Penn State Altoona students awarded cash for virtual trading competition

Wednesday, April 18, 2012 - 758 hits

A gift of impact from Dr. Carroll P. and Diane S. Osgood, of Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, in support of the Penn State Altoona Trading Club, enabled students to compete for monetary awards while experiencing the management of an investment portfolio on a virtual trading platform.

Forty students registered for the spring semester competition and met once a week in the Michael and Gail Irwin Family Trading Room in the Sheetz Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence. The Club is under the direction of Robert Belsterling, instructor in economics and accounting.

During a special awards ceremony on April 10, the Osgoods presented a $500 ceremonial check to Matthew Mittereder, a sophomore from Middletown, Pennsylvania, who placed first by expanding his portfolio nearly $50,000 over two months of virtual trading.

The Osgoods’ generosity made it possible for the Trading Club to present awards totaling $1,500 to the ten students with the highest portfolio values on the final day of trading. The Osgoods’ gift will also fund awards for the 2012 fall semester competition as well as a field trip to the Museum of American Finance in Lower Manhattan and a historic walking tour of Wall Street.

Over the years, the Osgoods have provided support for a wide variety of initiatives at Penn State Altoona and the University and have been recognized for their giving with induction into Penn State Altoona’s Ivyside Society.

“It was such a great experience for all of us to be able to trade and be involved in the stock market without the risk of losing personal finances,” Mittereder says. “Thanks to this experience, I feel that I have a much greater understanding of how the purchasing processes work for different securities, and a better idea of how to determine a smart investment. I express my appreciation to Dr. and Mrs. Osgood, as well as Mr. Belsterling, for making this possible.”