The Widener University School of Business Administration has opened a state-of-the-art learning environment for students interested in wealth management.

The new Finance Lab features the same technology used by financial planners and investors. Students use the space for coursework, individual study, and to manage the Money Club’s Student Managed Investment Fund.

Twelve computer stations are equipped with the Bloomberg Professional service, a platform delivering real-time data, news, and analytics relevant for financial service professionals. Using this platform, students can experience the speed of the financial market and understand market concepts and behaviors by creating and managing mock portfolios.

Students in the Money Club use the platform to make real-time, real-life investment decisions for the Student Managed Investment Fund, which contains a large cap equity fund, a mid-cap equity fund, and a fund of funds. The fund began with a donation to the School of Business Administration, and was bolstered in 2015 with a $500,000 allocation by the Widener University Board of Trustees.

“The Student Managed Investment Fund provides students with an invaluable, real-world learning experience, and the new Finance Lab only strengthens that experience as it allows us to more closely mimic the work of professional investors,” said Samantha Keleher, a senior finance major and vice president of the Widener Money Club and Student Investment Fund.

All business students can access the Finance Lab to complete the eight-hour Bloomberg Market Concepts course, which provides a visual introduction to the financial markets using Bloomberg data, indices, analytics, and news stories. Students receive a certificate after completing the program that they can then add to their resume.

“We intend to have all business students Bloomberg-certified, so that every student is ready to hit the ground running when they enter the workforce,” said School of Business Administration Dean Jayati Ghosh. “Our new Finance Lab provides a space for our students to develop a firm grasp of this industry software as undergraduates, and to continue developing the knowledge and skills necessary to become successful business leaders.”