What better way to learn about investments and money management than to do it!? Academic and Career Coach, Ms. Kim Lawrence, teamed up with senior Finance student, Kelly Atkinson, to share a bit more about the Student Managed Investment Fund opportunity:
The Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) is a two-semester sequence of courses for both undergraduate and graduate students who collectively manage nearly half a million dollars, made possible by a grant from the University Endowment Fund. It is a hands-on investment fund where students actively manage a portfolio of about 30-40 stocks.
“Participating in the student fund has been the most engaging learning experience I have had at UNC Charlotte. I have learned how to locate prospective stocks, generate reports, and make investment decisions on companies, all which I previously had limited knowledge about.” - Kelly
The SMIF program is comprised of two courses: FINN 4158 (fall) and FINN 4159 (spring). Prerequisites include Financial Management (FINN 3120) and Investments (FINN 3222) with grades of C or above.
“We have a weekly class meeting, where we begin each class with multiple reports to help us keep up with the market, economic activity and accounting aspects of the fund. The economic group reports on any economic activity that is new, i.e. updates on U.S. trading or companies that have upcoming earnings releases. The accounting group, updates the group on the holdings in the fund; i.e. the stock price percentage increase or decrease from the start of our term (August 2018) to ensure we are tracking each stock carefully.” - Kelly
This experiential learning program is ideally suited Finance majors who are planning to embark on a career in research or money management. Finance majors in the general finance concentration may count FINN 4159 towards one of their three required finance electives. The FINN 4158 class counts as a general elective for all students.
“Being surrounded by students who are currently working professionals or striving to become knowledgeable for their future career has been extremely inspiring. I am extremely fortunate to have been selected to participate in the fund for my senior year at UNC Charlotte. It has propelled me into my future career and left me with a strong foundation of knowledge that I will use for the rest of my life. I encourage all to apply!” - Kelly
Applications for the SMIF program are usually available during March for the following academic year. Interested students can contact Academic and Career Coach, Ms. Kim Lawrence, or Faculty Advisor, Dr. Yufeng Han.
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