About the Hodges Fund
Baylor’s small capitalization (small cap) investment practicum course began in 2016 and initial investments in Baylor’s Hodges Investment Fund were made in April 2017. Student analysts in the course manage the fund under the direction of two professors: Mr. Brandon Troegle, CFA®, CAIA® and Mr. David Morehead, CFA®.
The small cap practicum is a two-semester course. Students in this course manage the $1.2 million (as of March 31, 2022) investment fund, which has been endowed with monies provided by Hodges Capital Management and other friends of Baylor.
The fall semester of the course introduces equity research methods, including valuation, modeling, fundamental analysis, and cultivating resources. Student analysts, in teams, complete an initiation-of-coverage research report on a firm. Their research may require the team to talk to company management and to utilize various information sources including financial documents, trade associations, and competitors, customers, and suppliers of the firm. During the spring semester, a team of five students competes in the CFA Investment Research Challenge, while other student teams complete another initiation-of-coverage research report.
Small cap stocks are often overlooked or misunderstood, and informational efficiencies offer opportunities to outperform the market. Through the course student analysts gain valuable hands-on experience in portfolio management, receive business-world training in research and equity analysis of small cap stocks, deliver institutional level-of-coverage research and follow-up reports, and are exposed to current events and trends in the investment management field. The main emphasis is on out-of-class assignments that are supplemented by in-class discussion and decision-making. The course gives students experience researching, analyzing, and managing a portfolio of small-cap stocks. Lectures and stock research were supplemented with guest speakers representing various areas of the investment field.
Student Managers - Small Cap Portfolio, Fall 2024 and Spring 2025
| Market Sector | |
|---|---|
| Consumer Disc, Staples | Sarah Hoang, Jacob Meyer, Nick Joe |
| Financials, Real Estate, Utilities | Jacob Limerick, Nate Panza, Lexi Lucero |
| Healthcare | Summer Rozema, Kelan Lohler, Marissa Korbini |
| Industrials, Materials, Energy | Chase Gorman, George Balboa, Caleb Vanzant |
| IT, Comm. Services | Ethan Eckrote, Natalie Hamilton, Chris Rosa |
Small Cap Portfolio Holdings as of Feb. 1, 2025
| Total |
|---|
| Consumer Discretionary / Consumer Staples |
| Cavco ($3.5 Billion) |
| Patrick ($3.03 Billion) |
| Standard Motor Products ($719 Million) |
| Stride ($3.63 Billion) |
| Financial / Real Estate / Utilities |
| Central Pacific Bank ($752 Million) |
| Diamond Rock Hospitality ($1.85 Billion) |
| Essential Properties ($6 Billion) |
| Stewart Information Services ($2.06 Billion) |
| Healthcare |
| AMN Healthcare ($1.62 Billion) |
| Ensign Group ($8.23 Billion) |
| Haemonetics ($4.08 Billion) |
| Industrials / Materials / Energy |
| Insteel ($600 Million) |
| Matador Resources ($6.16 Billion) |
| IT / Communication Services |
| Box ($4.69 Billion) |
| Knowles ($1.6 Billion) |
| Lumentum ($3.79 Billion) |
| Thryv ($631 Million) |
