Student-Managed Fund

Created by Dr. Larry Lynch and currently headed by Dr. Tim Carpenter, the Student-Managed Fund (BUAD 322) has been a course offering every semester since 2004. Unlike traditional portfolio simulators, which may encourage unrealistic and brash investment strategies, the Student-Managed Fund challenges Roanoke students to use their skills, innovation, and teamwork to responsibly grow a real investment portfolio.

When the class meets in West Hall, a fast-paced review of stocks ensues as students report on the companies placed on the fund's "Watch List". While Dr. Carpenter serves as a resource and guide, students are responsible for discussing changes they want to make in the fund's strategy and the class is run by a student Fund Manager and Assistant Fund Manager.

To date, the students' fund has beaten its benchmark (a combination of the S&P 500 and the Barclay's Aggregate Bond Index). In fact, the initial $500,000 investment  is now worth more than $1,250,000, giving the fund a net increase of over $750,000 under the leadership of dozens of student portfolio managers with the guidance of Dr. Larry Lynch, Dr. Mike Smith, and Dr. Tim Carpenter!

Starting in 2019, students in the course now also have the ability to trade real cryptoassets. To the best of our knowledge, Roanoke College is the first and only educational institution (as of 2020) with access to a fund for this purpose. This crypto account was initially opened with an investment of $25,000 worth in bitcoin, which was followed by another $25,000 investment shortly thereafter. The total value of the account is currently over $100,000, more than doubling invested funds in less than two years, though we also discuss at great length the types of risks inherent in such an investment.

The Student-Managed Fund is a prime example of experiential learning with real money, real decisions, real results, and real consequences. This is just another example to illustrate how the Roanoke College Business Department is working to raise the bar and remain distinguishable from our peers.

For more information, please contact Dr. Tim Carpenter at tcarpenter@roanoke.edu.