2015-2016 smif annual report

SMIF 2015-2016 ANNUAL REPORT

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Table of Contents

SMIFProgram.........................................................................................................................1

ResearchChallenge................................................................................................................2

QuinnipiacG.A.M.E.VIForum2016........................................................................................3

Articles/AlumniSpeakers.......................................................................................................5Articles.............................................................................................................................................5

“BettingAgainstBetaDJIA”.................................................................................................................5“HowNOTtoWipeOutwithMomentum”.........................................................................................5“LowVolatilityCycles:LowVolatilityandMomentum”......................................................................5“ValueandMomentumEverywhere”.................................................................................................6

"MomentumCrashes”……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………6"LiquidBettingagainstBetainDowJonesIndustrialAverageStocks”……………………………………………6"Low-VolatilityCycles:TheInfluenceofValuationandMomentumonLow-VolatilityPortfolios”…..6"TheLow-VolatilityAnomaly:MarketEvidenceonSystematicRiskvs.Mispricing”………………………..6

GuestSpeakers.................................................................................................................................7QuantitativeSignal………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8

HoldingsinFunds/Guidelines.................................................................................................9

EconomicEnvironment..........................................................................................................14

History..................................................................................................................................15

SMIFClassPhoto&Biographies............................................................................................17Biographies....................................................................................................................................18


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SMIF Program

Focusing on these three main capabilities enables us as students to get the most out of the SMIF program here at CSULB, and we are thus able to provide the portfolio results that you are seeking to achieve. Using multiple research teams in class we are able to come up with specific goals in order to meet client, in this case CFAOCF, needs. Throughout the entire process we are constantly learning and expanding our capacity to do great work in the area of portfolio management. Investment Philosophy The CSULB SMIF team’s investment approach can best be described as client-focused, research-driven and education-oriented. Client-focused The team’s primary responsibility is a fiduciary duty to clients. This entails steadfast dedication, consideration, and conservatism as well as a responsible and ethical approach toward the management of all portfolios.


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Research-driven Every investment decision is carefully analyzed by extensive research. Before decisions are made, the group pools the findings by each team through in-depth discussion in order to ensure all relevant information is brought to the attention of the class. Education-oriented Participation in the CSULB SMIF earns students a valuable educational experience through managing real-world portfolios. A focus on education allows all students to build their analytical and interpersonal communication skills, which are highly valued in the financial services industry. We believe the market is extremely competitive and difficult to beat; nonetheless, we believe that following the three pillars of our approach will best enable us to structure the portfolios we manage so that we have the greatest likelihood of generating the returns our client’s need both to meet their financial goals while also best compensating them for the risks they are accepting.

Research Challenge

The CFA Institute Research challenge consists of a few months of intensive security analysis and producing a written report and presentation. We have spent hours in the computer lab reading and understanding the target company, Lionsgate, as well as had many debates over the outlook of the company. We won the regional competition and were able to fly out to Chicago and compete in the next round. During this time, we have significantly improved on deciphering and analyzing

information. Also, it was great pleasure to have the chance to attend regional and global final, as well as the Engage Symposium. It is definitely eye opening to see how other teams construct their analysis, considering the extremely high quality of work of these winners from all over the globe.


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Quinnipiac G.A.M.E. VI Forum 2016

Held at New York City, the Quinnipiac G.A.M.E VI Forum for 2016 gave the students of CSULB SMIF program an opportunity to learn from some of the leading industry experts and leaders on the direction of the world’s economy and how the investment world is changing for the future. The CSULB SMIF program had 16 students attend the forum, gaining valuable insight and attending different breakout sessions which included panels tailored to help students grow and understand what it takes to be responsible and outstanding financial analysts and managers. Some of the notable keynote speakers included Charles Evans, Frances Donald, Bloomberg’s Tom Keene, and Fox News anchor David Asman. Their expertise included understanding current micro and macroeconomic conditions, and what it takes to make it in the finance and security industry. The class was also able to attend a special tour at CitiBank, where they got a tour of the trading floor. It was located at a prime location facing the Hudson River, and there were many trading terminals in the building.

