STUDENT-MANAGED FUND MARKS 25TH YEAR
Some managing directors and financial analysts on Wall Street learned their jobs as undergraduate and MBA students at Texas Christian University while overseeing one of the largest student-managed funds in the United States.
The $1.5 million student-managed Educational Investment Fund at TCU's M.J. Neeley School of Business is the second oldest student-managed fund in the U.S. and among the top 5 in portfolio size. It has been in existence for 25 years.
Facing the daily stock-market drama along with their real-world counterparts is the type of experience students can't get from a textbooks, explains Stanley Block, professor of finance and decision science at TCU and advisor to the fund.
Although several faculty advisors work with the fund, student managers make all the investment decisions. Their instincts seem to well honed. The fund gained 34.2 percent last year in its domestic equity portfolio, only 3.3 points below the S&P 500.
It pays six percent of its net asset base yearly to its beneficiaries: three percent to Baylor College of Ophthalmology in Houston; and three percent to TCU. Since 1973, the fund has contributed more than $1.2 million to these institutions.
The students have dealt with major fluctuations in the stock market over the past 25 years, from the bull market of the 1990s to the 1987 crash when assets plummeted 11 percent. This type of real-world experience translates into job offers. More than 500 students have managed the fund and 30 of these work for Wall Street's top investment firms.
Editors: If you wish to pursue the topic, feel free to contact Block at 817-921-7561. Rick L'Amie of TCU's public relations department is at 817-921-7810. Here are some former students who can comment: Fehmi Zeko (Class of '81), partner and managing director for Saloman Brothers, at 212-783-5533; David P. Purcell (Class of '86), managing director for SBC Warburg, at 212- 224-7900; and Nathan Judge (Class of '96) financial analyst for Goldman, Sachs & Company, at 212-902-8458. Please contact Steve Infanti of Dick Jones Communications at 814- 867-1963 if you need any assistance. DJC helps TCU with its public affairs.
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