CSULB Beach Investment Group Bootcamp: Summer 2025 Success
CSULB’s Beach Investment Group (BIG) concluded its intensive Summer Boot Camp program with final presentations on August 9th, 2025, showcasing the remarkable growth of 60 participating students. This marks the 31st year of the program, originally known as the Student Managed Investment Fund, continuing a proud legacy of excellence in experiential finance education. Over the course of several weeks, students from diverse academic backgrounds – including finance, economics, math, etc. – were taught the bootcamp's rigorous curriculum, which covered financial modeling to market analysis, providing students with real-world skills that extend far beyond traditional classroom learning.
The final presentations featured a panel of distinguished CSULB alumni serving as representatives on behalf of BIG’s portfolio management clients – in this case, Shops at the Beach and Associated Students, Inc. – and these alumni brought their professional expertise to evaluate student work with the same rigor they would apply in their current roles as portfolio managers, corporate finance professionals, and senior analysts. These alumni panelists challenged students with incisive questions about their assumptions, risk assessments, and valuation methods, and also about the impact of the portfolios’ ESG (Environmental | Social | Governance) requirements, creating an authentic investment management experience. The diverse range of student presentations – covering sectors from renewable energy infrastructure to emerging technologies and international markets – demonstrated the depth of analytical thinking developed throughout the program.
Following the formal presentations, alumni and students engaged in a networking lunch where graduates shared their career trajectories and industry best practices. These mentoring conversations provided invaluable insights into different finance career paths while building professional relationships that will benefit students throughout their careers. Dr. Peter Ammermann, Director of the BIG program, will extend invitations to successful participants to join the prestigious 2025-2026 Beach Investment Group cohort, where they will manage over $1.5M real assets and gain hands-on experience that distinguishes CSULB finance graduates in the competitive job market.
Please consider a donation to support scholarships for BIG students,
