Student-Managed Investment Funds: Organization, Policy, and Portfolio Management

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-bruce-a1b5112/.

Chapter 1: Investment philosophy and process

Abstract

The investment philosophy and process combine to define the investment approach of the investor or investment organization. Together, the investment philosophy and process provide a framework in which to understand markets and select investments. Without these, the entire endeavor is ad hoc. In short, the investment philosophy provides the why and the investment process provides the how with regard to an investment organization's approach to investing. The investment philosophy and process are critical elements in providing for consistency through time in a student-managed investment fund. This chapter describes the key elements of investment philosophy and process statements and provides examples from both student-managed investment funds and institutional investment managers.

Keywords

Client; Efficient markets; Endowment; Institutional investment manager; Investment philosophy; Investment process; Philosophy; Process and strategy

A student-managed investment fund is a pool of real money that is managed by undergraduate or graduate students. Students have the responsibility for deciding how the money is invested. In some cases, this responsibility covers all aspects of the investment process, including asset allocation, security selection, execution and trading, and monitoring and reporting. In other funds, students are responsible for a subset of these activities, perhaps because they are given a mandate to invest in a specific asset class by a board of advisors or the beneficiary of the fund's assets. In all cases, the common element is that students are entrusted with the responsibility and granted the authority to invest real money. As such, a student-managed investment fund is not a game. It is not a simulation. Risks are taken. Profits can be made. Money can be lost.

Given what is at stake, there are some within a university who might question the wisdom in trusting students with real money. After all, students are not professionals. Yet in a student-managed investment fund, students are being trusted with responsibilities that are typically bestowed only on professionals with years of experience. With the help of professional and academic advisors, educational resources—such as this book, and, most importantly, a high level of diligence, students can achieve results on par with those of true professionals. In so doing, students gain valuable experience and insights that apply to business, in general, and investing, specifically—as well as a broad spectrum of other activities.

The real-world experience provides the primary motivation for most colleges and universities to offer a student-managed investment fund. Likewise, this course attracts motivated students who seek a real-world experience and a more practical understanding of business and investments. The student-managed investment fund provides a hands-on learning environment in much the same way as laboratory experiments or exercises would enhance learning physics, chemistry, or biology. As with science labs, in a student-managed investment fund, the theory that is taught in finance textbooks and classroom lectures becomes tangible and its relevance clearer. This book serves as a sort of lab book in helping to present traditional classroom material in an applied setting. As such, the emphasis is on the practice of investing. The relevant theories are not developed in as much detail as they might be in some texts. Rather, this book takes the approach of providing more discussion of the issues that arise in the application of such theories and offer a framework for the practice of investing. In doing so, we attempt to highlight the diversity of approaches to investing in practice by including numerous examples from student-managed investment funds and professional investment firms alike.

The student-managed investment fund as an investment management firm

A student-managed investment fund (SMIF) is an investment organization. In many ways, it will resemble a real investment firm as it often serves nearly the same purpose. For an SMIF that manages a mandate from its university's endowment fund, the SMIF serves the same role as any of the endowment fund's other investment managers. As such, the endowment fund is the SMIF's client, to whom the students in this class must answer. The SMIF has a challenge to conduct its business with the same standards in mind as the other investment firms that the endowment fund has hired. These investment firms are usually considered to be institutional investment managers, in that they cater to the institutional, as opposed to the retail, marketplace. Institutional investors include public pension plans, such as the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (aka CalPERS); corporate pension plans, such as the Boeing Company Employee Retirement Plan; Taft-Hartley (i.e., labor union) retirement plans, such as the UMWA Health & Retirement Funds; foundations, such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; endowment funds, such as Harvard's Harvard Management Company; and family offices, such as the family offices of Paul Allen or Michel Dell or group family offices like Rockefeller and Tolleson. These types of investors have many common traits, including a large size (from the hundreds of millions of dollars to tens of billions of dollars), long (often infinite) investment horizons, and professional investment staffs. It is with this clientele in mind that we model this book.

As indicated above, one reason we chose the institutional investment approach is that many SMIFs literally have their universities’ endowment funds as clients. More importantly, by catering to the professional investors in the marketplace, institutional investors are often more discerning and reliant on sound principles of finance and investing. As a result, the best practices of investing are often found among those who provide investment services to institutional clients. In addition, many students in student-managed investment fund programs seek careers in the institutional money management industry and our goal is to provide a training and educational resource that will allow student-managed investment fund members to excel as professional investors.

