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Titans of Investing

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Titans of Investing
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
Founded atTexas A&M University
TypeCourse, Professional fraternity, and Think tank
Legal statusActive
Location
Membership
700 (Fall 2021)
PublicationTitan Brief

Titans of Investing, commonly referred to as Titans, is a collegiate program founded and led by investor Britt Harris.[1][2][3][4]

The program consists of a semester course, a professional fraternity, and a think tank. It is modeled on Benjamin Franklin's Junto and emphasizes "wisdom, personal understanding, and growth" through "collaboration, civil discourse, and a sincere search for truth". Its mission is to infuse "high-achieving students" with "wisdom", and instill a "life path" of "success to significance" rather than pursuing "success after success", which is also modeled on Franklin's "do well by doing good." Titans is funded by over 80 individual and corporate sponsors. Graduates are referred to as "Titans", nationally recognized for "excellence, intellect, and integrity", and highly recruited by employers.[5][6] As of Fall 2021, the alumni network consists of 700 Titans.[7][8]

History

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Genesis

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The impetus for Titans began in the spring of 2005 while Britt Harris, a Christian,[9] was the chief executive officer of Bridgewater Associates; the largest hedge fund in the world at that time.[citation needed] He worked for nearly two decades in high-stakes wealth management. Seeking relief, a confluence of inquiries into the meaning of life, common good, and greatest literary works culminated in the idea of a collegiate course he called the "Titan Series". The initial concept was to study his "top 10 books" and his "top 10 practitioners" in each key business field (i.e., management, investing, accounting, economics, et cetera). Before resigning from Bridgewater, Harris queried 70 peers throughout business, academia, and politics for the most influential books on their careers. With a compiled list of over 200 books,[10] Harris returned to his alma mater at Texas A&M University in the fall of 2005.[1][2][9][11][6][12]

Development

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Throughout the 2005 fall semester and 2006 spring semester, Britt Harris recruited a select group of students from Texas A&M University to help organize, examine, and distill over 200 literary works to their core concept,[10] then develop the course curriculum. The group, "Titans 0", included Cason Beckham, Will Carpenter, Jason Kaspar, Matt Ockwood, Ty Popplewell, Andrew Robertson, and Thomas Marriott who had just finished redeveloping the Aggie Investment Club.[7] Influenced by his mentor Bob Buford, Harris infused the course with the philosophy of living a life of "success to significance" rather than pursuing "success after success". Employing the very concept of Titans (timeless wisdom), Harris modeled the course structure on Benjamin Franklin's Junto to emphasize "wisdom, personal understanding, and growth" through "collaboration, civil discourse, and a sincere search for truth".[1][2][9][11]

The curriculum was finished and adopted by Mays Business School as Titans Course (FINC 427) in the summer of 2006.[13] The first class, "Titans 1", launched in the 2006 fall semester and graduated the first 15 Titans: Jon Boben, Andy Cronin, Scott “The Situation” Deyerle, Justin Evans, Bryan Farney, Robert Fletes, Graham Gilkerson, Daniel McMaster, Payal Patel, David Phillips, Cherise (née Kaspar) Ratliff, Steven Smith, Michelle Stukey, Bryan Sweeney, and Xuan Yong.[7]

Growth

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As Titans graduated, the collaboration and camaraderie cultivated inside the classroom continued after into the Titans Fraternity that spans 23 states and 11 countries. As of May 2019, the alumni network consists of 542 Titans from 34 classes.[7]

In September 2016, a chapter was established at the Hankamer School of Business of Baylor University.[14] In January 2018, a chapter was established at the McCombs Business School of University of Texas at Austin.

The book summaries produced by the Titans Course evolved into an acclaimed think tank called "Titans Briefs". Titans Briefs are freely released into the public domain.[15] As of May 2019, the digital archive features 415 briefs.[16]

Administration

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The Titans of Investing program is led by Britt Harris, who also serves as professor of the Titans Course, and operated by its students.

Student positions include:

  • Network Program Manager
  • Wisdom Program Manager
  • Reach Program Manager
  • Finance Program Manager

The Titans Fraternity is operated by the Titans Alumni Network.

The program is overseen by an advisory board consisting of Harris, alumni, Texas A&M faculty, and industry dignitaries.

Membership

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Membership is exclusive, but applications are open to all majors, gender, race, and religion. Each semester, 15 slots per chapter are competed for. Requirements include: resume, essays, interviews with alumni, and up to nine nominations. Membership is free courtesy of over 80 individual and corporate sponsors.[citation needed]

Applicants are vetted for the following qualities:[17][18]

  1. Likely to be successful early in career
  2. Have the character to use whatever success they do achieve for the benefit of others
  3. Interesting and fully engaged people — Britt Harris believes “If you are extremely smart but only partially engaged, you will be outperformed by people who are sufficiently smart but fully engaged, and should be.”[19]

Course

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Class is held once a week for two hours. It consists of professor led and class-directed instruction, alternating weekly.

