York University and Schulich School of Business launch the York University Student Investment Fund

Students to gain career-enhancing asset management experience

TORONTO, March 22, 2016 /CNW/ - York University and the Schulich School of Business are pleased to announce the launch of the York University Student Investment Fund, which will provide a unique opportunity for undergraduate students, across York's community, to gain real-time portfolio management and investment experience.

The York University Student Investment Fund (YUSIF) was established through $60,000 in donations from York University alumni and friends, with a longer-term goal to increase the fund's capital to more than $100,000 through future donations.

The Founding Members of YUSIF include the following donors: Patrick Lavelle; George Engman, MBA '80; Knowledge First Foundation; CIBC Mellon; and S&P Global Market Intelligence. S&P Global Market Intelligence has been a long-standing and loyal supporter of YUSIF. As part of its continuing investment, S&P Global Market Intelligence will enhance the student learning experience by providing the YUSIF student team with full access to its robust S&P Capital IQ Platform. CIBC Mellon will donate custody services to the fund, including access to the company's Workbench investment information delivery platform.

Through their volunteer work on YUSIF, 25 undergraduate students across all faculties at York University, including the Schulich School of Business, will learn to conduct industry and security analysis and contribute to the construction of an investment portfolio.

YUSIF will be led by a Chief Investment Strategist and a Portfolio Manager, both students, who oversee a team of six senior analysts and as many as seventeen junior analysts. The analyst team is selected via a vigorous screening process that allows the Chief Investment Strategist and Portfolio Manager to target the best minds in the finance communities at York University. The team will be guided by a Board of Advisors made up of faculty, staff, alumni and friends.

"Schulich is proud to play a role in developing this tremendous opportunity for undergraduate students to learn about the risks and rewards of asset management," said Schulich Dean Dezsö J. Horváth, who will speak at today's launch. "We thank our generous alumni, friends and the committed students making possible this real-time introduction to the exciting world of capital markets."  

"As a Schulich alumnus, I am proud to help support this initiative to mentor and train the best and brightest of tomorrow's analysts, preparing them to pursue jobs within the investment industry," said YUSIF Founding Member donor, George Engman, MBA '80, SVP (retired), Alberta Investment Management Corporation. "I have been impressed by the calibre and enthusiasm of students I have worked with during the development of YUSIF."

"YUSIF allows students the important opportunity to manage real-life risks with real capital, an experience you simply cannot replicate with a simulated portfolio. Through our investment process, we provide students with the analytical, communication, and critical thinking skills necessary to succeed in the competitive field of finance," said Matt Kleffman, B.A., Class of 2016, and YUSIF Co-Portfolio Manager.

Ciprian Preda, a Schulich BBA graduate from the Class of 2013, credits his experience as Chief Investment Strategist for YUSIF with helping to secure a job with Scotiabank Global Banking. "I was able to leverage the skills and experience I gained from the analyst program to land a summer analyst role in sales and trading at Scotiabank, an absolutely amazing experience that I was able to turn into a full-time job offer upon graduation," said Preda. "I would encourage undergraduate students to apply for a chance to participate in this exceptional opportunity."

The YUSIF launch will be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. today at the Miles S. Nadal Management Centre, in the original Toronto Stock Exchange Boardroom, at Schulich's downtown Toronto campus.

Throughout the establishment process, YUSIF has maintained close ties to the York Finance Club, the largest student finance club at York University, whose members have been working with university faculty and administration since 2010 to achieve a larger, real-world version of the simulated investment fund experience they offered. 

A portion of the profits generated by YUSIF will be reinvested, with future balances supporting student financial aid at York University.

The fund will be actively managed from September through April and passively managed from May through August.

The focus of the Fund will be on equities and the investment team will primarily conduct analysis on this asset class. Students will also receive training and gain experience in stock analysis, financial modelling and valuation, assessing stock pitches, preparing analyst reports, and making presentations on industry news and trends through monthly YUSIF events.

More information about the YUSIF program may be found on the website.

About York University
York University has always been known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our 52,000 students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world's most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 24 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide.

About Schulich
Known as Canada's Global Business School™, the Schulich School of Business in Toronto is ranked among the world's leading business schools by a number of global surveys. Schulich's MBA program is ranked #1 in the world by Corporate Knights, the world's largest circulation magazine with an explicit focus on Corporate Social Responsibility, in a global survey that identifies which schools are doing the best job of preparing future business leaders for the environmental, social and ethical complexities of modern-day business. Schulich's MBA program is also ranked #1 in Canada and among the world's leading schools by The Economist, Forbes and CNN Expansión. Schulich is also ranked among the world's top 35 business schools for a career in investment banking in a global survey by eFinancialCareers.com. The Kellogg-Schulich EMBA program is ranked #5 in the world by The Economist and #1 in Canada by the Financial Times of London. For complete ranking details, please visit www.schulich.yorku.ca.

Global, innovative and diverse, Schulich offers business programs year-round at its state-of-the-art complex at York University; at its Miles S. Nadal Management Centre located in the heart of the Toronto's financial district; and at its new campus in Hyderabad, India. Schulich also operates a number of satellite centres in Beijing and Shanghai, China; Mumbai, India; Seoul, South Korea; Mexico City, Mexico; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Schulich offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate business degrees that lead to rewarding careers in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, and has 27,000 alumni working in over 90 countries. The School pioneered Canada's first International MBA (IMBA) and International BBA (iBBA) degrees, as well as North America's first ever cross-border Executive MBA degree, the Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA. In addition to Schulich's Master of Finance and Master of Accounting degrees, the School launched one of the world's first Master of Business Analytics degrees. Schulich's Executive Education Centre provides executive development programs annually to more than 10,000 executives in Canada and abroad.

SOURCE York University and the Schulich School of Business

For a fact sheet about the YUSIF, please contact: Beth Marlin, Media Relations and Public Relations, Schulich School of Business, Email: [email protected], Phone: [phone]