Undergraduates Excel in Joseph M. Wikler Finance Case Competition

On April 30, 2004, five select finance student teams participated in the first Joseph M. Wikler Finance Case Competition. The case program is sponsored by Joseph Wikler, who is a director of Oppenheimer Funds and a consultant for T. Rowe Price Small-Cap Value Fund. He also serves as a director for a number of other private and non-profit organizations. Wikler has been professionally associated with Professor Lemma Senbet, chair of Smith's finance department, since their days as directors of Fortis Funds, which was acquired by Hartford Life. Wikler initiated the competitive program in consultation with Professor Senbet, who then led the adoption process with finance faculty, naming Susan White, teaching professor of finance, as the faculty coordinator.

Much like the Smith MBA Case Competition, students were given a limited timeframe to develop a solution and strategy for a real-world organization's current issue. To support their strategies, undergraduate students were asked to provide financial analyses using formulas and calculations learned in the classroom.

This year's case involved Radio One Inc., an urban-oriented music, entertainment, and information radio operator that caters primarily to an African-American audience. In the case, Radio One had the opportunity to acquire 21 established urban radio stations from numerous reputable operators around the country. These purchases would almost double Radio One's market reach and increase revenues tremendously. Students were asked whether Radio One should invest in these stations, and if so, how much? They were given only 40 hours to come up with a practical answer and compelling presentation, given case facts and intelligent assumptions.

The winning team - Nathaniel Zola, Michelle Donnelly, Julianne Kortz, and Zach Barratt (pictured with Lemma Senbet, chair of the finance department, and Joseph Wikler) - presented excellent rationale for their solution to proceed with the acquisition, receiving $1000 each for first place. Zola, a junior finance major, said, "One of our goals was to be as accurate as possible in our assumptions. We did background research so that we could begin calculations. After reading the case, we knew immediately that it was an NPV [Net Present Value] problem, but we also knew that we needed to do a sensitivity analysis."

Case judges agreed that all of the teams did a fantastic job of using the financial management techniques taught in class. Zola commented, "The case was very applicable to what we learned in class. Calculating NPV, betas, weighted average cost of capital, and many other equations were vital to our answer. It was the perfect example of a real-life situation where we could apply the principles we learn in class."

The second place team received $500 each and included: Theodore Flo, Hannah Lowe, Ankush Nayer, Niklasa Rowold, and Sanjay Thomas. The third place team received $100 each and included: Joshua Berch, William Duryee, Linda Hang, Gueck Lim, and Erik Weinberg.

Judging the competition with Wikler were Allen R. Freedman, retired CEO and chairman of Assurant (formerly Fortis Inc.), and Eric-Vincent Guichard, managing director and CEO of GRAVITAS Capital Advisors LLC.

Overall, the Joseph M. Wikler Finance Case Competition provided a tremendous opportunity for students to showcase their abilities, while simulating roles in the financial management profession.