A.,
Hedderick became a finan
cial planner.
He started his own prac
tice, which he continues
today while teaching full
time.
Currently, Professor
Hedderick is teaching Cor
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in the 2010 s and making their portfolio
arrived at Penn State
Along with finding the
right investment, it is also
essential to properly
spread out your invest
ments.
"You must have a well-di
versified portfolio," said
Greg Filbeck, a Samuel P
Black Professor of Insur
ance and Risk Manage
ment and Professor of
'A lot of business is done
at the dining table" said
Elchik. "I am not here to
teach, but to share my ex
periences. The main point
of my discussion today is
that if you want to be a fu
ture player in the world,
learn Mandarin."
The dinner concluded
with a chopstick competi
tion where first-time chop
stick users battled one
another trying to grab as
many candy corns as possi
ble in a minute.
The second day of Cele
brate China saw Elchik re
iterate the previous day's
points on the importance of
knowing how to speak
Mandarin.
In his presentation,
Elchik discussed a case
study involving his work
with micro electrome
chanical systems (MEMS)
microphone technology.
"We designed the world's
smallest digital micro
phone which is only one
millimeter by one millime
ter," said Elchik during the
presentation while he
showed the tiny device to
the audience.
His core focus was on
Chinese businesses and
pointed out some miscon
ceptions about China.
"People sometimes think
of China as places where
innovations take place,
well the truth is innova
porate Finance, Personal
Financial Planning, and In
surance Planning.
Next semester he will be
teaching Investments as
well. Another asset to Hed
derick's rich background is
his Certified Financial
Planner (C.EP.).
According to Hedderick,
there are many differences
between a C.F.P. and a
Chartered Financial Analy
sist (C.F.A.).
The C.F.P. test delves
more into insurance and
investing, while the C.F.A.
test goes more in depth
with accounting, econom
ics, and finance.
To become a C.F.P. one
has to pass an examina-
BEHREND BEACON
September 24, 2010
www.thebehrendbeacon.com
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Finance
Without diversification, it
is possible to lose a signifi
cant amount of money in a
stock drop or period of in
flation.
Another aspect to take
into consideration is risk
tolerance. While some in
vestments may have higher
returns, they also tend to
be more risky.
It is vital to
assess how
much risk one
is willing to
accept before
putting
money in
high-risk in
vestments
such as real
estate, stocks,
and hedge
funds.
Among the
debate of the
best invest
ment options,
all panelists
seemed to
agree on one
very important
investment
rule.
tions take place in the west
while China is about cost
cutting. Another thing that
is very„ important to the
Chinese is their cultural
values. They are observant
of symbols and will judge
you by things such as lan
guage and dexterity with
chop sticks."
To conclude 'Celebrate
China with Black School of
Business,' a panel discus
sion was held in Reed
Union Building's McGar
vey Commons. Four pan
elists discussed their
personal experiences with
Chinese business and cul
ture during "Perspectives
on China: Its Business and
Culture."
The panelists included
Dr. Michael Chuang, assis
tant professor of manage
ment, Black School of
Business; Dr. Ozgun Demi
rag, purchasing manager,
Farimax; Carolyn Louie, in
structor of business, Black
School of Business; and Dr.
Jessica Zhao, associate
professor of finance, Black
School of Business.
"Americans will never
understand how married
Chinese women live with
their in-laws or when they
use their umbrellas," ex
plained Dr. Zhao talking
about the cultural differ
ences between China and
the western world.
"On the other hand Chi-
tion, to become a C.F.A.
one must pass three exam
inations in the subjects pre
viously stated.
"It keeps me up-to-date
and allow me to spread my
ideas," says Hederick
speaking on his inspiration
to become a professor.
Another advantage he
brings to the table is his ex
perience of working in the
real world.
He even pointed out that
he "brainwashes his kids",
by taking them to the first
home football game every
season.
"There's no question
where they are going to
college, they watch Penn
State cream some smaller
"The best thing you can
do when investing is to
know your assets," claimed
Eric Robbins, CFA, Invest
ment Analyst and Portfolio
Manager at Robbins
Wealth Management.
The easiest way to make
investment mistakes is to
invest in something you're
not educated on.
While there are many
confusing, high-detail in
vestment plans, it is impor
tant not to put money
somewhere unless you
know exactly where it is
going.
Overall, there are many
important rules for setting
up a financial portfolio, and
in order to make good in
vestments, you must do the
research.
Whether simply read'ng
some articles on the web or
speaking with a financial
advisor, it is vital to under
stand what type of portfolio
is being created.
In the end, a good portfo
lio is what is going to leave
you lounging in the Ba
hamas while your friends
are greeting customers at
Walmart.
nese people won't under
stand how Americans call
their parents' friends by
their first names or the
concept of carrying back
packs."
"Despite the differences,
we live in the same world
and have the same dreams.
Chinese nowadays are
more open to and have
adopted some western cul
tures," Chao said.
Dr. Michael Chuang
talked about high-speed
rail and online gaming in
China. He used figures to
show how China is leading
the global race in high
speed rail and have now
begun to export the tech
nology.
Carolyn Louie in her
presentation supported Dr.
Chuang's points by show
ing the Gross Domestic
Product, figures of China
for the last five years, and
compared it to those of the
United States.
Dr. Demirag, who has
made over a hundred trips
to China, spoke about his
time there. Pictures from
his high-rise apartment
building gave the audi
ences an idea of how fast
Chinese cities are growing.
The panel discussion
ended with a few Q&A with
the audience and a treat of
Chinese cookies.
school every year, and they
think Penn state has never
lost a game," says Hedder
ick.
Professor Hedderick also
mentioned during our dis
cussion that he "thoroughly
enjoys working with the
faculty here."
It's an accomplishment
in itself that he manages to
teach a number of classes
while maintaining his plan
ning practice.
Remember when sitting
in professor Hedderick's
class, that he isn't just
teaching this from a text
book, he works with the
subject for a living.