Student Fund Managers Deliver $494K Grant to Smith

Smith students learn about stock selection, asset management and equity analysis by managing an asset portfolio that totals nearly $12 million across three funds: the MBA-managed Mayer Fund, the undergraduate-managed Lemma Senbet Fund, and the Global Equity Fund. Smith has one of largest student-run fund programs among business schools, ranked No. 14 for assets under management in the latest survey by the Center for Investment Research.

“The skills students develop managing these funds really set them apart once they start working,” says senior lecturer Sarah Kroncke, MBA ’00, faculty director of the fund who managed the Mayer Fund while an MBA student at Smith.

A dozen students in each fund—selected in a competitive application process—manage the assets for the school’s foundation, using the S&P 500 as a benchmark. In May, their success allowed the foundation to make a $494,000 grant to the Smith School from returns this year — the largest distribution from the program yet.

Stats:

• $11.9M total under management
• $494,000 grant to Smith School from fund returns this year
• $8M under management in Mayer Fund (launched in 1993 with $250K)
• $3M under management in Senbet Fund (launched in 2006 with $500K)