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Student Investment Funds and Classes

 

 

Undergraduate and graduate students learn by doing - they serve as analysts and portfolio managers, managing over $7 million in university endowment funds across four student investment funds covering: equities, real estate, and quantitative investing. In addition the GW Investment Institute has a class on Venture Capital. Guest lectures from industry professionals are a key component of all classes.

The final project for the GW Ramsey, Phillips, and Real Estate Student Investment Fund classes is stock pitch day where students propose to sell a current holding in their sector and purchase something that they believe will be a better long-term investment based on fundamental security analysis and the GW Investment Institute Framework. Over 1,400 students have participated in a GW Investment Institute class.

 

 

Quarterly Reports

2023

2022 

 

 

Portfolio Advisors

Mark Anfang | Portfolio Advisor, GW Phillips Student Investment Fund

Mark Anfang

Mark Anfang is a portfolio manager at Scopus Asset Management. Prior to joining Scopus Asset Management, Mark co-founded Tide Point in 2012 and built the firm into a hedge fund focused on global cyclical equities for institutional investors.

Mark has over 15 years of industry experience and has spent most of his career as a sector specialist analyzing and investing in global chemical, material, and industrial companies.

Prior to founding Tide Point, Mark was a Senior Analyst and Portfolio Manager at Harbor Watch Capital Management, a $2billion hedge fund, and was responsible for chemicals, metals and mining, automotive, commodities, and agricultural companies.

From 2005 to 2008, Mark was a senior analyst at Amaranth Advisors and Diamondback Capital. Mark started his career at SAC Capital where he was a trading assistant working directly with portfolio managers and sector investment teams. Throughout his career, Mark has maintained strong industry relationships with over 200 global companies and management teams and has developed proprietary financial models that help analyze and identify differentiated, non-consensus investment opportunities.

Mark graduated from the George Washington University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance in 2002. He currently lives in Scarsdale New York with his wife Jessica and two children Taylor and Jay.

Aron Kershner | Portfolio Advisor, GW Quant Student Investment Fund

Aron Kershner

Aron is a managing director in Quantitative Equity Solutions (QES) within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, serving as co-head of portfolio management for QES. The QES team develops rules-based and systematic investment strategies intended to solve client needs across customized separately managed accounts encompassing tax-managed, factor-based, environmentally and socially responsible, as well as income-oriented strategies, among others. He specializes in working with high net worth, retail and institutional clients to build customized equity solutions tailored to meet individual client objectives. Aron joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in 2005 and was named managing director in 2019.
Aron serves as an advisor to the George Washington University Investment Institute. Aron earned a BBA in Finance from George Washington University.

 

Student Investment Funds and Classes

 

GW Ramsey Student Investment Fund

  • Portfolio of U.S. listed equities is monitored and managed by graduate students through sector teams  
  • Students are enrolled in FINA 6239 - Applied Portfolio Management. This course is offered in the fall semester
  • Established in 2005 with a $1 million gift from W. Russell and Norma Ramsey
  • Assets under management: more than $4 million
  • A portion of the payout is allocated to the GW Ramsey Scholars program
  • Instructor: Rodney Lake

GW Phillips Student Investment Fund

  • Portfolio of U.S. listed equities is monitored and managed by undergraduate students through sector teams
  • Students are enrolled in FINA 4101 - Applied Financial Security Analysis, which is offered in the fall and spring semesters
  • Established in 2008 with capital provided by a diverse group of donors and named in honor of former GWSB Dean Susan Phillips
  • Assets under management: more than $2.5 million
  • Portfolio advisor: Mark Anfang
  • Instructors: Rodney Lake and Christine Song

GW Real Estate Student Investment Fund

  • Portfolio of U.S. listed REITs is managed by undergraduate students enrolled in FINA 4102 - Investing in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). This course is offered in the fall semester
  • Established in 2017 with a seed investment provided by Charles R. Bendit and Michael Katcher. The fund was launched in partnership with the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis (CREUA)
  • Check out this video to learn more about the first pitch day
  • Assets under management: over $150,000
  • Instructor: Rodney Lake

GW Quant Student Investment Fund

  • Undergraduate students enrolled in FINA 4103 - Quantitative Investing learn about quant investing strategies and work in groups on a project to build and test a predictive model
  • Class began in spring 2020 and the fund was established in 2021 with capital provided by a diverse group of donors and Aron Kershner
  • Portfolio advisor: Aron Kershner
  • Instructor: Rodney Lake

GW Venture Capital Class

  • Undergraduate students enrolled in FINA 4104 - Foundations of Venture Capital work in teams to build and evaluate start-up companies
  • Class began in spring 2017
  • Instructors: Bill Collier

 

Student Resources

View Course-Specific Resources for GW Investment Institute Students

GW Ramsey and Phillips Student Investment Funds

GW Real Estate Student Investment Fund

Venture Capital