In this paper, using our actual experience as finance faculty, we go over the steps to build and run an Investment Lab at University. First, we explain how the curriculum may be changed in order to accommodate this experiential learning opportunity in a finance undergraduate program. We explain how a new course oriented towards portfolio management may be created. Next, we describe how the student body may benefit from this initiative. Why is an Investment Lab needed at a university? What are the disadvantages of not having an Investment Lab (i.e. losing market share to competition, not bridging between theory and practice, and so on)? What is the solution to these problems? We explain that the solution possibly requires a new “Applied Portfolio Management Concentration/Minor”. As an example, we show what courses may be included under this new minor. Then, we go over the operational plan, including the business plan. We propose the establishment of a four-course minor, the lab, and a student managed fund. We explain how the whole operation will be financed. Then, we present the timeline and explain what needs to be done throughout the whole process. Finally, we go over the costs in detail. We believe that this paper will help other universities that would like to start an Investment Lab.

The main purpose of this study is to review practical experience and provide guidance on the use of Stock-Trak software (trading virtual assets of various types of investment assets) by students to make investment decisions under uncertainty. The article uses such scientific methods of analysis as analysis, synthesis, comparison, abstraction, and modeling. The information base for the study is students enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs in economics at Northeastern State University (USA). Based on the analysis of students’ reports for the period 2014-2017, it is established that the most common mistakes in the study of socio-economic processes include the neglect of transaction costs and the non-accounting of dividends in the calculations. For the most part, students have difficulty calculating financial ratios correctly because they are not sufficiently familiar with the procedure for acquiring investment assets using margin, and are unable to determine the initial amount of investment when purchasing assets using margin and have difficulty separating the profit option. Previous studies of methods and models of mastering knowledge of investment activities show that gamification of the educational process, an interactive form of practical exercises helps to improve the quality of communication of learning subjects, improve the overall level of learning effectiveness, as well as better mastering of knowledge through their practical use in the beginning. mode and subsequently in further professional activity. The results of the study may be useful to teachers in the financial and economic disciplines in terms of a detailed analysis of the major difficulties encountered by students in using the program and avoiding these errors in their activities. Keywords: investments, mutual fund, options, portfolio, stock, Stock-Trak.

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The Great Recession of [2008][2009] hurt almost all of the companies' stock values in the United States. Interestingly, for Starbucks, the deterioration started a few years before the recession. From 2005 to 2007, the company's stock price declined by approximately 40%. This case encourages students to examine the company's return on capital, compare it to its cost of capital, and then relate this to the decline in the company's stock price. First, they will establish a single formula for return on invested capital. Then, they will calculate the return on invested capital for Starbucks in each year. They will learn about different costs of capital including cost of common stock, cost of preferred stock, and cost of debt. Then, they will debate whether cost of debt capital, cost of equity capital, or weighted-average cost of capital is the relevant number to compare to the company's return on invested capital. Overall, the case illustrates the importance of return on capital, the different types of cost of capital, and the overall cost of capital on a company's value.