D.A. Davidson & Co. today announced that a student team from Westminster University (WU) has been named the winner of the annual Fred Dickson Memorial Award, the top honor in the firm’s Student Investment Program (SIP). The university also posted the program’s best-performing portfolio among 21 participating schools, generating a total return of 54.8% for the program year ended Aug. 31.
Drew Morin, Associate Vice President and Financial Advisor, serves as the D.A. Davidson advisor to the WU team along with WU Adjunct Professor Matthew Crouse.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Westminster the last several years,” said Morin. “I have consistently been impressed with Professor Crouse and his students’ thoughtful approach to building and managing their portfolio. I am thrilled to see the success they have had in achieving strong returns in their portfolio and to be named the recipients of the Fred Dickson Memorial Award. It’s a joy to see the experience they are gaining through this real-world, hands-on investment research and management process. A huge congratulations to Professor Matt Crouse and his students for a phenomenal year!”
“D.A. Davidson’s Student Investment Program has become a cornerstone of Westminster’s finance program,” added Crouse. “It offers students the opportunity to manage a portfolio while gaining firsthand experience with real-world investment decisions and accountability. We further enhance this learning experience through end-of-term investor letters that encourage students to make sense of the market environment and explain the rationale behind their portfolio decisions. D.A. Davidson’s generous profit-sharing program provides meaningful financial support to our finance program year after year. This year’s award is icing on the cake!”
The Fred Dickson Memorial Award honors one team annually that is considered the most outstanding participant in D.A. Davidson’s Student Investment Program. In selecting the winning program, roughly three-quarters of the award criteria is investment performance based on 1-year total returns and 3-year and 5-year risk-adjusted returns, while one-quarter of the criteria is based on qualitative factors including how well programs stick to their stated investment processes and the overall level of student engagement.
For the 1-year period ending August 31, 2026, WU’s student-managed portfolio generated a 54.8% total return (including dividends), the best result across all schools in the competition. For the same 1-year period, two key U.S. indices that serve as standard stock market benchmarks, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, had total returns of 20.38% and 18.62%, respectively. In all, five of the 21 SIP schools outperformed the S&P 500 for the program year.
As winners of the 12th annual award, WU will receive a $2,000 check and an invitation to an upcoming D.A. Davidson event. This year’s award marks the first time WU has been named the Fred Dickson Memorial Award winner.
As part of the SIP, D.A. Davidson provides student teams from senior-level investment courses at 21 Western and Midwestern colleges and universities with $50,000 to invest in the stock market, for a total commitment of $1.05 million annually. Each team makes investment decisions with the guidance of a local D.A. Davidson financial advisor and manages the portfolio for one year, starting Sept. 1. The program is designed to provide hands-on experience in finance, stock research, portfolio management, and investment topics.
Top-performing teams can earn a check for their school, earning half of any portfolio gains above 5%. D.A. Davidson absorbs any losses. For the just completed program year, 17 schools earned profit share checks totaling a combined $65,709, including $12,443 paid to WU.
In the 32 years since D.A. Davidson began sharing program profits, the company has donated $1,134,222 to participating institutions. The SIP launched in 1985 at Montana State University and has gradually expanded to colleges throughout the West and the Midwest since that time. WU joined the program in 1999. James Ragan, Co-Chief Investment Officer and Director of Investment Management & Research, and Eli Sanders, Senior Research Analyst, serve as co-directors of the program.
About D.A. Davidson Companies
D.A. Davidson Companies is an employee-owned financial services firm offering a range of financial services and advice to individuals, corporations, institutions, and municipalities nationwide. Founded in 1935 and headquartered in Montana, with corporate offices in Denver, Greater Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle, the company has approximately 1,600 employees and offices in 32 states.
Subsidiaries include: D.A. Davidson & Co., a full-service investment firm providing wealth management, investment banking, equity and fixed income capital markets services and advice; Davidson Investment Advisors, a professional asset management firm; and D.A. Davidson Trust Company, offering asset management and trust services.