D.A. Davidson & Co. Provides $1 Million to Student Investors

Business Wire, Sept 25, 2006

GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- In the company's ongoing commitment to financial literacy, D.A. Davidson & Co. today announced it is launching its 21st annual Student Investment Program and has provided $1 million to student investors for the 2006-2007 school year.

The D.A. Davidson Student Investment Program gives senior-level business students a hands-on education in investing and portfolio management. The program provides colleges and universities throughout the Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions with $50,000 per school, to be invested in the markets over the year. Twenty schools in seven states participate.

The student teams use real money, pay execution costs and earn interest on cash and dividends on securities. The schools also share in the profits. The teams make investment decisions with a D.A. Davidson financial consultant as advisor and each school receives one-half of its team's earnings above 5 percent, to spend as it chooses. D.A. Davidson lends the schools the initial $50,000 investment and absorbs any losses.

The Boise State University team ended the investment year with the teams' highest return on the $50,000 investment, for a 15.39 percent, or $7,694, increase. The University of Washington earned the second highest return, at 10.21 percent, and the University of Idaho was third with a 9.22 percent return. The program is not a competition.

Dr. Harry White, the Boise State University professor who coordinates the school's participation, said his students learn a professional money management process that includes analyzing a "client" profile and appropriate risk levels; selecting asset allocation targets; and researching companies and their stocks. "As we go through that process, they wind up picking pretty good securities," White said.

The Student Investment Program was launched in 1985 at Montana State University. Participating schools include: Boise State University; Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah; Carroll College in Helena, Mont.; Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Wash.; Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash.; Idaho State University in Pocatello; Montana State University in Bozeman; Montana State University-Billings; Portland State University; Seattle University; University of Colorado at Colorado Springs; University of Idaho in Moscow; University of Montana in Missoula; University of Oregon in Eugene; University of Utah in Salt Lake City; University of Washington in Seattle; University of Wyoming in Laramie; Utah State University in Logan; Washington State University in Pullman; and Westminster College in Salt Lake City.

About D.A. Davidson & Co.

D.A. Davidson & Co. (www.davidsoncompanies.com) is the largest full-service investment firm based in the Northwest, serving investors and corporate clients nationwide. The firm is recognized for its award-winning research, as well as the Davidson 99 Regional Stock Index(R), a benchmark of the Northwest's economic landscape. Founded in 1935, D.A. Davidson & Co. is an employee-owned company headquartered in Montana, with offices in 16 states. The company is part of Davidson Companies, one of the nation's leading financial services holding companies.