The semester course consists of:[13]

  • Seven modules:
  1. Long-term market characteristics
  2. Market theory; efficient markets versus behavioral finance
  3. Successful active management methods
  4. Policy development
  5. Hedge fund strategies
  6. Emerging markets
  7. Benjamin Franklin's Preeminence of Wisdom and the Rareness of an Intentional Life
  • Review of seventeen Titans Briefs
  • Creation of one Titans Brief
  • Development and management of an active investment portfolio
  • Weekly presentation and review of economic reports are presented each week
  • Guest speakers
  • Bi-weekly class dinners hosted by the Professor, Britt Harris

Fraternity

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Titans Fraternity is a professional fraternity (not to be confused with Greek social fraternities or honor societies) that is cultivated among classmates during the Titans Course, and continued after graduation in the Titans Alumni Network. During the course, classmates engage in civil discourse and social interaction over dinner at the Titans Clubhouse. Annual dinners for all Titans are held in Austin, Dallas, Houston, New York and London.

Think tank

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Book summaries produced by the Titans Course developed into an acclaimed think tank called "Titans Briefs". Titans Briefs are freely released into the public domain.[20] As of May 2019, the digital archive features 415 briefs.[16]

Chapters

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Texas A&M University

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Titans was established at Texas A&M University in August 2006. It is hosted at Mays Business School and the semester course is FINC 427/669. As of May 2019, it has graduated 28 classes consisting of 441 Titans.[7]

Baylor University

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Titans was established at Baylor University in September 2016.[14] It is hosted at Hankamer School of Business and the semester course is BU4M. As of May 2019, it has graduated 4 classes consisting of 51 Titans.[7]

University of Texas at Austin

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Titans was established at University of Texas at Austin in January 2018. It is hosted at McCombs Business School and the semester course is FIN 372. As of May 2019, it has graduated 3 classes consisting of 48 Titans.[7]

Notable alumni

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Class Chapter Titan Achievement Reference(s)
Titans 6 A&M Morgan (née Knocke) Pennington 2010 recipient of the Earl Rudder Memorial Outstanding Student Award [21]
Titans 19 A&M Breeja Larson 4×100-meter medley relay 2012 Summer Olympics Gold Medalist [22]
Titans 20 A&M Layeeka Ismail 2017 recipient of the Earl Rudder Memorial Outstanding Student Award [23]
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "BRITT HARRIS BIOGRAPHY". Texas A&M Mays Business School.
  2. ^ a b c Um, Sage (December 1, 2015). "Prof. Britt Harris and His Army of Investing Titans". Chief Investment Officer.
  3. ^ Whyte, Amy (August 22, 2018). "How an Investment Legend Is Trying to Beat Yale". Institutional Investor.
  4. ^ Willoughby, Jack (February 25, 2008). "Back-To-School Time, Talking With Britt Harris". The Wall Street Journal.
  5. ^ Bruni, Frank (March 8, 2016). Where You Go Is Not Who You'll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 9781455532698.
  6. ^ a b "History". Titans of Investing.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "TITANS CLASS DIRECTORY". Titans of Investing.
  8. ^ Hill, Lydia (Fall 2021). "Fully Invested - Mays Business School's Titans of Investing class prepares the next generation of financial leaders". Spirit Magazine.
  9. ^ a b c Wee, Gillian (June 16, 2012). "Pension fund makes some Texas-size bets". The Washington Post.
  10. ^ a b "Titans, Britt Harris' List of Collected Classics" (PDF). Texas Wall Street Women.
  11. ^ a b Titans of, Investing (Dec 8, 2017). "Overview". Youtube.com.
  12. ^ "IN THE NEWS". Titans of Investing.
  13. ^ a b Department of, Finance (12 March 2015). "TITANS OF INVESTING". Texas A&M, Mays Business School.
  14. ^ a b "Baylor University's MBA Program". Facebook. September 8, 2016.
  15. ^ "Titan Briefs Archive". Google Docs.
  16. ^ a b "Titan Briefs Archive List". Google Docs.
  17. ^ "The Mighty Titans". Titans of Investing.
  18. ^ "What Does it Take to be a Titan?". Pefin. June 20, 2018.
  19. ^ AIC, TAMU (May 2, 2016). "Excerpts From A Titan: Britt Harris". Youtube.com.
  20. ^ Titans of, Investing. "Titan Briefs". Google Docs.
  21. ^ "Knocke presented the Brown Foundation — Earl Rudder outstanding student award from Texas A&M University President". Houston Chronicle. September 12, 2010.
  22. ^ "2013-14 Women's Swimming & Diving Roster". 12thman.com.
  23. ^ Watts, Elena (June 13, 2017). "Three Texas A&M Graduates Honored With Top Awards". Texas A&M TODAY.
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