Millsaps Receives New Bloomberg Research Computer

   When investment managers David Coker and Jim Palmer of Coker and Palmer, a Jackson-based security brokerage, decided to enhance the education of area business students, they wanted to do more than hire a few students to serve as interns.
   By donating to Millsaps a Bloomberg research computer with on-line access to the comprehensive Bloomberg financial database, the partners felt they could have a significant impact on students interested in the study of investments.
   "The Bloomberg is the industry standard when it comes to gathering the most recent corporate information and industry trends," states Coker.  "This tool will be a tremendous asset to the students."
   Millsaps finance professor Walter Neely agrees, "Our students will have the opportunity to conduct research on the same machine they'll be using when they graduate."
   Neely's students will be able to put the machine to good use as they manage the General Louis Wilson Investment Fund, an active portfolio with assets of more than $190,000.  The fund, named in honor of the Millsaps graduate and Merrill Lynch director who won the Medal of Honor during a 38-year Marine Corps career, was started in 1989 with an $89,00 gift from Merrill Lynch.
   As part of the management of the fund, students are required to research and defend their investment recommendations before a distinguished advisory board of investment professionals.  Neely notes that access to the Bloomberg will better prepare students for the "tough questions" posed by the board.
   Brian Courville, a Millsaps senior who recently completed an internship on Wall Street with the investment firm of Smith Barney, echoes the necessity of using the Bloomberg database in making financial decisions: "Among other things, the Bloomberg provides quick information in areas like insider ownership and recent trades.  This type of information is often difficult to come by, but is crucial to have when making a financial decision."
   Interestingly, the donated Bloomberg computer will not reside in the Else School of Management, but rather in the Millsaps-Wilson Library.  The licensing agreement dictates that the valuable research tool be housed in a semi-public location and be accessible to the larger faculty and student population.  
   Millsaps Librarian Jim Parks notes that once a user learns the basics of the machine it is not difficult to use.  Parks adds that "the Bloomberg has resources that should also interest students and faculty of other academic disciplines."  

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