The Samford Crimson

Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Michael Krombach The Bulldog Investment Fund is owned and managed by senior business students. This investment program is part of a three-hour business class. [Click to enlarge]

In a year when the economic recession seems to have left no winners within the financial markets and with the Dow losing 24 percent in 2008, it's hard to believe one stock portfolio has out-performed the S&P 500, a professional stock market, by 14 percent. What comes as even more of a surprise is that this investment fund is managed entirely by Samford students.

This has been the case with The Bulldog Investment Fund. A program of the Brock School of Business, The Bulldog Investment Fund allows Samford students to have direct participation and control over a portion of the university endowment. With an original investment of $400,000, student managers have the opportunity to directly determine and oversee the investment of University funds into the stock market.

"I feel like the fund is of interest to the entire Samford community because we manage part of the school's endowment ... and we happened to do it better than the professional firm that is paid to manage the majority of the school's endowment," chief financial officer and senior finance major Michael Krombach said.

The Bulldog Investment Fund is completely owned and run by students, allowing them to make all investment and leadership decisions. Faculty adviser John Venable and senior vice president of Regions Financial Matt Smith attend weekly meetings and advise students, but neither adviser holds voting power within the fund.

"This has been one of the best learning experiences that I have ever had the opportunity of participating in.  Within the Bulldog Fund, you are able to apply all that you have learned at Samford through in-depth research, putting together and presenting stock proposals, as well as learning from two great advisors in professor John Venable and Matt Smith," senior finance major and investment team member Brad Johnson said.

Continued...

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