The Sprott Student Investment Fund (SSIF) at Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business has reached a new milestone and is now managing financial assets of over $2 million.
“As value fund managers, the students have exercised supreme diligence in successful purchases, prudent sales, and have stayed focused on the fundamentals,” said Howard Nemiroff, the faculty advisor for SSIF and associate dean of undergraduate studies at the Sprott School of Business. “This is testament to their potential and testament to the pedagogical purpose of the fund’s creation.”
For Bachelor of Commerce student Tyler Page, co-portfolio manager of SSIF, this milestone is “a great testament to the ever-growing capabilities of Sprott students.” While Ellena Damini, Bachelor of Commerce student and co-portfolio manager, said that seeing the portfolio get to this point during a pandemic has been “extraordinary.”
“As a result of the market shock we saw early last year, our team established new perspectives and a broader outlook on the market that considers what future conditions could look like. This has greatly contributed to successfully managing our portfolio companies and seeking out new investment opportunities,” Ellena added.
Building off of this recent achievement, the students managing SSIF are driven to grow the fund’s leadership in responsible investment and to further develop how the fund incorporates environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when making investment decisions.
“Adhering to the UN Principles of Responsible Investing, by bringing real world experience in to the classroom, allowing students this opportunity of learning by doing, and continually reinforcing the importance of fundamental analysis, ESG, and proper diversification for better risk management, our SSIF students are poised to reach lofty heights in the field of asset management,” Howard said.
The Sprott Student Investment Fund (SSIF) is an actively managed equity portfolio, run by a select group of Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of International Business students at the Sprott School of Business. Students are given the opportunity to learn investment strategies in a team environment. All members contribute to the analysis process, helping to assemble the ideal portfolio that will safely and wisely grow SSIF’s capital. The SSIF was founded in January 2007 after a $50,000 injection of endowment money to assess proof of concept. Once the concept was proven, an additional $500,000 of endowment money was allocated.