Students, faculty speak at investor roundtables
Article By: Clark Leonard
University of North Georgia (UNG) students, faculty and alumni had a valuable opportunity to provide feedback to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at investor roundtables held March 27 at UNG's Dahlonega Campus.
"UNG was honored to co-host this event in the Cottrell Center for Business, Technology & Innovation and showcase our students, faculty and alumni as part of the SEC investor roundtables," Dr. Mary Gowan, dean of UNG's Mike Cottrell College of Business (MCCB), said. "The event provided an opportunity for community members to learn more about the role of this important regulatory agency and to network with representatives from many different regulatory and nonprofit organizations."
Dr. Ning Wang, associate professor of finance; Dr. Maryna Murdock, professor of finance; Luke Atwood, a junior pursuing degrees in finance and accounting and CEO of the UNG Investment Club; and Jonathan Howell, a senior pursuing a degree in finance and CEO of the UNG Real Estate Club, presented on the perspective of retail investors.
Atwood, who is from Demorest, Georgia, drew wide praise for how he had researched and then presented information from the retail investor perspective.
"The support of the faculty and staff at UNG has been the biggest game-changer for me," Atwood said. "They're going to help me out, but they also have an expectation that I'm going to do a good job. I'm expected to do well because I have that support."
Kurt Schulzke, J.D., professor of accounting and law; Abby Keener and Troy Harris, students pursuing a Master of Accountancy; and Dustin Ward, a senior pursuing a degree in accounting, presented on materiality, which examines what constitutes a significant impact on a company.
"This issue of materiality and the reasonable investor is a gray area for SEC registrants and retail investors," Keener, who is from Athens, Georgia, said. "It was great to be able to bring it up to the SEC."
The support of the faculty and staff at UNG has been the biggest game-changer for me. They're going to help me out, but they also have an expectation that I'm going to do a good job. I'm expected to do well because I have that support.
Luke Atwood
UNG senior pursuing degrees in finance and accounting
Schulzke was grateful for the opportunities his students received at the SEC meeting.
"We do a pretty good job of making the classroom experience connected to reality. The projects we have students work on have real data," Schulzke said. "The SEC meeting was an extension of our effort to make sure that our students can hit the ground running when they finish their education."
Mike Lavender, J.D., MCCB associate dean of undergraduate programs, spoke about the potential dangers of investors acting on advice from social media and how to educate particularly young investors on this issue.
Lavender said the SEC was able to see that UNG's students could thrive at the agency, while the students also saw that they fit in as part of the high-stakes meeting.
"Many times for a college student, that's all they need is the confidence that they belong," Lavender said.
Dr. Ellen Best, associate professor and department head of Accounting and Law, explored the balance between proper protections and too much information in investment disclosure forms.
"It's getting so hard for the average retail investor to read a financial statement. That's forcing people to hire a financial adviser or get bad advice," Best said. "Where is the balance between investor protection and information overload?"
Other presenters at the event, in addition to MCCB faculty and staff, included Raffensperger; SEC Chair Gary Gensler; Investor Advocate Cristina Martin Firvida; Georgia Securities Assistant Administrator Noula Zaharis; Nekia Hackworth Jones, SEC regional director, Atlanta; Gurbir Grewal, director, Division of Enforcement; and Claire McHenry, president, NASAA.
Overall, the event provided an opportunity to bring together representatives from agencies and organizations that address a variety of retail investor issues including security fraud, investor protection, and overcoming economic barriers for citizens.
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