Dream Big, Work Hard: 20 Years of the RWU Gabelli School of Business CAFE Program
The Center for Advanced Financial Education celebrates two decades of preparing graduates for success
All year round, Michael Melton, Yeaton Professor of Finance and Director of ӰƵ University’s Center for Advanced Financial Education (CAFE), fields calls from companies like the New York Stock Exchange, Morgan Stanley, MJX, Gabelli Funds, Interactive Brokers, BlackRock, and plenty more. What do they have in common? They all want to hire CAFE graduates.
Launched in the fall of 2004, Melton built CAFE for the Mario J. Gabelli School of Business with the aim of creating a distinctive Portfolio Management Program that provides a real-world, industry-oriented education different from any other school in the nation.
“CAFE differentiates itself by having students work not just as analysts and fund managers but also as traders,” said Melton. “After having hired CAFE alumni, numerous national and multinational companies seek to be the first to hire our graduates knowing they are provided real on-the-job training.”
On its 20th anniversary year, CAFE celebrates its history and support for the future with an endowed professorship for Melton, through generous gifts from business school alumnus Tim Yeaton ’80 and his wife, Sue Yeaton, and Mario J. Gabelli, longtime champion of RWU’s Gabelli School.
“One of the flagship programs for the Gabelli School of Business, CAFE has developed generations of successful alumni shaping the global financial industry today,” said GSB Dean Diya Das. “The recent endowed professorship for ‘Doc’ Melton provides dedicated financial support that will help grow this program and take it to the proverbial next level.”
CAFE students manage real-dollar portfolios, in an environment designed to replicate a Wall Street trading pod, empowered to execute trades and reallocate the fund at a moment’s notice with only the approval of the Director – not through a long review process with a remote advisory board. With hours that reflect industry, students become proficient in every aspect of portfolio management, cultivate a strong work ethic and dedication, and unlike other institutions, also graduate with a knowledge of technical analysis, providing a powerful foundation needed to succeed in the financial world.
A signature element of the CAFE program has been to provide students a deep understanding of the mechanisms which drive global markets. Through the support of Hans Christensen, CEO of MJX Asset Management, students have traveled around the globe – Tokyo, Shanghai, Dubai, Frankfurt, and London, are some examples – to visit international stock exchanges and present their portfolio methodology to academic institutions and industry professionals at global institutions. Additionally, with the support of Mario J. Gabelli, students are able to participate in important industry conferences such as the Gabelli Funds Value Investor conference and Berkshire Hathaway Annual meeting. Such experiences not only advance the knowledge of the students, but have earned CAFE recognition on a global scale.
CAFE students also benefit from a worldwide alumni network who are passionate about paying it forward to the next generation. Alumni not only financially support the program but return to mentor students in a variety of ways, from serving on the CAFE Advisory Board to sharing career advice and providing connections to job opportunities. Each semester, alumni return to campus to participate in the current Student Fund Managers’ portfolio performance presentation.
All this has contributed to 20 years of CAFE success. The program has captured two national championships and numerous top placings at portfolio competitions (RISE and GAME), not to mention a second-place finish in a national Stock Pitch Competition showcasing the qualitative skills needed in industry today.
Today, CAFE graduates work in leading financial institutions around the world. “When you design a powerful combination of academic excellence and real-world work experience with industry connections and alumni dedication, you get the CAFE way – ‘Dream Big, Work Hard … Stay Humble’ – and two decades of successful alumni making an indelible mark on the financial world,” Melton said.