We had a beautiful snowstorm the week before welcoming students back to class.
I really enjoy the start of each semester, particularly meeting the students in each of the GW Investment Institute classes and learning more about why they are taking the class and what they hope to learn.
This semester the GWII is teaching the following classes:
Phillips Student Investment Fund: Undergraduate students serve as analysts and manage approximately $3 million of the university endowment. The students focus on a particular sector (Consumer Discretionary and Staples, Energy and Utilities, Financial Services, Healthcare, Industrials and Materials, Technology and Telecom) and use fundamental analysis and the GWII Investment Framework to ultimately pitch to sell a current holding to fund the purchase of something else that the student believes will be a better long-term investment. This fund was started in 2008 and named in honor of former GWSB Dean Susan Phillips. This semester, the class is being taught by Professor Matthew Miller, an Adjunct Professor of Finance and Senior Financial Associate at the Ross Group or RBC Wealth Management.
Quant Student Investment Fund: The finance industry has experienced large changes due to technological innovations, for example the increase in quantitative strategies. This course, for undergraduate and graduate students, provides an overview of some common quant investing strategies and focuses on data-driven models, which is different from the fundamental analysis and subjective assessments which are the focus of the other GWII student funds. Students will learn how to analyze time-series data and work in groups to find and analyze real data and build and test a predictive model. This is the newest student fund of the GWII, established in 2021. The class is taught by Rodney Lake, and our portfolio advisor is Aron Kershner, Senior Portfolio Manager in the Customized Beta Strategies (CBS) business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management Quantitative Investment Strategies.
Venture Capital Class: This course exposes undergraduate and graduate students to the venture capital investment industry, primarily through guest lectures and group assignments. The course will be taught by Rodney Lake with Bill Collier, Director of Investment Business Development with TEDCO.
Additionally, I will be teaching a class on Business Career Strategy.
The next Live with Rodney Lake will take place online on Thursday, January 20 at 6:30 pm. This show is an opportunity for me to discuss market news while connecting with students, alumni, and other friends of the Institute. I hope that you can join me.
Best regards,
Rodney E. Lake
Director, GW Investment Institute