The Eberhardt School of Business offers a two-term class for undergraduate business students called the Eberhardt Student Investment Fund (ESIF). Students are selected through a formal application process and can manage an investment portfolio that is currently approaching $6 million.
Faculty Advisor, Student Investment Fund
Benjamin Carlston, PhD
Associate Professor of Finance
Email: bcarlston@pacific.edu
PH: 209.946.2630
Only 2% of business schools worldwide operate a student investment fund. In the Eberhardt SIF, students do research and evaluation, write reports, and make choices regarding where and how to invest the fund's money. This is not a virtual investment or portfolio; this is real money and real investments.
Eberhardt students learn how to thoroughly analyze potential investments using the same financial techniques professional investors use. In addition, students learn the finer points of portfolio management by taking responsibility for individual S&P 500 sectors and analyzing allocations and how they fit within the greater portfolio.
The Eberhardt Student Investment Fund also teaches our students the importance of sharing their success with others. Each year, a percentage of the fund's net assets are distributed back to the University of the Pacific to support the mission and activities of the university. To date, the Eberhardt SIF has returned $2.1 million to the university.
Established in 2007 with a generous $1 million gift from Bank of Stockton CEO, Douglass Eberhardt, the University of the Pacific Student Investment Fund's major goal is to offer dynamic undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to gain exposure to the world of investing.
From its inception, the Student Investment Fund has outperformed both the Russell Midcap Index benchmark and S&P 500. The fact that students invest real money means their work produces real results, which is a tremendously satisfying and a very unique experience.
Students learn how to thoroughly analyze potential investments using the same financial techniques professional investors use. In addition, students learn the finer points of portfolio management by taking responsibility for individual S&P 500 sectors and analyzing allocations and how they fit within the greater portfolio.
In addition to classwork, members have the opportunity to speak directly with industry professionals and travel to visit financial institutions in the area. Throughout the semester, SIF hosts guest speakers including CFA charter holders, fund managers, and other professionals from both the private and public sectors that provide their valuable personal insight into the investment industry and share their paths to how they got where they are today. Field trips to places such as the Pacific Exchange in San Francisco and to other local student investment organizations expose members to the greater investment community.
