Managing Investment Funds

Catalog description

Managing Investment Funds is a two-semester class in which students will gain hands-on experience with all aspects of portfolio management. The class is collectively responsible for managing the Michael Price Student Investment Fund (MPSIF), an endowment fund with AUM close to $3mm. This class will be the flagship course of the finance department’s new initiative on hedge funds, which is part of a broader program focused on enhancing career opportunities for students at alternative investment firms. This course is practitioner-based, demanding, and rigorous. The class is by application only (transcript, CV, and max 250-word statement of interest). All interested students are encouraged to apply, but must have completed or are taking concurrently at least one of the following courses (ub.15, ub.17, ub.26, ub.32, ub.41, ub.44, ub.48, or ub.54). Students will make asset allocation, security selection, and risk management decisions, and will be responsible for monitoring and reporting on fund performance. Class time will be comprised of a mix of lectures delivered by the instructor and by outside speakers from industry, student-led deep dives into specific portfolio management topics, and Investment Committee meetings, in which students will present investment ideas and make (and implement) investment recommendations Each student will be part of two groups. The first is the Investment Committee of one of four sub-funds of the endowment; each has a specific investment style (e.g., fixed income, thematic equities, etc...) and benchmark. These committees are responsible for making and monitoring the fund investments. The second is a working group dedicated to a specific aspect of portfolio management. These groups will be responsible for developing and/or advancing the building blocks for portfolio management that the underlying funds will use.