By Mark Freeze '15
After reading The Best Book on Investment Banking Careers, Jevgenij Gamper (Class of 2016), realized his career goals made it absolutely necessary that he stand out in his academic pursuits. As a student-athlete, this Lithuanian national who is double majoring in Mathematicsand Economics & Finance at Catawba College, decided he needed a working laboratory for his studies. As a result, Gamper came up with the idea to create a Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) at Catawba so he and his fellow students could learn how to handle investments in an actual market and gain real world experience before graduating. Such an organization would provide hands on experience in managing an investment portfolio and a deeper practical understanding of the overlapping fields of mathematics, economics, and finance.
During the spring semester of 2014, Gamper, along with fellow Catawba students Rafal Baran and Josh Hill, approached both Drs. Kenneth Clapp and Eric Hake with their plan seeking mentoring and advice on how best to proceed with launching the SMIF. Gamper then sought out other schools and individuals that had created similar investment groups, asking for advice and best practices. After much work, he created a draft program that was then presented to the Catawba College Board of Trustees for their approval. In the process, the nascent group began receiving several start-up donations and gifts, including gifts from Trustee Richard J. "Dick" Seiwell '67 and Dr. Clapp '70.
With the approval of the fund concept, the SMIF received a trial use of the Bloomberg financial software which allows market information to be readily available to Catawba students. After that, the SMIF went about getting everything in order to open an investing portfolio with Scott Trade, as an entity recently approved for trading. Now Catawba students can actually begin investing into the market and see a return. Any returns are reinvested to boost the capital growth of the overall SMIF. Future plans include allowing earnings to the fund to be used to provide student scholarships.
Seated, L-R: Toomas Gout, Caleb Casper, Shannon Morton, Rafal Baron. Standing, L-R: Declan Stimson, Jevgenij Gamper, Dominik Brus.
Students already involved with the SMIF have been able to receive informative career advice from firms such as Wall Street Oasis and J.P. Morgan. Several members of the fund attended the Annual Forecasting Dinner of the CFA - NC in Charlotte, which hosted 300+ specialists and provided the students with an excellent way to network with those already in the industry. More and more students are becoming interested in the SMIF because it helps them see real world applications of the theories and concepts they are learning, while simultaneously gaining hands-on experience as an investor.
For those interested in supporting SMIF, donations can be made directly to the Catawba College, designating SMIF as the recipient, and mailed to the Development Office, 2300 W. Innes St., Salisbury, NC 28144. For more information about SMIF, follow on Twitter at @SMIFcatawba or visit the webpage at www.catawba.edu/smif.
- Jevgenij Gamper
Head Manager | Investment Management | Tech, Telecom and Utilities Analyst - Shannon Morton
Operations Manager | Investment Management | Tech, Telecom and Utilities Analyst - Rafal Baran
Operations Manager | Investment Management | Energy, Materials and Industrials Analyst - Dominik Brus
Investment Management | Financials and Health Care Analyst - Caleb Casper
Investment Management | Energy, Materials and Industrials Analyst - Alex Lee
Investment Management | Financials and Health Care Analyst - Toomas Goutt
Economist | Investment Management Team - Joshua Hill
Investment Management | Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples Analyst - Janin Kassner
Investment Management | Energy, Materials and Industrials Analyst - Vismantas Marijosius
Investment Management | Financials and Health Care Analyst - Cole Middleton
Investment Management | Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples Analyst - Elizabeth Renteria
Investment Management | Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples Analyst - Marshall Ritchie
Investment Management | Financials and Health Care Analys - Declan Stimson
Investment Management | Energy, Materials and Industrials Analyst - Blake Brewer
Investment Management | Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples Analyst - Dr. Eric Hake
Faculty Advisor | Investment Management Team