The second day consisted of the class going to different panels and keynote speakers. There they were introduced to various topics that are relevant to finance. One example is “Narrative and Numbers” which had a keynote speaker talk about the importance of telling a story on a company and how the numbers should match what the story implies on that company. That day also included the opportunity for different colleges to showcase their experience in their SMIF program and what they have been working on. Some of the students in our class were able to go on a Bloomberg tour that a CSULB alumna was able to schedule for us. It allowed us to walk through Bloomberg’s headquarter and see what one day looks like at Bloomberg. They were also able to learn more about the Bloomberg Terminal and some cool functions that can be used.

The last day consisted of going to different panels and listening to some keynote speakers. The most interesting topic was on technical analysis, which is basically measuring momentum and determining whether a stock has momentum or not. It involves using various methods including candle-sticks and looking for trading patterns. On that day we can say the class was beat, but we thoroughly enjoyed our stay in NYC.

SMIFstudentsatCitiBank


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Those were more of the formal aspects of the trip, but the class was also able to explore the city and found that it was full of life and it even convinced some of our classmates that they wanted to move to NYC and live there. Some of the places we explored were the WTC memorial, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Central Park. Going to and from different places was very unique compared to SoCal because of all the available public transportation, especially the subway system, but Uber was also utilized to get around the city. Other cool things students did were rent bikes from CitiBank and ride the bikes around NYC. The food was also amazing, but not as good as SoCal. Our time did consist of eating a lot of Halal Guys, which is ten times better than the one in Long Beach, and twenty percent cheaper.

In conclusion, Q G.A.M.E VI Forum was very fascinating and educational, and I do hope future generations of SMIF students would be given the opportunity to go to the forum. It allowed our class to learn from leaders and experts from various financial industries, and gave us key insight on what the nation faces economically and how globalization affects everyone. Different members had their view on what the market and government needed to do to help boost the economy, and this insight helped expand our perspective. Finally, it was a blast to live and explore a different state, even if it was just for a few short days.

SMIFstudentsatBloomberg

SMIFstudentsatQ.G.A.M.E.


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Articles/Alumni Speakers During class this semester, each team read an article, presented it, and thought if we should add any of the elements into a possible screener. We also had speakers from the finance industry talk with us. Articles “Betting Against Beta DJIA”

By: Auer, Schuhmacher Despite the adage that higher risk will yield higher returns, Benjamin Auer and Frank Schuhmacher decided to test the opposite theory. They tested low-beta portfolios against high-beta portfolios over 70 years of historic DJIA stock returns, and found that in the long run, it is actually the low-beta stocks that outperform, and generate a consistently higher return than their high-beta counterparts. This is something that we can use in our portfolios, as we are looking to achieve above average returns, and using low-beta stocks is a good way to mitigate risk while seeking those returns according to this paper. “How NOT to Wipe Out with Momentum”

By: Chris Brightman, CFA, Vitali Kalesnik, Ph.D., and Engin Kose, Ph.D.

The paper discusses the pros and cons of using momentum as a factor for equity investing. Momentum is one of a handful of equity factors that empirically displays robust equity returns. It has recently become popular as investors explore factor investing. Buying into positive price momentum can help generate a capital gain for an investor. However, momentum investing can generate a negative outcome if an investor misses forecasting the turning point (aka price goes down) in the price momentum of a stock. The paper illustrates some examples where momentum investing has been successful. On the other hand, the paper also explains the reasons for the downfall of pure momentum strategy and how to avoid it. The paper conclude that in order to utilize momentum factor efficiently, it has to be combined with a value strategy which can help an investor to avoid momentum crash and to improve the portfolio performance.

“Low Volatility Cycles: Low Volatility and Momentum” By: Garcia-Feijoo, Kochard, Sullivan, Wang

Paper seeks to examine “time-varying performance of, and the influence of well-known investment factors on, the low-risk strategy and have included a beta-neutral low-risk strategy of practical relevance.” The researchers tested the effects of volatility on stock performance, and concluded that low-risk strategy performance is closely correlated to momentum and initial valuations. Essentially, the results say that the strategy works best when it is favored by economic environments and momentum in low-risk stocks. Our SMIF program included momentum as a factor that we evaluated when selecting securities to be included in our portfolios.


