Portfolio Management Practicums

Hands-on Learning

The Hankamer School of Business now has two student-managed investment portfolios:  a large-cap stock portfolio and a small-cap stock portfolio.  Each portfolio is managed by students enrolled in specially designed "hands-on" finance courses in which the students learn the tools and techniques used by professionals to analyze and select individual stocks and manage investment portfolios. 

Each course is offered by the Department of Finance to graduate business students and senior finance majors with strong academic records. Enrollment in each course is limited.  Students must apply to take the course and are admitted based on the strength of their qualifications. 

Large-cap Portfolio Management Practicum

Students enrolled in this course manage the $14.5 million (as of November 2021) investment fund, which has been endowed with monies contributed by Baylor alumnus Philip M. Dorr and other Baylor alumni and friends, along with additional funds from the University.

The Large-cap Practicum is a one-semester course.  The class structure is designed after the operational format of a funds management firm and is built around student participation. Specifically, two-person teams are assigned to cover each sector of the S&P 500. Although there are course readings, the course primarily consists of teams preparing and presenting to the class detailed reports on stocks in their sector. Every class member is involved in a discussion of each stock. Following the presentation and discussion, the team makes a recommendation on each stock. The class votes and the recommendations of the class are implemented.

The class meets on Mondays 5-8p.m. in the Hodges Financial Markets Center.

Small-cap Portfolio Management Practicum

The Small-cap Practicum is a two-semester course.  Students in this course manage the $1.2 million (as of November 2021) investment fund, which has been endowed with monies provided by Hodges Capital Management and other friends of Baylor.  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 capitalization (small-cap) stocks. 

The Fall 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.  In the Spring, one team will compete in the CFA Investment Research Challenge, while other student teams will complete another initiation-of-coverage research report.

FIN 4285 is a 2-hour class held in the fall, which is intended to be followed by FIN 4186, a one-hour class, in the spring.

The class meets on Mondays 2:30-5:00p.m. in the Fall and 2:45-4:45pm in the Spring in the Hodges Financial Markets Center. 

Professors

Both courses are taught by investment professionals.  The professors are:

• Brandon Troegle, CFA^®, CAIA^® is a Managing Director and portfolio manager with Hillcrest Asset Management, focusing on the firm's securities selections across various strategies. Before joining Hillcrest, Brandon was an equity analyst at Morningstar. Prior to Morningstar, he worked for Luther King Capital Management and Bank of America.
• David Morehead, CFA^®, currently serves as Baylor’s Chief Investment Officer.  Previously, he spent nearly 20 years investing across a wide range of securities including bank loans and high yield/distressed investments, equity and equity-linked products, commodities, and derivatives.  His experience includes time on the sell-side as well as the buy-side with both long-only and hedged portfolio experience at Highview Capital, Ritchie Capital, William Blair, Bank of America, and First Trust Advisors.
• Taylor Finch
• Renee Hanna

How To Apply

Applications to enroll in the large-cap Practicum in Portfolio Management are due the fourth week in October for the class that will be held the following spring semester, and the third week in March for the class that will be held the following fall semester. The application to enroll in the Practicum in Small-cap Investing is due the fourth week in March for the class that will be held the following fall and spring semesters.

For additional information on the application process, contact Brian Young.