Two years later — the Student Management Investment Club is thriving
written by Silberman finance student Louis Mignone
Two years ago, I wrote “Student Managed Investment Fund: The Start of Something Special”, an article detailing the early progress of a student-led enterprise that began managing a stock portfolio. Two years later, I reflect on the success of the Student Managed Investment Fund [SMIF] and how it really did become something special.
Since our inception in June 2022, the portfolio is up 13.5%. In 2023, our return was 23.7%. Our portfolio consists of 23 companies across 11 sectors. Our top-performing stock, Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL), is up 48.7% since we purchased it back in 2022.
SMIF’s success is not limited to our investment performance but is complemented by participation in a variety of competitions/events.
Club Activities
To kick off the school year, we were graciously hosted at UBS in Weehawken for a tour of their corporate location, followed by a visit to the New York Stock Exchange.
In late Fall 2023, we entered nine teams into the annual Bloomberg Trading Challenge. All nine teams finished with positive returns, five teams finished in the top 20%, and one team secured 41st in the world (out of 1,160 teams). Led by Sector Manager Chris Leon, this team had a 15.5% return in the six-week trading challenge.
While the Bloomberg Trading Challenge came to a close, the Student Managed Investment Fund entered a team into the prestigious CFA Research Challenge. I had the pleasure to lead this team, joined by Juniors Ryan Sickinger and Fady Meckey, Sophomore Fatima Abba, and Freshman Joseph Mignone. With the guidance of Professor Hongyan Li, our team constructed a 20-page equity research report on Dollar Tree (DLTR). Out of the 26 competing teams in CFA New York, our report was scored the highest. With a near-perfect score of 98/100, we secured 1st place and moved on to the presentation rounds. Despite not advancing to the semi-finals of the presentation rounds, our team took a lot away from the experience and accomplished something truly admirable.
Later this month, the Student Managed Investment Fund will be competing at the Quinnipiac GAME Forum, the largest student-run finance conference in the world. We have submitted our application to the portfolio competition, and the group of students going into the city for the conference is preparing a trifold for the poster competition.
Above all else, SMIF has had a notable impact on campus life at the Silberman College of Business. Many members have already secured themselves internships for this upcoming summer, including Bank of America, BASF, Merck, and Wiss & Co.
This semester, we launched a workshop series where speakers come in to discuss our portfolio, technical applications/skills, and provide general market commentary. This series has been a profound success as our members enhanced their analytical abilities.
We have also established a relationship with neighboring Drew University in our first annual ‘Madison Ave Meets Wall Street’ event, where a panel of Drew/FDU alumni gave their perspectives on the industry. This relationship will strengthen our network, improve the operations of our funds, and enrich the learning experiences of our members.
Professor Ken Betz continues to support the Student Managed Investment Fund as our faculty advisor, and a team of Jon Budish, Rich Brenner, Tom Dinsmore, and Karen Denning serve as our Oversight Committee. I am joined by Regina Martins, Kevin Norton, Sabrina Saraceno, and Ryan Sickinger on the Executive Board. I look forward to what the future holds for the Student Managed Investment Fund and can’t wait to report back!