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“Value and Momentum Everywhere”

By:Clifford S. Asness, AQR Capital Management, LLC

Tobias J. Moskowitz, AQR Capital; University of Chicago- Booth School of Business; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Lasse Heje Pedersen, AQR Capital Management, LLC; Copenhagen Business School- Department of Finance; New York University (NYU); Centre of Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

This research studies the returns of value and momentum strategies together across eight diverse markets and asset classes. Finding consistent value and momentum premia in every asset class, the researchers also find strong common factor structure among their returns. Value and momentum are more positively correlated across asset classes than passive exposures to the asset classes themselves. However, value and momentum are negatively correlated both within and across asset classes. Their results indicate the presence of common global risks that we characterize with a three factor model. Global funding liquidity risk is a partial source of these patterns, which are identifiable only when examining value and momentum simultaneously across markets. Their findings present a challenge to existing behavioral, institutional, and rational asset pricing theories that largely focus on U.S. equities. We use this research to further our knowledge and development of a portfolio comprising of a 50/50 combination of value and momentum equities.

“MomentumCrashes” By:KentDaniel,TobiasJ.MoskowitzA momentum strategy represents a bet on past returns predicting the cross-section of future returns, typically implemented by past winners and selling past losers. Momentum strategies can experience infrequent and persistent strings of negative returns. When studying momentum crashes from the research done by Kent Daniel, he uses an example from June 1932 to December 1939 and March 2009 to March 2013. In “normal” environments we see consistent price movement that is statistically and economically strong across numerous equity markets and a wide range of asset classes. In “extreme” environments following a long market downturn, the market prices of past losers have a high premium. When the market starts to rebound, the losers experience strong gains resulting in a “momentum crash” as momentum short these strategies. On the other hand, this does not apply to winners during a positive signal.

“Liquid Betting against Beta in Dow Jones Industrial Average Stocks” By: Benjamin R. Auer and Frank Schuhmacher.

The take-away from article is researchers have found that a strategy of buying previously low-volatility stocks and selling previously high-volatility stocks has historically generated substantial abnormal returns in US and international markets. Sharpe ratios and alphas of beta-sorted portfolios almost decline with rising betas, indicating an inverted risk–return relationship. There is strong evidence for the beta anomaly in DJIA stocks.


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“Low-Volatility Cycles: The Influence of Valuation and Momentum on Low-Volatility Portfolios”

By: Luis Garcia-Feijóo, CFA, CIPM, Lawrence Kochard, CFA, Rodney N. Sullivan, CFA, and Peng Wang, CFA. The article mentioned some important points as followings:

Beta spread portfolio returns tend to exhibit low levels of exposure to HML when the initial B/P spread is negative (i.e., when low-risk stocks begin the period at a valuation premium) but exposures to HML rise when the initial B/P spread is positive (i.e., when high-risk stocks trade at a premium) Beta spread strategy tends to exhibit higher exposure to MOM when the B/P spread begins the period in positive territory (i.e., when initial valuation levels favor low-risk stocks). This finding suggests that the performance of low-beta strategies is also influenced by the momentum factor. Relationship of the low-risk portfolio to the value factor was very strongly negative but its relationship to the momentum factor was strongly positive. The performance of low-risk strategies is time varying and depends on initial valuation, and low-risk strategy performance appears to be related to the well-known style and momentum factors. In other words, low-risk stocks tend to outperform high-risk stocks when initial valuation levels favor low-risk stocks.

“The Low-Volatility Anomaly: Market Evidence on Systematic Risk vs. Mispricing”

By: Xi Li, Rodney N. Sullivan, CFA, and Luis Garcia-Feijóo, CFA, CIPM.

Some important points from article as market mispricing best characterizes the link between low volatility and future returns, which suggests that the high anomalous returns of low-volatility portfolios identified in the literature cannot be viewed as compensation for some hidden factor risk. Thus, investors appear to prefer high-volatility stocks to low-volatility stocks.

Guest Speakers We were also lucky to have guest speakers come talk to our class. The speakers were Bart Bixler, Ryan Sullivan, and Charles Hassell. They work at Oaktree Capital Management, NWQ Investment Management, and Capital Group respectively. They are CSULB alumni and also we a part of the SMIF program. They talked about what they learned in SMIF and how to apply it to the real world. We were able to ask them questions about job interviews, how their company culture was, and what it is like working in the finance industry.


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Quantitative Signal

With asset allocation being the most important investment decision, CSULB SMIF students developed a new, proprietary tactical asset allocation methodology. This combines an asset allocation mechanism with a methodology for selecting tactical equity holdings, and the results of research received an award at the Financial Education Association conference in 2010.

