Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF)

After interviews we accept 15-20 students in the SMIF. Students can be graduate and undergraduates. The students are motivated by the opportunity to manage real money and to have Bloomberg certification. The SMIF was funded with $50,000 by Mr. Sam Mahrouq with initial purchases in May 2020.

Also, students receive three hours credit and can repeat the course once. Student are divided into eight sector teams based on the eleven S&P 500 sector. This includes energy and utilities, financials and real estate, and industrial's and materials combined. Teams have two or three members based on the S&P 500 market cap weight.

After a sector analysis, members run regressions of sector drivers against sector ETF returns. Following presentations, SMIF members present their finding and recommendations. The class then allocates the portfolio sectors with the restriction that the sector could be +/- 5% of the S&P 500 weight.

Bloomberg’s and the Financial Markets Lab are available for the SMIF members during class and for other times. One Bloomberg terminal is in the Main library for 24-hour access. All students complete Bloomberg training with their grade based on Bloomberg exam scores.

Students then conduct two detailed company analyses and present their recommendations. SMIF members vote to buy or not buy their companies. Also, students will take CFA ethics quizzes. At the end of the semester, SMIF members conduct an attribution analysis of their sector.

For more information, please contact Dr. Tommy Thompson at thomas.thompson@uta.edu.