Kraft Trading Floor | School of Analytics, Finance and Economics | SIU

Hands-on learning isn’t just something we talk about. It’s something we immerse our students in and you need look no further than The Burnell D. Kraft Trading Floor for proof. There, our students experience real time simulation of commodities and financial trading via the latest technology.

The trading floor, open since late 2003 and housed in Room 326 at Rehn Hall, is one of few in the nation. The facility features a stock ticker showing stock prices from financial markets across the globe. We even added seven Bloomberg terminals in June 2012, providing our students with the absolute latest news and financial market information. It’s our very own “Wall Street.”

Our students gain this invaluable experience thanks to Burnell D. Kraft, a Chester native and 1956 accounting graduate of the University, who secured $285,000 to create the unique classroom. Kraft, who enjoyed a long and successful career in business before retiring in 2001 as senior vice president of Archer Daniels Midland, said the room gives our students the equivalent of 5-10 years experience in just a year or two. Other generous benefactors enable us to continually update and enhance our very own “Wall Street.”

The room also serves as the meeting place and research site for the Saluki Student Investment Fund, a student group that actually gets hands-on practice in portfolio management and investment research by managing a $1 million portfolio for the SIU Foundation.

The Burnell D. Kraft Trading Floor -- just another example of how we give you valuable experience today to prepare you for the career you want tomorrow.