Show me the money: UMaine business students' investment fund passes $5M
Photo / Courtesy University of Maine
Students in the University of Maine Business School’s investing club are learning the world of high finance by directing a stock portfolio that’s surpassed $5 million. The club’s advisor, Sebastian Lobe, is in the front row in a red tie.
Students in the University of Maine Business School’s investing club are learning the world of high finance by directing a stock portfolio that’s surpassed $5 million in assets under management.
The Student Portfolio Investment Fund, or SPIFFY, is managed entirely by students, who use the funds to gain pre-professional fiduciary experience by researching and investing in stocks, bonds or other financial assets.
“SPIFFY has experienced tremendous growth in recent years, becoming a standout example of student-led financial management,” said Sebastian Lobe, University Foundation Professor of Investment Education and faculty advisor for SPIFFY.
The club began in 1993 with an initial $200,000 investment from the University of Maine Foundation through a request from Bob Strong, a professor emeritus of investment education and finance.
By 2006, the club had grown the portfolio to more than $1 million and had two dozen members.
The club now has 80 members. Approximately 3,000 University of Maine students have participated in SPIFFY since its inception.
Open to all UMaine students, regardless of major, the club offers practical financial literacy and real-world investment experience. Students progress through roles as market analysts, sector heads and directors.
This year and in 2018, SPIFFY earned first place in the value portfolio category at the Quinnipiac Global Asset Management Education Forum, the largest student-run financial conference in the world. Held in New York City by Connecticut-based Quinnipiac University, this year’s forum drew more than 1,500 attendees representing 130 universities and colleges.
UMaine launched SPIFFY in the fall of 1993 after Strong petitioned the University of Maine Foundation for seed money to start a student investment fund. Strong was the club’s first faculty advisor.
Today, the fund has $5.2 million in assets under management.
“It’s very much an educational program, but through that the students are focusing on the performance of the fund,” Lobe told Mainebiz.
The fund has earned about $4 million on the foundation’s behalf over the years.
The club meets weekly and provides an opportunity for students interested in finance to learn from their peers in a friendly setting, said Lobe. The portfolio has shares in about 40 companies.
“What I hear from the students over and over again is that they got a lot of out of it,” he said.
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