Key steps in meeting the standards of an institutional investor are to provide clear expectations regarding the investment approach, and to have a rational organizational and operational structure that can consistently deliver on those expectations. While this chapter addresses the former and Chapter 2 addresses the latter, it is important to note that these two aspects of a student-managed investment fund and, indeed, any investment firm, are not mutually exclusive. The investment approach must contemplate specific organizational and operational realities. Likewise, the organizational and operational structure must reflect the investment approach. For example, a quantitative investment approach that relies on a specific economic or financial model and requires little qualitative or subjective input would need significant technology, data, and operations to support such systems. In contrast, a fundamental investment approach that requires research by numerous individual analysts must have the depth of knowledge and headcount to provide adequate coverage of the market.

With this institutional investment framework in mind, we begin by discussing the investment approach. In short, we will be discussing investing. As indicated above, we discuss investing from the institutional or professional viewpoint and not necessarily as what is portrayed in the popular media or in commercial advertisements for trading services that are targeted at the retail (i.e., individual) investor. Investing is appropriately a professional pursuit. Like other professions, such as medicine, law, and engineering, investments require a base of knowledge acquired through a coherent program of study, and training on how it is practiced professionally. In short, investing should not be pursued in some ad hoc fashion or without an understanding of the field. To do so is irresponsible and unlikely to yield the desired outcomes. Investing that is practiced on behalf of a client or for one's own personal benefit, should be done diligently and in a manner consistent with established knowledge and practices in the field. The thoughtful reader might be tempted to pause to wonder how a group of students, who are, by definition, investing novices and in the process of gaining investing knowledge, might appropriately be expected to build an institutional-quality investment approach. This book takes the view that every investor is a student of investing. Most advanced undergraduates and graduate students have learned the key fundamental material upon which to build an investment approach. Moreover, students are as capable of being diligent and building a thoughtful approach as many professionals. With the help of resources, such as advisors, mentors, and this and other books, students can leverage their own insights to build a compelling and successful fund. Our experience as professors of student-managed investment fund programs has shown us first-hand how even undergraduates can do analysis that rivals that of professional investors.

The key to initiating a program of investing resides in the development of the investment philosophy and process. Together, the investment philosophy and process represent the definition of an individual's or organization's approach to investing. As such, they reflect the purpose and methods that generate the investment results.

Investment philosophy and process

The investment philosophy and process combine to define the investor or the investment organization. The investment philosophy and the investment process provide a framework in which to understand markets and select investments. Without these, the entire endeavor is ad hoc. In short, the investment philosophy provides the why and the investment process provides the how.

To illustrate the importance of philosophy and process for an organization, such as an investment management firm or a student-managed investment fund, consider a sports analogy regarding a game of basketball. Without an investment philosophy and investment process, the investment decisions are like a pickup game in which 10 players meet at the court and are divided into two teams in a random, ad hoc manner. Each player in the game follows her own approach to the game, without the benefit of knowing her teammate's approach. Each player on a team is working for the common goal of her team scoring more points, but without a common playbook, a coherent game strategy, or a shared understanding of the opposition. The game evolves without forethought, with offense being improvised and defense being decided on-the-spot. The individual talents of certain players might be revealed. It is more likely, however, that whatever talents each player possesses will not be fully realized in such an ad hoc approach to the game.

In contrast, having an investment philosophy and process is like having a coherent team and game plan. A true team approach begins by first defining the goal of the team. It progresses by building a team and understanding the team's strengths and weaknesses. Plays are drawn up, based on this understanding. Each player on the team knows the playbook, which might even be customized for the particular strengths or weaknesses of a particular game's opposition. Each player has a role in the execution of the offense and defense. The plays are practiced until they become second nature. There is a shared understanding of purpose and execution for how the game will be played. The same idea applies to investing.

The investment philosophy represents a shared sense of purpose for an organization. It explains what the group believes about markets and why it believes it can create or add value. The investment process articulates how the philosophy is implemented. In takes the philosophy regarding what opportunities are believed to exist and expresses the methods by which those opportunities are realized. Having the investment philosophy and process memorialized for the group defines the organization and assures its continuity and consistency of approach through time. As indicated in Exhibit 1.1, Creighton University's and Florida Gulf Coast University's student-managed investment fund properly begins with a specific exercise to make sure that new students understand the philosophy of the previous students in the fund. In this way, the continuity and consistency through time are facilitated in an environment in which consistency and continuity are a unique challenge due to the structure of a student-managed investment fund that experiences significant turnover of personnel every semester or every year.

Exhibit 1.1

Creighton University and Florida Gulf Coast University

Different schools do the transition from class to class, from semester to semester, and from year to year differently. Both the Creighton Student Management equity fund and the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagle Fund are continuous SMIFs. These two funds keep the selected stocks in the portfolio from the previous semester's or year's class. The first requirement of a new class is to understand the philosophy of the past portfolio managers and their management style. This system is similar to students’ starting work at a professional mutual fund with their current holdings, their recommended list, and their watch list.

