University Foundation to Boost Investment in Student Portfolio

SMIPO members

In March, SMIPO members won first place in the Value Fund category at the national Redefining Investment Strategy Education XI Forum. The members will now assume responsibility for managing an additional $250,000 from the Radford University Foundation. 

With a pledge of $250,000 more to manage on its behalf, the Radford University Foundation and its board of directors this summer gave the Radford University Student Managed Investment Portfolio Organization (SMIPO) a strong vote of confidence. 

“We are happy with the results they have achieved and are proud of the national recognition that they and their fund’s performance have earned,” said John Cox, executive director of RU Foundation Inc., SMIPO’s sole client. “They have done a nice job for us.”

Students manage the SMIPO Small to Mid-Cap Value Fund, currently valued at about $525,000. On their return to campus in the fall, the students, led by President Chris Blake, a senior economics major from Chesapeake, will begin investing the additional funds. 

“We are grateful for the trust the foundation showed in us and believe that SMIPO’s stewardship will continue to play an important role in the learning process of RU’s students and the foundation’s future,” said Steven Beach, co-advisor to the group and associate professor of finance in the College of Business and Economics. 

In March, SMIPO won first place in the Value Fund category at the national Redefining Investment Strategy Education (RISE) XI Forum in Dayton, Ohio. The honor was based on the group’s 2010 portfolio performance.  The fund produced the highest risk-adjusted returns in the Value Fund category, a 19.74 percent rate of return that outperformed the S&P 500 benchmark return of 15.06 percent.

SMIPO was founded by Beach and Clarence Rose, professor of finance, in 2002 to provide investment management experience to aspiring financial investment students. The organization received an initial $100,000 for investment from the Radford University Foundation and an additional $250,000 over the next four years.

Jul 31, 2011
Don Bowman
540-831-7523
dbowman@radford.edu