Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium (SMIFC)

One of the main activities of the SMIFC is to organize a conference each year to provide networking opportunities for its members.  Students assist in the organization of the conference and participate by presenting their practices in investment management and/or organization administration. Student research and white papers and videos are maintained in the SMIFC resource archive. The conference also spotlights a number of industry participants who speak on topics of interest to its members. Opportunities exist for panel discussions of students, advisors, and industry partners.  The conference is hosted by willing member institutions on a rotating basis.

The SMIFC also provides member partners with access to educational resources covering best practice in investment management and organization administration.  Most of these resources are contributed by Consortium partners who share strategies for successful student-led investment groups. Indiana State University is hosting a SMIFC electronic archive for this purpose.

The consortium held its first annual conference in October, 2013 at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana.  Over 350 individuals attended the conference. Overall, the conference program was stimulating and engaging, offering a substantial variety of topics.  The conference was educational and included a rich mix of conversation on the best practices in investment management and the opportunities for professional development for students.  The meeting also provided students networking opportunities, engagement with professionals from a number of businesses, and visiting member institutions opportunity to glean a broader perspective of investment practices. Conference participants remarked that the first SMIFC conference was a great success. 

To reduce costs to the member institutions, the 2014, 2015 and 2016 conferences were also held on the Indiana State University campus. To increase exposure and attract more members to the consortium, the 2017 and 2018, the 5th and 6th, SMIF Consortium conference was held in Chicago. The program for the conference usually includes two to three sessions for featured keynote speakers and interesting presentations by other notable industry leaders. Workshops sessions for training students on the use of investment software such as the TD Ameritrade Thinkorswim and Bloomberg platforms are also typically offered. An advantage of holding the conferences in Chicago is that we can arrange for students to visit Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Chicago Board of Options Exchange.

Over the years, the SMIFC has established partnerships with a number of firms in the financial sector and other industries. These partners support the Consortium by providing speakers to the conference and/or financial support through sponsorships.  The industry partners include, Ariel Investments, Bloomberg Institute, CFA Society Chicago, Chicago Board of Options, City Securities, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Fifth Third Bank, First Financial Bank, Kaplan, McGraw Hill Education, State Farm, Stifel Minas Sabau Porterfield Group, TD Ameritrade, and the Technical Analysis Educational Foundation.

Membership in the Consortium is open to institutions of higher education who have active student-managed investment funds and/or who have an interest in contributing to student education, research, and leadership.  Members of the Consortium determine how it will be organized, including administrative officers, and other considerations necessary to achieve the organization’s mission.

The distribution of the organizational structure and investment strategies adopted by the members of the Consortium is similar to the organizational structure and investment strategies in the general body of all Student Managed Investment Funds. Most programs are set up by receiving funds from a private donor or from a grant from the university endowment. One of the SMIF Consortium members, University of Tennessee at Martin is the exception in the group. They received their funds from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board. The TVA Board allocated $100,000 to each of the student-managed investment programs at 19 universities in the Tennessee Valley.