The UAB Collat School of Business's student investment group, the UAB Green and Gold Fund opens a new website, will soon receive half a million dollars from the Tennessee Valley Authority, which wants Collat students to invest the money on its behalf.
UAB Green & Gold Fund members with TVA employees in Finance Lab.The unusual learning opportunity is called the TVA Investment Challenge Program, and Collat business students will gain real-world experience by investing the funds for the TVA using long-term investment strategies.
The Green and Gold Fund is now seeking Collat students who want to help manage the allocation. No market experience or courses are required to participate.
"It's a really exciting opportunity to be able to partner with a university, not just supporting education, but providing an investment opportunity that enhances classroom learning," said Tammy Wilson, TVA's vice president, treasurer, and chief risk officer. "What the students are doing is contributing to TVA's mission of providing low-cost reliable power by earning a return on our investment assets that are going to one day offset the decommissioning costs of our generating assets. It helps us keep our rates low."
The Green and Gold Fund is UAB's award-wining, student-managed investment portfolio. Established in 1998, the fund allows undergraduate and graduate students to gain real-world portfolio management and security analysis experience through the application of professional investment strategies and sound risk management principles. The fund currently manages more than $600,000 in assets in addition to the TVA challenge funds.
UAB is one of 25 universities participating in the TVA Investment Challenge Program. Since 1998, student teams have managed money from TVA's Asset Retirement Trust Fund as a part of the organization's larger mission to keep customer rates low. It's one of the largest student-managed investment programs in the U.S.
"It's a testament to the resources that UAB and the Collat School of Business have given the students," Daniel Sanabria, Green and Gold Fund advisor and finance instructor, said about TVA selecting UAB for the challenge. "When TVA came to visit, they were highly impressed not only with the resources that students have available but also with the students who represented the Green and Gold Fund."
Sanabria, who was a member of the fund when he was a student at UAB, said that TVA representatives loved the presentation from fund members during a visit over the summer. They also were impressed with the Collat Finance Lab, citing the 12 Bloomberg terminals that students use.
The students will use a top-down approach to invest the challenge funds, said Anthony Marino, Green and Gold Fund chief investment officer, and will invest the allotment in large-cap domestic equity stocks.
Students will start by looking at the economy as a whole, then look at the attractiveness of different sectors. They will then decide which companies in the attractive sectors are worth investment.
"It's a really cool way for students to add value, to hone their skills at security analysis," Marino said.
The goal is for students to determine which stocks will outperform others and create a portfolio that will outperform their benchmark — the S&P 500 Total Return Index.
In addition to bragging rights, the Green and Gold Fund will receive a share of any profit that exceeds the benchmark, which can be used for scholarships, stipends or other resources for students.
"I think we have the talent within the Green and Gold Fund to support and achieve the goals that are set," Marino said. "The challenge is the act of outperforming itself, which our Green and Gold Fund has been able to do quite successfully. Last semester, we outperformed our benchmark by a huge margin."
UAB's participation in the TVA Investment Challenge Program is also a marker in the continuing, strong relationship between the TVA, Collat and the Collat Career Center, said Andreia Stechmann, assistant director of employer engagement at the Collat Career Center.
"We are thrilled to see another priceless experience for our students come to fruition as a result of this valuable partnership," she said. "TVA's investment in our students' success through the TVA Investment Challenge Program will provide Collat students with the ability to stand out among their peers and expand their skillset and knowledge as they enter the workforce and start their careers in the finance sector.
"We are thankful to be a partner business school and look forward to continuing to build upon this great partnership with TVA."
Students interested in participating in the TVA Investment Challenge should contact Daniel Sanabria at