SMIPO reaches $1.2 million
SMIPO has reached another milestone.
Radford University's Student Managed Investment Portfolio Organization's small mid-cap value fund portfolio is now worth $1.2 million.
When the market closed at 4 p.m. Eastern on Feb. 18, SMIPO's portfolio was valued at $1,205,670, said SMIPO co-president Josh Eggleston.
It's the first major milestone for SMIPO since the student-run organization, which manages funds for the Radford University Foundation, first hit the $1 million mark in October 2013.
"Since SMIPO's transition to a small-to-mid cap value investment strategy in 2011, the $1.2 million benchmark represents a gain of over $450,000 that the Radford University Foundation uses to benefit Radford University students," said Steve Beach, associate professor of finance and SMIPO co-founder. "SMIPO members are humbled by their responsibility and deserve to be very proud of this accomplishment. I can assure you that their advisers are impressed and proud of them, too."
SMIPO provides RU College of Business and Economics students an opportunity to gain practical experience in the management and decision-making processes of a corporate structured organization by participating in hands-on management of the funds of Radford University Foundation's endowment.
The organization was founded in 2002 by Beach and Professor of Finance Clarence C. Rose and for the primary purpose of providing RU students with the opportunity to gain real-world investment and portfolio management experience.
The Radford University Foundation jump-started the organization with an initial $100,000 and provided additional funding since the program's inception, Beach noted.
Under the direction of SMIPO faculty advisors, students decide how to invest and where to invest the SMIPO portfolio. Since its genesis in 2002, the student organization has been a tremendous success. In 2010, SMIPO delivered a 19.74 percent rate of return, trouncing the S&P 500 benchmark return of 15.06 percent.
SMIPO students have put their financial prowess to work in recent years against similar organizations from other colleges, competing is such events as the Redefining Investment Strategy Education (RISE) Forum held in Dayton, Ohio, and the Global Asset Management Education (GAME) Forum held in New York City.
SMIPO has performed well in the RISE international competition for several years in a row and on April 1, 2011, it earned first place in the Value Fund Category at the RISE XI forum. SMIPO‘s top placement resulted from its portfolio performance in 2010, with the fund producing the highest risk-adjusted returns in the Value Fund Category.
SMIPO utilizes resources provided by the trading room in RU's College of Business and Economics Building to build upon its success. The trading room is equipped with a Bloomberg Terminal, Datastream, Morningstar Direct and other financial analytic tools that enable students to channel their financial abilities into making sound business decisions.
"Since the beginning of SMIPO, our students who have been a part of this organization have worked very hard and have gained valuable experience that will help them in their careers and in their own future personal financial decision making," Rose said.