Approximately 15 to 20 students are given the opportunity to actively manage all aspects of the fund each year; researching new investment ideas, presenting the ideas to the program’s Investment Oversight Committee, actively managing portfolio positions and exposures, performance reporting and attribution.
The opportunity and responsibility to manage the Bulldog Fund is one of three key elements of the LSBE Financial Markets Program experience along with academic studies and the Wells Fargo Financial Markets Lab, a state-of-the-art 1,000-square-foot lab designed to replicate a real world investment setting.
The fund was officially launched in January 2003 through generous investment support of LSBE and NorthStar Foundation.
"At the end of 2019, the fund was up just shy of 34% for the year," said Joe Artim, director of LSBE's Financial Markets Program. "2019 was an impressive year for our fund that pushed us past $2 million for the first time in our fund’s existence! I am very proud of all the hard work and dedication each program class has had in making this moment a reality.
“Breaching the $2 million mark is a true testament to the hard work, commitment, and dedication of all our past as well as current program students. Numerous supporters have played a key role in our achievement, and we like to refer to them as ‘friends of the program.’ None of this would ever be possible without their support."
The Bulldog Fund challenges students to make strategic investment decisions across eleven sectors of the S&P 500, where the decisions are directly applicable to the management of a portfolio that currently has more than $2,200,000 in total assets. Hands-on portfolio management experience is gained through active research and analysis conducted in the Wells Fargo Financial Markets Lab.
The main goal of the LSBE Financial Markets Program is to provide students with an educational experience that can be directly applied to the Financial Services Industry. Through the generous support of the local and regional financial community, Wells Fargo, Parametric Advisors, RBC Capital Markets, Midwest Professional Planners, the Teberg Fund, JNBA Advisors and others, LSBE students have been given the opportunity to apply learned ideas, theories, and tools directly.
Learn more about LSBE's Financial Markets Program.
Photo: Current FMP student cohort