“It’s just incredible,” said Peter Ricchiuti, professor of practice and founder of Burkenroad Reports. “A lot of investment firms already know about Burkenroad Reports, but with eye-popping results like these, we’re hoping the Burkenroad Fund will help open a few more doors for our students.” Since 2001, the small-cap Russell 2000 Index — which measures the performance of the small-cap segment of the U.S. equity market — has generated a return of 239 percent while the large-cap S&P 500 has returned 164 percent. The Burkenroad Fund outpaced both by returning 429 percent over that period. Burkenroad Reports was founded in 1993 to provide unbiased research on small-cap stocks across the Southeast, a category traditionally underfollowed by Wall Street. Each year, teams of student analysts visit the companies, meet with senior management, visit company sites and write detailed equity research reports that are read by thousands of individual and institutional investors across the U.S. In the process, those students gain real-world experience that often translates into job offers. To date, about 600 graduates of the program have gone on to successful careers in the investment field. Tulane University and the A. B. Freeman School of Business will host the 21st Annual Burkenroad Reports Investment Conference on Friday, April 28, at the Sheraton Hotel in New Orleans. The event is free and open to the public. To see the student produced reports and to register for the conference, visit www.burkenroad.org.