Student Experience: SMIF Portfolio Managers seek the opportunity to apply their knowledge of finance to gain career-advancing experience in professional portfolio management using real dollars in real time to learn the lessons that cannot be learned from strictly academic endeavors.
Application Process
SMIF is an honors-type program and is therefore open to students by invitation only. Participation in the program requires a commitment of one year, starting in the fall semester and continuing through the spring semester, and includes three units of credit for each of two semesters, for a total of six units of credit awarded to those who successfully complete the one-year program. Initial admission to the program is only available in the Fall semester.
For MBA students, FIN 650 (Seminar in Investments) should be completed prior to being accepted into the program. Completion of either FIN 450 (Portfolio Analysis) or FIN 485 (Fixed-Income Analysis), both of which can be taken for graduate credit, is desirable but is not required for admission. Due to the nature of the program, a very high level of commitment is expected and required for successful completion. Participants should expect to devote ten or more hours per week beyond class time, and the level of the classroom experience is intense.
Summer Boot Camp
Applicants who seek to become members of the SMIF team will be required to attend three “SMIF Boot Camp” sessions during the coming summer. The purpose is to better familiarize the applicants with the details of the SMIF portfolio-management process and the guidelines of the CFAOCF’s RFP competition and to assist the applicants in getting started on the portfolio and security analysis process that will lead to the construction of the SMIF portfolio. Prospective candidates will be evaluated on the level of enthusiasm displayed, their work ethic, and their ability to function in a team-like environment.
Inside the Classroom
SMIF classroom sessions are unlike your typical college class. After the first day of class, students are dubbed SMIF Portfolio Managers and are responsible for all aspects of the SMIF program.
The 16-member class is broken down into four teams to allow for a more efficient exchange of ideas. Each team is then expected to contribute to the class discussion for the upcoming week. Every week, one member of SMIF is selected as the Chief Executive Officer for the week and tasked with leading the class discussion and managing the program. The CEO's responsibilities include developing an agenda, delegating tasks that need to be accomplished for the week, and facilitating a smooth discussion for the following week. Some discussion topics include the current macroeconomic environment, individual company analysis, fixed income strategies, and a multitude of different investment topics.
There is no cookie-cutter syllabus for the class, each incoming class develops a unique syllabus specifically tailored towards the class's ideas and ambitions. SMIF advisors are present only to critique the student's presentations, give expert advice and offer mentored guidance.
Outside the Classroom
For SMIF Portfolio Managers, class is the easy part. The real work begins outside the classroom in preparation for the weekly classroom meetings. Every week, all four SMIF teams must develop high-quality, professional presentations on the upcoming investment topics. Students can expect to average 20 hours per week on outside research and presentation preparation.
The SMIF class has a wide array of resources available at the College of Business Administration. The SMIF class taps knowledge from experienced faculty members, well-informed industry professionals, the latest textbooks, published reports from numerous well known investment firms, and other valuable resources. One indispensable tool used frequently by the SMIF class are the two Bloomberg terminals located in the CBA Computer Lab, which allow access to the Bloomberg Professional service.
The Bloomberg Professional® service seamlessly integrates real-time and historical information on about 5 million bonds, equities, commodities, currencies and funds. The electronic library also comprises data on almost every publicly traded company and biographies of more than 1 million people. In addition, students benefit from on-demand multimedia content and a superior communications platform.
Bloomberg Certification can be attained by first signing on to the Bloomberg terminal and typing in BU. There are two different Bloomberg Certifications: Equities and Fixed Income. Before taking either certification, a student must complete 3 Introductory Modules. After that, students will have the option of taking 5 additional modules in order to complete either the "Equities" or "Fixed Income" portion of the certification. Altogether, students will need to successfully complete 13 modules in order to become fully certified.