The Student Investment Fund

SIF logo

The School of Accounting and Finance has established the Student Investment Fund (SIF) to provide students with an educational experience in an institutional setting. The Fund provides students hands-on-training in equity valuation and portfolio management with guidance from industry experts and supervision by finance faculty.

How it works

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The seed investment of $250,000 has been provided by an anonymous external donor in five installments. The first installment of $50,000 was available for investing in the Spring 2012 term.

The investment objective of the Student Investment Fund is to generate long-term growth of the Fund's assets. The Fund will invest in a broadly diversified portfolio of mid-to-large capitalization stocks of Canadian and U.S. issuers that may provide capital gains or income.

Participation in the Fund is restricted to students enrolled in the following SAF programs:

  • Accounting and Financial Management
  • Sustainability and Financial Management
  • Mathematics/Chartered Professional Accountancy
  • Biotechnology/Chartered Professional Accountancy
  • Computing and Financial Management
  • Master of Accounting

To avoid conflicts of interest that could arise during co-op terms, students will participate in the Fund only during their study terms.

Applying to the Fund

The call for applications for the Spring term will be sent in late October/early November, and for the Fall and Winter terms in July.

Requirements for Application

We invite applications for the Student Investment Team from students who:

  • are currently enrolled or have completed Managerial Finance I (AFM 271/AFM 273) or Corporate Finance I (AFM 272),
  • are in their 2A (or higher) study term when applications are released, and
  • are enrolled in either the AFM, CFM, Mathematics/CPA, or Biotechnology/CPA program.

What students will do

  • Manage a portfolio of Canadian and U.S. equities with real money
  • Work as an Analyst, Portfolio Manager, Chief Executive Officer, or Chief Investment Officer
  • Be enrolled in one of the Investment Management Courses
  • Work with a small team of peer students and will be guided by Finance Professors
  • Be mentored by a professional from the financial services industry
  • Monitor existing equity holdings in industry sectors, make new equity selections, prepare equity research reports and present and defend your recommendations to the investment team, faculty and industry professionals
  • Learn how to measure and report the performance of your portfolio to industry professionals

What students will get out of this

  • Real world experience in managing money
  • Hands-on training in equity valuation and portfolio management
  • The Project Course will be recorded on your transcript as a 0.25 credit with a numerical grade
  • Familiarity with Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, and Capital IQ
  • Learn to apply finance theory to practice
  • Access to finance faculty with experience in the industry and in research
  • Recognition among potential employers
  • Work and bond with a team of student peers
  • Access to industry professionals

Additional information for applicants

  • Students will be selected through an application and interview process based on academic performance, work experience, aptitude, and demonstrated interest in finance.
  • A student application should include a resume, an unofficial transcript of grades, and a statement (not exceeding 200 words) indicating why you are interested in joining the fund and naming two industry sectors that you would like to follow if selected to the student investment team.
  • Following a first round evaluation of applications, students will be selected for a round of interviews.
  • Students will be appointed for a single term.
  • Students who are applying for a second term will be selected based on their performance in the fund in the earlier term, work experience, and aptitude.
  • A session on stock valuation and training sessions on Bloomberg and Capital-IQ will be arranged at the start of the term for the new student investment team.
  • Students are advised that participation in the investment team requires a minimum time commitment of 5 hours per week preparing for the bi-weekly three-hour sessions (weekly ninety-minute sessions), with additional time required for preparing presentations and reports.

Investment Management courses

Students selected to the fund will be enrolled in one of the Investment Management (IM) courses:

  • AFM 328 (IM - Junior Analyst),
  • AFM 329 (IM - Senior Analyst),
  • AFM 428 (IM - Junior Portfolio Manager), or
  • AFM 429 (IM - Senior Portfolio Manager).

These are Project courses with a 0.25 course credit. Students will receive a numerical grade in the course. Enrolment in the course will be by Instructor authorization. A student could enroll in these courses beginning in their 2A term and would be eligible to take all four courses in their undergraduate program. For more information, please see the outline for the Investment Management courses for the fall term 2018 (PDF)