Since 2010, the Student Managed Investment Fund has helped graduates launch their careers in finance.
Research companies in various sectors. Analyze stock market data to understand trends. Deciding the best way to invest his more than $2 million of someone else's money. This type of work is done every day at investment firms across the country. It also takes place at Fordham's Gabelli School of Business.
Through the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF), a two-semester course run by James Russell Kelly, students manage the university's $2 million endowment in a portfolio of stocks, bonds, and alternative assets.
Students start as analysts and are paired with second-semester students who work as portfolio managers. Analysts monitor sectors such as healthcare, energy, and real estate, while portfolio managers help make investment decisions and can also take on additional roles such as chief investment officer or quantitative analyst.
The fund started with $1 million in 2010 and has grown to more than $2.1 million, said Kelly, a senior lecturer in finance who also heads Fordham's Gabelli Center for Global Security Analysis.
“The main theme is student empowerment, and students make all investment decisions,” he said. “My role is to set parameters that give us guidelines and guardrails.”
Current students connected with alumni and shared how their experiences have helped them in their careers in finance and investing at SMIF's first networking event, held on February 6 in the Lowenstein Center 12th Floor Lounge on the Lincoln Center campus. did. world. Participants also shared their SMIF stories with: Fordham Magazine.
Rohit Roy is a portfolio manager in the healthcare sector and a quantitative analyst at SMIF.
Rohit Roy, Class of 2024
Role of SMIF: Portfolio Manager, Healthcare
Selection subjects: Finance with a Minor in Computer Science
“It's active learning. You're not learning from a textbook, you're not learning theory. You're looking at what's happening in the real world and how it's impacting the market.
“I plan to work full-time in the trade.” [for Apex Capital after graduation]. So this is a very direct kind of jump. You're not actually trading here, but more like a long-term investment obligation. However, many skills are clearly transferable. For example, you must be able to closely track the market, understand how things work, quickly digest high-level information, and act on it. Many skills work together very well. ”
From left: Brigida Caruso, Rishika Pal, Ria Naidu (Photo by Kelly Prinz)
Rishika Pal, Class of 2024
Role of SMIF: Former Managing Director
Selection subjects: Finance with a Minor in Computer Science
“I learned about [SMIF] When I was in first grade, I thought what a great opportunity, considering the fact that not many schools leave a portion of their endowment with their students. Being able to actively manage that and receive guidance was very important to me. It was a really great experience. I ended up becoming the managing director of the fund, so it was kind of a full-circle moment for me.
“That's one of the things you have to learn. [investing] Yes, in theory, but what data do we have access to from an overall portfolio perspective? What should we benchmark? How do we predict and manage allocation and risk? I think this kind of hands-on learning is very different and unique. ”
Ria Naidoo, Class of 2024
Role of SMIF: Portfolio Manager, Information Technology
Selection subjects: Global business centered on finance and economics
“I started looking into it, [the SMIF experience] I was in third grade, when I was trying to figure out what path I should take.I thought it was a good opportunity to [invest] In an educational environment, there is slightly more room for error than when starting out in the real world.anything [work I’ll do as an equity research associate at Jefferies] Pretty similar to what I'm doing now. So I think it was very helpful to get a glimpse of that and not only to actually work hands-on, but also to learn from Professor Kelly. ”
Adam Arias is a SMIF Healthcare Analyst.
Adam Arias, Class of 2025
Role of SMIF: Analyst, Healthcare
Selection subjects: finance
“I feel like my eyes are slowly opening. It's a very supportive place. I can already see that your voice matters more at SMIF. We encourage your ideas to come out. Masu.
“From now on, I will be taking on a more customer-facing role.” [in my internship at PIMCO this summer].but [through SMIF] I have experience in how to work in a team, how to have an equal voice. I also develop communication skills with everyone so that I know what's going on in the market and can communicate that to my manager. In my future work, I would like to be able to convey this to clients. ”
Stephen Hahn and Yaakov Musheyev (Photo by Kelly Prinz)
Stephen Hahn “Gabelli '15”
Vice President, Finance and Infrastructure Direct Financing, JPMorgan
“I work in the public financial infrastructure portfolio of a bank. [we’re] It's like taking on all the management risks, very similar to what SMIF did. At SMIF, we learn the proper way to analyze risk and risk reward and incorporate this into our work.
“[The SMIF experience is] Even if you went to an Ivy or something, put something on your resume that most kids at other schools don't have. Unless you've participated in a program like this, you may not actually have any hands-on investing experience. ”
Yaakov Musheyev “Gabelli '20”
JP Morgan High Yield Credit Research
“I work in credit research, looking at industry trends and company-specific trends, and I think covering the sector for SMIF was pretty similar. We looked at the news in the sectors we covered and built a model of one of the following.’ We talked about what we were going to propose and then gave the whole presentation. Therefore, we develop an investment theory and present it. ”
Brigida Caruso is co-managing director of SMIF this semester.
Brigida Caruso, Class of 2024
Role of SMIF: Managing director
Selection subjects: Global business centered on finance and economics
“The practical research that we can do is more self-directed, so if you have an idea that you want to implement, you are allowed to do it. It takes place in a trading room, so many Bloomberg terminals can be accessed from there.”
Tyler Hoffman, Class of 2025
Role of SMIF: analyst, industry
Selection subjects: finance
“In a sense, I work for someone who is learning from someone.[that’s] That's not to say that professors don't teach, but they are more of a moderator and give structure to things.
“I would be [interning] in the banking industry this summer. A lot of it is just company analysis, and when you're in a position to invest and put your money on the line, like the Fordham money here, it's kind of like how much effort do you put into looking into things? The hurdle will be raised. I think it's really important to be able to transfer that to the context of banking. ”
As part of the Gabelli School's Student Managed Investment Fund, students propose investment ideas and analyze stock market data.
