UCA’s Student Managed Investment Fund
The University of Central Arkansas (UCA) invests in its students through its thoughtful curriculum, outstanding faculty, interdisciplinary collaborations and experiential learning. One example is in the College of Business (COB) Student Managed Investment Fund Class.
The course began in the spring of 2024. Intended to give students hands-on experience managing a portfolio of stocks across each major industry sector, this class started without real funds but was developed through planning and networking. By spring 2025, funding became available, and Professor of Finance Mike Casey taught the inaugural funded class.
“We [the COB] had been talking about creating this class for quite some time. We had a new faculty member to teach it the first go-round, but we didn’t have any funds. So we planned and did some networking, and alumnus Pat Moon ’84, who’s been coming to my investment and personal financial planning classes and speaking, decided he wanted to fund it.”
“So that first [funded] class,” Casey continued, “had $100,000 real money to invest. The students selected the stocks, around 21 stocks to ensure they were diversified. Pat Moon’s ’84 investment company, Meridian, would manage transactions for us. By the end of the fall, the portfolio was up more than 25%.”
Coupled with checks and balances through Charles Schwab and the UCA Foundation, with oversight from Pat and his son, also a UCA alum, Marshall Moon ’15, the students in this course have an opportunity to apply knowledge across disciplines to make informed investment choices. Current professor Sarah Campbell explains that students already have practical learning from past coursework and social awareness, and this course teaches them to make new connections. It’s not a matter of merely picking and choosing a stock based on a name.
“I want them to be able to think critically about stock valuation. There’s risk in the stock market, and they need to learn about the business they want to invest in to make an informed decision. They need to ask questions like ‘How does this company make money? How is the industry doing? Who are its competitors?’ Then they need to examine who the customers are and consumer sentiment. And then, even further out, they need to find out about the broader economy, what’s going on with the GDP [Gross Domestic Product], taxes and inflation, because all of those things can apply to a certain company. So, it’s about understanding stock value and being able to apply all of that economic data, and then making an assessment using finance, accounting and politics. It has them paying more attention to the news and to the world,” Campbell said.
The class has students research stocks and decide which to sell, trade or keep. They present their choices and report to the class. Students also get the opportunity to hear from guest speakers working in today’s marketplace and network with them. As semesters change, new students take over the fund and make their own changes, giving the fund a life of its own, produced by students.
Students who have taken the class found the experience insightful. Senior finance major Mason Smith enjoyed the course so much the first time that he is taking it again, as students may take it twice. He said, “It was very collaborative, very hands-on with a lot of group discussion. You can read a textbook and think about it in theory in a classroom setting, but when you actually get to go out and do that and know that your recommendations are actually going to be listened to and heard, and that real money is going to be invested in your stock, or stocks that you recommended, that’s real-world experience getting to put it into practice.”
Smith also enjoyed industry guest speakers, “We had three or four guest speakers during that time, and they really helped and guided us. It was good to talk to them and get their career experience. Some of them graduated from UCA, and it was great to see their career trajectory. I think the more exposure to people in the industry, the better understanding students will have when they enter the industry.”
Investing in the future through this course has already given students real-world experience while connecting them with one another and with those in their field. It has crossed disciplines by having them investigate business, politics, world events and more, producing a more financially and culturally aware student body. The student managed investment fund isn’t just a class, but an ongoing opportunity for students to research and grow.
“I really gained from it. Being able to put some of those academic theories and practices into work is going to help me stand out more in whatever job I take. It will make me a better teammate at whatever company I work at because I’ve already got that knowledge and can contribute right away,” Mason Smith said.