Fund Overview
The Fund @ Sprott (originally the “Sprott Investment Fund”) was established in September 2007 with $50,000 of endowment capital and the mandate to give standout Sprott students the opportunity to engage in real investment management. Over the last four years, 35 students have left their mark on the fund. They have managed to grow the capital base by a total of 25% despite one of the worst economic recessions in history. Due to the performance of The Fund over it’s first four years, an additional $1 million has been approved to be put under The Fund’s management. The first of two $500,000 installments is already under The Fund’s management, giving it a total assets under management of $560,000 as of April 2011. The second installment is expected in the Winter of 2012.
The Fund is composed of approximately 15 students (Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of International Business), all of whom have a heavy inclination toward investment management. Members must demonstrate both considerable knowledge of financial markets and a willingness to learn from others. Successful students have to work hard in order to balance this extra commitment along with their regular academic course load. Many of the members go on to write their CFA level I exam by the time they graduate and aspire to land prominent roles in investment firms in the future.
The Fund is organized into four levels: analysts provide the granular analysis; managers follow sector and industry specific trends and try to select the best in-class equities; the portfolio manager develops management strategies and analyzes how the investments impact the portfolio as a whole; and the faculty director oversees the investment execution. The Fund performs a top-down investment analysis while placing emphasis on capital preservation.
The Fund @ Sprott is a young organization and is currently expanding it’s presence throughout the school and the investment community. In the future we hope to continually broaden our capital base through our performance, as well as through additional infusions of capital. Over the past four years the fund has been expanding its network of industry professionals, and we plan to continue doing so at an accelerated pace.