| It’s week five of the spring 2025 semester here at the GW Investment Institute (GWII), and I’m reaching out to update you on our latest activities and events. Our classes GWII offers three classes this semester, engaging 90+ undergraduate students and over $3.8 million in AUM. These classes allow students to gain practical investment management experience and develop critical skills for their future careers. I am grateful to Professor Christine Song for teaching FINA 4101—Applied Financial Securities Analysis. Undergraduate students in this class manage the GW Phillips Student Investment Fund, a diversified listed equity portfolio with over $3.6 million in AUM as of 2/5/2025. Further, I’m grateful to Professor Bill Collier for teaching FINA 4104—Foundations of Venture Capital. Undergraduate students in this class build start-ups throughout the semester, receiving feedback from venture investors and founders. I’m also teaching the Quantitative Investing class this semester. Undergraduate students in this class build quantitative models to inform their investment decisions. The class manages the GW Quant Student Investment Fund, a diversified listed equity portfolio with over $133,000 in AUM as of 2/5/2025. I’m also grateful for the exceptional teaching assistants Will Ahrens and Kai Pourzanjani and our newly hired communications assistant, Danielle Lucero. I’m excited to host alumni and guest speakers on campus and continue to publish our podcast, Market News with Rodney Lake. GWII Portfolio Group This semester, we launched an updated version of the GWII Portfolio Group to engage freshmen, sophomores, and juniors interested in finance and investing. The program kicked off on February 3rd with 49 applicants, and we look forward to seeing their development over the next seven weeks. Upcoming Industry Visit On March 5th, twenty-five Applied Financial Securities Analysis class students will visit the Royal Bank of Canada and The Ross Group in DC to learn more about wealth management. Thank you to alumni Steve Ross and Matt Miller for making this possible. Awards Available to GWII Students We look forward to allocating the following awards this semester: ○ Ramsey Scholars Awards – the top 10 students from academic 2025 will each receive $5,000, for a total of $50,000. ○ Leadership Awards: Three students will receive $2,000 each for their contributions to the GW community during the academic year 2025 for $6,000. We thank alumnus Greg Wong for funding these three awards. Quarterly Report Our students outperformed the benchmark during the 2024 calendar year; returns for GWII’s portfolios were 35.7% vs. the S&P 500’s 25.0%. Please see the most recent quarterly report as of December 31, 2024, with market commentary by GW senior Tristan Smith. Milestone The end of April will mark 20 years since the launch of the GW Ramsey Student Investment Fund. The fund was launched with a $1 million donation from Russ and Norma Ramsey, and it now has over $6.4 million in AUM. In roughly 20 years, the fund was managed by over 500 graduate student analysts, paid out $300,000 in student awards, and returned 11.6% annually since its inception. We are proud to continue this legacy and train a new generation of investment professionals. |
| GW Giving Day | April 2-3rd, 2025 |
| GWII Annual Conference | March 21st, 2025 |
I’m thankful for all your support and look forward to the achievements in 2025 and beyond.
Best regards,
Rodney E. Lake
Director, GW Investment Institute