UND student investment team out performs the S&P 500 in fund return In a year of stock market volatility, an investment portfolio managed by students in the College of Business and Public Administration beat the S&P 500 by 2.81 percent in 2007. The UND business students, who make up the investment group called the Student Managed Investment Fund, had a return on investments of 8.30 percent at year-end, versus the S&P 500s return of 5.49 percent. On average, only 20 percent of funds beat the S&P 500 in any given year and this puts UND's Student Management Investment Group in approximately the top 15 percent of all professionally managed mutual funds in the country. The Student Managed Investment Fund consists of an $800,000 portfolio, which was established by the generous donations of College of Business and Public Administration alumni. Donors contribute to the fund and then have the portfolio managed by the students, guided by a faculty member and an investment council. Beginning in the fall of 2005, the College of Business and Public Administration at UND joined a growing number of business schools by providing students the opportunity to manage and administer an investment portfolio. Aided by a state-of-the-art trading room, the A. Kirk Lanterman Investment Center, the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) allows students to experience the field of finance first hand. Instead of doing simulations, students actively learn every step in the intricate decision making process regarding the management of an $800,000 portfolio; and it is all done in “real-time.” This includes research, investment presentations and management, as well as administration. Twenty-nine business students are part of the investment team, who work in small groups to analyze nine sectors of the stock market about which stocks to buy, sell or hold. “We are training students to manage money in a professional setting, and this is the essence of what it means to create ‘hands-on’ learning,” Steve Dennis explained. Dennis is the Aarestad Endowed Chair of Banking in the College of Business and Public Administration and also serves as the faculty advisor to the Student Managed Investment Fund. “The Lanterman Center and the Student Managed Investment Fund give UND students a unique experience, an experience that is a distinct advantage in the job market.” The students’ performance as an investment team and the fund they manage will compete at the national RISE (Redefining Investment Strategy Education) Competition in Dayton, Ohio, in March 2008. RISE is the largest student investment conference in the world. Considering the impressive performance of UND’s investment fund versus the S&P 500, the UND student team has a serious shot at winning a top spot in the undergraduate student category. “I believe others across the country will take note of UND when they review our fund’s performance. These students should be very proud. Their efforts are impressive,” Dennis concluded. The College of Business and Public Administration at UND recently completed a $20 million capital campaign, by which the Lanterman Investment Center and the Student Managed Investment Fund were created. The college is home to eight academic departments and four outreach divisions, enrolling an average 1,750 undergraduate and 150 graduate students each semester. -- CK Schultz, Director, External Relations, College of Business & Public Administration, ck.schultz@mail.business.und.edu, 777-6937