In a year like no other for the markets, a team of Maryland Smith undergraduates showed that they can succeed no matter what the circumstances. Over a year, beginning in April 2020, 10 undergraduate students at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business led the Lemma Senbet Fund to outperform the S&P 500 by 12%, growing it to just above $1.5 million.

It’s been a tough year to make predictions in financial markets, but Maryland Smith MBA students have been up to the challenge. In the 12 months beginning April 2020, Maryland Smith’s team of Mayer Fund full-time MBA students helped the fund outperform the S&P 500 by 14.79% and grow it to roughly $7 million through appreciation and investment decisions.

On the morning of May 4, 2018, Lemma Senbet Fund fellows presented their final reports to Alex Triantis, dean of the Smith School, and the Smith Foundation Board. Seniors David Niezelski and Jacob Biedronoski led the presentation, highlighting overall gains and successful decisions made over the past year. While the equity market for the past 12 months gave the team reasonable hurdles in finding value-driven theses, the cohort persevered and ultimately achieved higher returns than previous years.

Lauren Black, class of 2019 accounting and information systems double major at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, contributed to this article. Smith Undergrads: Applications for Honors and Fellows Programs at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business are due by midnight Feb. 12, 2018. For more information, visit this web page. ARE YOU A JUNIOR FINANCE MAJOR AND WANT TO...

Forbes 30 Under 30 has selected two rising stars from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business for its newest class, announced on Jan. 3, 2017.

Sarah Kroncke, senior lecturer, brings Wall Street to College Park. Sarah Kroncke, MBA '00 uses her investment banking experience to manage both the Mayer and Senbet Funds. They have beaten the S&P 500 nearly every year since inception, and 75 percent of the undergraduates who are fortunate to learn from her are placed on Wall Street. We make the world our classroom through experiential learning. We Are Smith.

Smith’s Mayer Fund Celebrates 20 Years “The good news,” says Mayer Fund portfolio manager Ryan Turner, “is this year we made over $300,000. The bad news is we don‘t get to keep a penny of it.”