While the philosophy and process are important internally to an investor and investment organization, they are equally important in articulating an investment approach externally to prospective clients. The statement of the philosophy allows prospective clients to judge whether there is a match between their own outlook and philosophy and that of the investment manager. Likewise, an investment process defines the general approach that prospective clients can expect the manager to follow. In this way, there should be a logical link between the philosophy and process that can be judged as reasonable.

Finally, for an aspiring investment professional who is embarking on a career in investment management, the investment philosophy and process shows that the person approaches investing as a professional. Indeed, a common question in institutional RFPs (Request for Proposal) and in employee interviews at investment management firms is to ask the firm or the individual what their investment philosophy or investment process is. The investment philosophy shows thoughtfulness with respect to purpose and an understanding of the problem. The investment process reveals an understanding of a solution through planning, purposeful execution, and diligence in the act of investing.

Investment philosophy

According to Merriam-Webster, the definitions of the word philosophy include:

1.The most basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group.

2.A theory underlying or regarding a sphere of activity or thought.

An investment philosophy defines the common set of beliefs for an investment organization. This gives every member of the group a common reference from which to begin doing analysis and contributing ideas to the organization. While individual members need not subscribe to the exact set of beliefs embodied in the group's philosophy, members should use the philosophy as the set of beliefs that define their efforts and activities on behalf of the organization.

Scope of an investment philosophy

When developing an investment organization's investment philosophy, the scope should be limited to the realm of investment-related activities. It should not wander off into irrelevant reflections on the state of the world or the state of the economy. Rather, the philosophy should be focused on what will be most relevant in shaping and guiding the investment approach for the group. Many student-managed investment funds might engage in a number of other educational, career-enhancing, or social activities besides undertaking investment activities. The investment philosophy should be limited to the investment activities. Likewise, many investment firms include statements about their own client service outlook (e.g., we put the client first) in their investment philosophies. This might be fine for an overall firm philosophy, but it is unlikely to have any bearing on investment activities. To say that each client's needs are unique begins to suggest that there is no coherent philosophy that the organization has to offer. Any organization should have an overall philosophy or mission statement, but this is not a substitute for a cogent investment philosophy. In short, do not confuse a business philosophy or mission statement with an investment philosophy. Too many investment companies make this mistake and leave the client wondering what their basic principles are when it comes to investing.

Key elements of an investment philosophy

1.Statement of beliefs about the markets.

2.Statement of beliefs about the opportunities to create value.

3.Statement of beliefs about the group's abilities.

4.Statement of beliefs about the group's abilities to exploit the opportunities to create value.

Statement of beliefs

The investment philosophy should include a statement of beliefs about the state of the market. Ideally, this is one or two sentences that provide a clear and concrete statement of the fund's view of how the world is and perhaps why it is the way it is. This statement should be assailable. By definition, any statement of a belief, as opposed to a fact, is open to agreement or disagreement. Those who agree usually have evidence to support such a position, while the same can be true of those who disagree. Thus, while these are statements of belief, they are not without evidence and therefore are not pure statements of faith. By stating the starting point, potential clients are free to agree or disagree with the statement. The client who hires the manager is implicitly agreeing with the belief or at least admitting the possibility that there is truth in the belief.

For example, consider two funds, E.M. Hutton and Hi-Mark, Ltd., who each pursue very different strategies. E.M. Hutton (or EMH for short), believes that the markets are efficient in the semi-strong form sense. EMH's philosophy might begin with the statement, We believe the stock prices reflect publicly available information. In contrast, Hi-Mark, Ltd. (or HML for short) might pursue a fundamental equity strategy and begin their philosophy statement with, We believe that the prices deviate over short horizons from their fundamental values due to investors’ overreaction to short-term information. Note that these statements set the foundation for subsequent statements of how each fund will provide valuable services in such a market.

Statement of opportunities

Given the statement of beliefs, the next element of the investment philosophy should articulate the nature and scope of opportunities available in the marketplace to add value. This statement should be closely connected to the statement of beliefs. That is, this statement should follow directly from the statement of beliefs. While the statement of beliefs is quite general, this statement of opportunities should be quite specific and limited to those opportunities that the individual or organization is focused on exploiting.

