Student-managed Investment Fund Provides Scholarships
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WACO, Texas (Feb. 10, 2015) – For the 11th consecutive year, the student-managed Philip M. Dorr Alumni & Friends Endowed Investment Fund has provided a generous financial contribution for student scholarships.
This year, $150,000 will be distributed by the fund.
The fund, which continues to rank as one of the nation’s largest managed by students, has provided more than $1.5 million in support of scholarships for Baylor’s 19-sport intercollegiate athletics program since its first gift in 2004. Earnings from the fund have also been used to support an intern in the University’s Investment Office and a portion of the operating expenses of the state-of-the-art Southwest Securities Financial Markets Center.
“We are truly grateful for the generous contribution from the investment fund in support of student-athlete scholarships,” said Baylor’s Vice President and Director of Athletics Ian McCaw. “We are especially proud of Baylor's business student-athletes who are receiving an outstanding education while they compete in the sport that they love, as well as the exceptional faculty in the Hankamer School of Business who have played an important role in the fund’s sustained growth over the last decade.”
Established in 2001 with an endowment gift of $250,000 from alumnus Philip M. Dorr (B.B.A. '80, M.B.A. '83), the live equity portfolio is actively managed by select Baylor business students through a course led by professors Brian Bruce and Brandon Troegle. The student analysts learn through first-hand experience the amount of research and analysis that goes into stock selection. They used a combination of Value Line, First Call, Bloomberg and other financial websites to research earnings surprises, forward growth drivers and other pertinent information.
Through additional gifts and investments raised by Terry Maness, dean of Baylor’s Hankamer School of Business, from alumni and friends, the fund opened with a total of $400,000 and has grown to a market value of $7.09 million, as of Dec. 31, 2014. Distributions from the fund are directed toward athletic scholarships for Baylor student-athletes who are business majors in good academic standing and to M.B.A. students with an interest in investment management.
The fund's objective remains two-fold: 1) to provide an investment fund by which business students can learn investment management principles and techniques by managing real money and 2) to provide scholarships out of the fund’s growth in the market value.
The investment policy of the Fund dictates that a long term return should be as high as possible, within prudent limits, but at least as high as the S&P 500 (with dividends reinvested). Due to the structure of the classroom setting surrounding the Fund, an infinite time horizon is assumed with a tolerance for risk. The fund's normal or strategic asset allocation is 100 percent stocks.
ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution, characterized as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University provides a vibrant campus community for approximately 16,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Baylor sponsors 19 varsity athletic teams and is a founding member of the Big 12 Conference.
ABOUT HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Baylor University’s Hankamer School of Business provides a rigorous academic experience, consisting of classroom and hands-on learning, guided by Christian commitment and a global perspective. Recognized nationally for several programs, including Entrepreneurship and Accounting, the school offers 24 undergraduate and 13 graduate areas of study. Visit www.baylor.edu/business and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/Baylor_Business.