During the 1998-1999 academic year the Department of Economics and Business introduced a new undergraduate business honors curriculum - The Financial Analyst Program, under the leadership of Professor A. J. Senchack, holder of the Lucy King Brown Chair in Economics.  In March, 1999, the Fiscal Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees fully endorsed the program, and the Board of Trustees approved and authorized the creation of the Student Investment Fund (the “Fund”), subject to the adoption by the Board of investment policies and procedures.  At the December 1999 meeting of the board of Trustees, investment policies and procedures were adopted and the Fund was ready for operations.

The Fund is actively managed by Student Portfolio Managers (the “Managers”) under the guidance and advice of the faculty in the Department of Economics and Business.  The Fund provides an opportunity for a small group of outstanding students to work closely with the faculty and other investment professionals to develop their skills.  The program provides students with a real-world experience in the construction and on-going management of an investment portfolio.

The Fund is authorized to manage the investment portfolio subject to the same conditions and limitations that apply to any other investment manager for the University Endowment Fund.  The Vice President for Fiscal Affairs and Associate Vice President for Finance are charged with providing the guidance and assistance to the Fund, and will ensure that the Fund is operated on a fiscally-sound basis.  The Fiscal Affairs office will review all proposed transactions within the Fund, and if the investment policies and procedures are being met, the transactions normally will be approved.  However, should the need arise, the Vice President for Fiscal Affairs and/or Associate Vice President for Finance is free and authorized to override decisions or to take independent action.  These procedures will help to avoid problems with fiduciary responsibility and eliminate timing issues due to the academic calendar.

The Advisor

Hazel Nguyen joined faculty of Southwestern University in 2014. Dr. Nguyen teaches in the areas of Foundations of Business, Entrepreneurship, Investments and Financial Statement Analysis. Her academic interests are executive incentives and firm behaviors. She received her undergraduate degree in engineering from Hochiminh City University of Technology in Vietnam, her MBA and MS in Information Systems from Boston University and her Ph.D. in finance from University of Arkansas.