Student Managed Investment Fund

Adding Value to Foundation's Investment in Education 

Because of valuable experience working with the fund provides, the SMIF attracts top students from the Terry College of Business in a highly competitive application process.  In a typical year upward of 100 applications are submitted for a handful of student-manager spots.

The fund was created with a generous gift from UGA alums Darren DeVore - a Foundation Trustee - and his wife Pam, to give business students practical, real-life experience in investment management.

Dr. Chris Stivers, associate professor of banking and finance at the Terry College of Business and former faculty advisor for the SMIF, helped nurture the idea of a student-managed investment fund from a university club with a handful of students to a prestigious academic endeavor. "The program is an opportunity for the students to be involved in managing real money in a portfolio setting. It is realistically educational," says Dr. Stivers. "Leadership, working together in a group, and presentation skills are all a part of the education."

During the Foundation's fall meeting each year, the SMIF's student-managers make a presentation to the Investment Committee recapping their investment strategies and providing an analysis of the fund's performance during the previous year. The meeting also is an opportunity for students to receive feedback, advice and insight from the Foundation's highly-successful investment professionals.

The SMIF is a hands-on learning opportunity that produces a return on investment to which every university aspires, and even more proof that a gift to the University of Georgia Foundation is always a valuable investment.

Read more about the Student Managed Investment Fund in the University of Georgia Foundation 2009 annual report.