Gabelli Student Managed Investment Fund Produces 5% Return For Semester
Fordham’s Gabelli School of Business recently revealed its newest milestone: for the first time in the seven-year history of its Student Managed Investment Fund, a group of students produced a 5.44 percent return on investment for the semester, breaking the previous record of 4.64 percent—nearly an entire percentage point higher than ever before.
Through what Senior Lecturer in Finance and SMIF Instructor James Kelly describes as a combination of “excellent stock picking through comprehensive security analysis” and the leadership of chief investment officer Dan Gerard ’17, the fund has grown $1,470,000 from an initial $1 million investment.
Rising senior Clarissa Cartledge says, “Because it’s real money you feel it is a real job, even though it’s a four-credit class. Everyone is motivated to improve the fund’s performance. We watch the news, we follow the companies and challenge each other to make correct decisions.”
“We’re grateful for the opportunity to invest the endowment, and to have the confidence of Fordham behind us as well as the learning experience they are giving us,” she added.
As part of a presentation on how they managed the fund at the recent Fordham Jubilee, Cartledge explained how their choice of pharma company, Acorn, merged with another company and subsequently rose 52 percent, skyrocketing the Student Managed Investment Fund to success.
Members of the Fordham Class of 2017 have been hired by leading investment banks, J.P. Morgan, Barclays and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and with consulting firm EY.
About the Author
Jonathan Pfeffer
Jonathan Pfeffer joined the Clear Admit and MetroMBA teams in 2015 after spending several years as an arts/culture writer, editor, and radio producer. In addition to his role as contributing writer at MetroMBA and contributing editor at Clear Admit, he is co-founder and lead producer of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast. He holds a BA in Film/Video, Ethnomusicology, and Media Studies from Oberlin College.
