USC Students Beat Their Benchmarks With ADRs

The Center for Investment Studies at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business is tasked with preparing the school's graduates to make a serious impact in the professional world of business and finance. The center, founded in 2002 and currently headed by Professor Larry Harris, has positioned itself as a leader in financial analysis and valuation .

USC Marshall student groups at both the undergraduate and MBA levels are working on honing their investment knowledge and experience. This Investment Club Watch will take a look at how the MBA investment group manages real money and beats their benchmarks .

The $4 Million SIF

The Student Investment Fund (SIF) is USC Marshall's crown jewel. The fund puts MBA students in charge of a $4 million school endowment, the proceeds of which are used to fund student scholarships.

The SIF sets USC apart from its peer schools for a couple of reasons. According to Professor Harris, "We have more money under [student] management, and the program is integrated into our curriculum."

The fund is managed by up to sixteen student managers who are handpicked to work in the fund. What does Harris look for in a student fund manager? He says, "We're looking for highly motivated, committed students who show a strong interest in investment management, and whom we believe could benefit substantially from the program."

The Student Investment Fund is comprised of four funds: the Provident Growth Fund (a growth fund ), the Trojan Equity Fund (a long term value fund ), the Babcock California Fund (a small-cap fund, half of which is composed of California-based companies), and the Marshall Fixed-Income Fund (a fixed-income portfolio that includes U.S. Treasury notes and various types of bonds ).

The SIF's Provident and Trojan Funds

Mark Dombrowski, a manager of the Provident Growth Fund, says that he's "pleased" with the fund's performance since his team took it over in April. Dombrowski says, "We are up around 17% since April and we are beating our benchmarks [the previous portfolio and the S&P Midcap Growth Index ] by over 6%."