Continuing with the EMH and HML examples, EMH might continue to say, We believe that the market rewards risk in well-diversified portfolios over the long-term. Therefore, we believe that since markets are efficient and cannot be outperformed, the best an investor can do is to implement a well-diversified portfolio with low turnover and trading costs. Likewise, HML might continue their philosophy to say, Opportunities exist to find undervalued firms that have recently released negative information, resulting in depressed market prices relative to intrinsic values. Clearly, these two investment managers should have very different investment approaches. The statements of beliefs and opportunities allow the organizations to convey their starting points and their purpose in offering investment services.

Statement of ability

The statements of belief and opportunity establish the potential for any individual or organization to add value through their investment services. However, the philosophy must also establish the specific abilities of the individual or organization to exploit these opportunities. In other words, an opportunity for added value is necessary, but not sufficient for an investment approach to add value. The beliefs and opportunities say what is available in the market. The statement of ability articulates the capability of the individual or organization to realize those opportunities. In this sense, the statement of ability is a statement of competitive advantage. The statements of beliefs and opportunities are externally focused on the markets. The statement of ability should be internally focused beliefs about the individual or organization.

The statement of ability must also be relevant within the context of the statement of beliefs and opportunities. That is, it must relate to those opportunities. In our EMH-HML example, each manager must state an ability that relates to the opportunities he or she has articulated. In doing so, EMH might point out its own particular expertise in targeting risk and efficient implementation by saying, EMH has the capability to build well-diversified portfolios with low turnover and low trading costs that are able to realize the risks and returns to passive benchmarks in a real portfolio. In essence, EMH is saying that it can achieve exposure to an index or benchmark and achieve the returns from those passive indexes in practice. Similarly, HML might describe their capabilities in identifying undervalued securities. However, in doing so, HML must be careful to articulate how it does not fall prey to the same overreactions that give rise to the opportunities it seeks to exploit. One way that HML might communicate this ability is to say that, HML employs a quantitative system that is designed to identify stocks that have experienced negative market sentiment, but that have strong long-term fundamentals.

Note that these statements are specific, yet not too detailed. Statements of philosophy should be only as specific and detailed as necessary, and no more. To provide too much detail would be to put the philosophy at risk of being unnecessarily narrow and rigid. In this sense, there exists a balance. Notice that the HML statement does not describe its quantitative model in detail or provide an itemized list of aspects of a company's fundamentals that classify a company as strong. Rather, it narrows the scope of analysis to being quantitative and the inputs to the model as being both fundamental (as it relates to intrinsic value) and, perhaps, behavioral (as it relates to market sentiment). This leaves plenty of room for detail to be added in the investment process that describes how such a model works, it makes clear that the philosophy relies on the belief in such a model's capability.

Statement of value

The statement of value may be a separate statement within the philosophy, or it may be incorporated into the statement of ability. Regardless, the philosophy must make clear the expected benefit from pursuing the individual's or organization's investment approach. There must be a positive statement of the value added from the investment approach. This statement might implicitly or explicitly compare its approach to other (competing) approaches. However, it must not be simply a negative statement of the perils from other approaches. Just as in considering one's own life philosophy, the final statement of value should be one of identity and purpose. It should help summarize the intended virtue of adherence to the philosophy.

The EMH philosophy might conclude, By building a well-diversified portfolio with efficient execution and low turnover, the EMH strategy seeks to realize returns that compensate for risks taken, without losing returns to unnecessary and unrewarded costs. Likewise, HML might conclude, With a disciplined implementation of its model, the HML strategy has the potential to reap rewards beyond those of passive benchmarks or indexes, without incurring more risk.

With these statements, the individual or organization has defined the scope of its investment approach and its purpose for investing. The individual or organization has bared its soul in hopes of finding a soul mate. That last statement might sound a little over-the-top, but there is more truth in it than there is hype. The key idea behind an investment philosophy is to provide a soul that guides the individual or organization in its investment endeavors. The soul keeps the approach on track, especially during times when the environment becomes particularly challenging. It provides something to return to when the path seems unclear. It is something that should be questioned at times (as in soul searching), especially in light of evidence or experience to cast doubt on it. But, if the philosophy is founded on solid reasoning, insight, and knowledge, it is very likely to survive challenge and provide an important source of stability and strength to an individual or organization as it invests.

Examples of investment philosophy

Institutional investment management firms provide excellent examples for student-managed investment funds with respect to investment philosophy and process. While not all investment management firms publicly provide clear statements of their investment philosophy and process, those that do are often found on the companies’ websites and in their materials provided to current and prospective clients. As discussed in the overview of investment strategy classifications in Appendix A, investment strategies are often classified into quantitative or fundamental strategies. This distinction is particularly appropriate when considering the investment philosophy and process of an investment manager. Therefore, we provide examples of investment philosophies of quantitative managers in Exhibit 1.2 and fundamental managers in Exhibit