Students at World's Largest Student Investment Forum See Dow Higher than 13,000 in a Year

DAYTON, Ohio, March 31, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Participants of the world's largest student investment forum at the University of Dayton think 2011 will be a good year for the stock market. Investors should take notice, as students at last year's forum predicted the same thing for 2010 —  and they were right.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110103/DC23496LOGO)

Asked where the Dow Jones Industrial Average would be one year from now, 56 percent of students at the R.I.S.E. XI Global Investment Forum said it will be greater than 13,000. Only 10 percent believe it will be less than 12,000. When asked the same question March 18, 2010, 51 percent of students correctly predicted the Dow would be between 11,000 and 11,999. The actual average was 11,858.52.

Students attending the first day of the R.I.S.E. forum March 31 were invited to vote on five poll questions via text message. The number of responses ranged from 331 to 437.

Other results were:

• Petroleum received the most votes (43 percent) for the industry that would achieve the highest returns in the energy field in the next 10 years. Solar came in second (24 percent) and nuclear came in third place with just 18 percent after earning the top spot in 2010.
• The federal budget deficit topped the list (50 percent) of the most important issues facing the U.S. today, a slight increase from 2010. Health care is much less of a concern to students — 8 percent today compared to 24 percent a year ago — while education is a greater concern, receiving 18 percent of the vote compared to 6 percent a year ago.
• The students overwhelmingly (62 percent) said they trusted neither Wall Street nor Congress, with both investors and lawmakers receiving fewer votes than in last year's poll.
• More than half (53 percent) of the respondents said it was extremely important or very important their careers or work result in a benefit to society, while 13 percent said it was not important.

For complete results go to: Complete R.I.S.E. XI poll results.

About 1,500 students, faculty and professionals are participating in the R.I.S.E. XI forum sponsored by the University of Dayton in association with the United Nations Global Compact.

"Highlights of this year's conference have included our continuing relationship with the U.N. Global Compact on issues such as socially responsible investing and the exciting new partnership with Bloomberg Radio bringing global attention to the forum and to our speakers," said Matthew Shank, dean of the University's School of Business Administration.

Celebrating its 11th anniversary, R.I.S.E. (Redefining Investment Strategy Education) is a financial forum for students, faculty and professionals featuring unscripted, interactive discussions with internationally known leaders on topics including markets, governance, risk management, energy and social responsibility.

R.I.S.E. XI runs through Saturday, April 2, with student and faculty breakout sessions, workshops, networking receptions, a career strategies forum and an optional portfolio competition.

Follow R.I.S.E. in several ways: monitor tweets by searching hashtag #UDrise or become a fan of "University of Dayton Media Relations" on Facebook.

For more on the event, visit http://rise.udayton.edu.

Link to this release: http://www.udayton.edu/news/articles/2011/03/rise_xi_poll_results.php

SOURCE University of Dayton