An increase in the stock market's overall performance, like the one that took place in October, can turn inexperienced investors into trade-happy amateurs, according to Brigham Young University business professors in a study published in The Review of Financial Studies. "When investors start off in the market, they tend to trade pretty conservatively," said Steven Thorley, the H. Taylor Peery professor of finance at BYU's Marriott School of Management. "In periods where the overall stock market performs well, they see a good return on their portfolio and figure they are good at picking stocks, so they start to trade more frequently."

Brigham Young University’s master of business administration program provides graduates with the country’s fastest return on their financial investment, according to BusinessWeek magazine. As reported in this week’s issue of the magazine, BYU MBA graduates take less than four years to pay off their education, compared to 14 years for Harvard graduates and 15 years for those from MIT. The reason? BYU’s Marriott School of Management charges a relatively low tuition and students command very competitive salaries at graduation, says Joseph Ogden, Marriott School assistant dean.

Texas transplant and BYU business management professor Andrew Holmes was recently profiled by BusinessWeek Online as students’ favorite professor at the Marriott School of Management. The article is one in an ongoing series by BusinessWeek Online highlighting business professors who rate exceptionally well with students.

The Wall Street Journal ranked Brigham Young University’s Master of Business Administration Program third among regional schools in the paper’s 2006 report of top business programs, up from sixth in 2005. The Marriott School was listed second as the best place to hire MBAs with high ethical standards.

Precision Surveying Solutions is featured on CNNMoney.com as one of 12 semifinalists in Fortune Small Business’ fourth annual business plan competition. The company, owned by MBA student Adam Robertson and Tim Wessman, took second place in BYU’s 2006 Business Plan Competition. The article on CNNMoney.com displays a brief overview of the twelve semifinalists; readers are asked to vote on their favorite.

Marriott School Professor Scott Smith, director of Brigham Young University’s Institute of Marketing, will testify as an expert witness in the Federal court case of ACLU v. Gonzalez — a case addressing the negative effects of Internet pornography. Smith, an authority in the field of Internet marketing, was selected to prepare and present findings about the effects that the Child Online Protection Act will have on Internet business.

Firefighter, doctor and teacher are common answers to the elementary classroom question: what do you want to be when you grow up? But in Hershey, Pa., global chocolatier might get a few votes — especially from Andrea Thomas’ kids. Thomas, Marriott School alumna, mother of three, and possessor of what may be the sweetest corporate title to date, was recently highlighted as one of BusinessWeek’s 25 Champions of Innovation.

Brigham Young University doesn’t offer a PhD in accounting or information systems, but not because professors are afraid their students will replace them at the front of the class — in fact, they’re hoping some may do just that. Marriott School of Management accounting and information systems professors developed a unique, hands-on doctoral preparation program to coach select students on what to expect from rigorous PhD schools.

In fifth grade, Bret Rasmussen’s notebooks were filled with sketches of shoes, more than a decade later he’s still designing shoes and this summer he’ll travel to China in search of a suitable factory to produce his innovative designs. The dream started to become more of a reality this year after placing first at the Utah Entrepreneurial Challenge and winning $40,000.

It’s not everyday you reach into your mailbox and see your face staring back at you from a magazine cover. Marriott School alumnus Brian Mower says this is one of many surprises hard-working BYU graduates may see from the professional world. The Journal of Accountancy recently highlighted Mower’s quick rise to chief accounting officer of a public company.

The U.S. Department of Education awarded BYU a four-year grant worth $1.4 million to continue its work as a Center for International Business Education and Research. The grant allows BYU to work with other CIBER schools across the nation to improve international business and language courses. Brooke Derr, director of the Marriott School’s Global Management Center, spent last summer drafting the proposal with help from center staffers and Associate Professor Kristie Seawright. According to Derr, some of the key factors in winning the grant include an extensive offering of business language courses, BYU’s geographic location and several proposed programs.

It is not everyday students hear from someone whose life surpassed their dreams. Dell CEO Kevin Rollins spoke to Marriott School graduates encouraging them to dream big and live even bigger at Friday’s convocation. Rollins, the keynote speaker, told students that in addition to dreaming big they should work hard, give back and maintain balance.

Two weeks before Kristen DeTienne moved into her new home, she called the phone company to pre-install a new phone line. The company didn't come through and she had to live for weeks without a phone. "The organization later faced a class-action lawsuit, and I got a rebate check as part of the settlement," said DeTienne, a Brigham Young University professor of organizational leadership and strategy in the Marriott School of Management. "Customer service problems can be very expensive for companies, and a lot of times they don't think about the long-term costs and the loss of loyalty issues they create."

Scott M. Smith, James Passey Professor of Marketing and director of the BYU Institute of Marketing, has been selected as a 2006-2007 Fulbright Scholar to Moldova. The Fulbright Scholar program is sponsoring Smith to develop a marketing and entrepreneurship curriculum in the small, former Soviet-block country.

KAM Accelerometer, Inc., a company touting an electronic personal fitness device that measures expended kinetic energy, walked away — make that ran away — with first place at Brigham Young University’s annual Business Plan Competition. A panel of business and venture capital professionals awarded KAM $50,000 in cash and in-kind services for the March 31 victory.

Brigham Young University's business and law schools are among the top 50 in the United States, reports U.S. News & World Report in its "America's Best Graduate Schools" issue, on sale Monday, April 3. Other BYU graduate programs and specialties rank in the top 100 in their categories. The J. Reuben Clark Law School is ranked 34th, and the Marriott School of Management is also ranked 34th.

More than $100,000 in cash and business services are up for grabs Friday as judges pick the most promising new enterprises at Brigham Young University’s Business Plan Competition. The final event, where one of three final teams will walk away with the grand prize valued at $50,000, will take place at 2 p.m. in room 140 of BYU’s Joseph Smith Building.

Who picks up the tab when you go to lunch with a billionaire? Warren Buffett, the world’s second-richest man, treated 22 BYU students to lunch and a 90-minute Q&A session in Omaha, Neb. The students, enrolled in investment classes, and their professors from the Marriott School of Management, jumped at the invitation to meet with Buffett — arguably the world’s greatest investor.

Officials from BYU’s Marriott School of Management announce the naming of the Global Management Center for former Eastman Kodak Company CEO. The late Kay Whitmore, who worked for Kodak for 36 years and led the company for three, was known for his business acumen and integrity. He was supported in his rise to CEO by his wife of 48 years, Yvonne.

A face-off between academics and chief financial officers may not sound like the most electrifying of showdowns, but a new Brigham Young University study that pits generally accepted theories against real-world behavior has important implications for investors considering companies' initial public offerings.