Our quantitative signal is a market-based signal to shift allocation between overweight and under-weight in equities. The signal is generated when the S&P 500 crosses bands five percent above and below its 200-day simple moving average. This signal leads to Minimal turnover, and aids our top-down active management approach. It leads to overweighting equities when momentum effects in the equity market are at their strongest, and underweighting equities when momentum dissipates. When the signal crosses the band five percent about the 200-day moving average, the signal to overweight equities will lead to a reduction of our fixed income holdings and an increase in our equity holdings.


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Holdings in Funds/Guidelines

Min Equity Holding Max Equity Holding

49er Shops 25% 75%

CFAOCF 60% 80%

SMIF Portfolio 0% 100% Thereareafewdifferencesinallowablerangesforassetallocation.TheForty-NinersShopsportfoliomusthaveaminimumof25%andmaximumof75%oftheportfolioinequities,whichmeansthatitcanhavea25%to75%infixedincomesecurities.TheCFAOCFPortfoliomusthaveaminimumof60%andamaximumof80%oftheportfolioinequities,whichmeansthatitcanhave20%to40%infixedincomesecurities.ThisisbecausetheCFAOCFseekshigherreturnsonitsportfolioandismoretoleranttoriskthanthe49erShopsPortfolio.TheSMIFPortfolio,alsoknownastheSeeger’sFund,canbeentirelyinvestedinequities.Therearedifferent,moretime-consumingtradingprocessesfortheportfolios.AlltradesfortheCFAportfoliorequirefinalapprovalofCFAOCFinvestmentpolicycommittee.Thiscommitteeoftenrequestsadditionalinformationandanalysis,andthisprolongsthetimebeforetradesareexecuted


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These are the Q12016 End Holdings for the 49ers Shop Inc.:

Equiees$77,034.80

59%

FixedIncome$52,571.04

41%

49erShopsPorPolioAllocaQon

Equiees

FixedIncome


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These are the Q12016 end holdings for the CFAOCF Portfolio:

Consistent with the implications of this signal, together with our belief in continued positive but sluggish growth for the economy throughout the remainder of the year, with the U.S. economy anticipated to have stronger and more stable growth compared to the rest of the world, our target asset allocation reflects the maximum allowed allocation to fixed income, 40%, and the minimum allowed allocation to equities, 60%, together with individual selections in each asset class that are focused on the U.S. economy. The fixed income ETFs chosen, VCIT, HYG, LQD, MBB, and IEF, are domestic fixed income positions that are chosen partly (i.e., VCIT and HYG) to reflect the team’s belief in the continued sluggish but positive growth in the domestic economy that should benefit the ability of U.S. corporations to improve in their ability to meet their debt obligations and partly (i.e., LQD, MBB, and IEF) to match the top three components of the benchmark AGG, with IEF specifically chosen to represent the Treasury portion based on the team’s analysis that that was the location on the yield curve the students believed to offer the best return prospects relative to the respective risks involved.


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The selected equity positions reflect the team’s conclusion that, given the current and anticipated state of the equity markets, large- cap stocks are likely to perform better than small-cap stocks, value stocks are likely to outperform growth stocks (leading the recommendation for VTV; the selection of BRKB reflects both this effect and the anticipated out-performance of large-cap stocks), and low-volatility stocks are likely to outperform high-volatility stocks (leading to the recommendation for SPLV), together with analysis conducted (using data available from Kenneth French’s data library) of the relative levels of industry returns observed during equity-underweight-signal market environments (leading to the recommendations for KO, PEP, DPS, VPU, XLK, and XRT). Moreover, given the team’s analysis subsequent to the RFP presentation into the diversification benefits of combining momentum- based stocks with value-oriented stocks, momentum-based holdings are also included in our recommendation (specifically, IVV and IVW).

Additional information regarding the selection process for these latter two sets of securities is as follows:

• Using the industry data available from Kenneth French’s data library (on Dartmouth’s website), we were able to determine which industries had historically outperformed the S&P 500 during equity-underweight-signal market environments. Among those that had outperformed were Food & Beverage, Smoke, Beer, Guns, Software, Meals (Hospitality), and Utilities. Given that we have already selected (as discussed in our RFP presentation) holdings from the Food & Beverage category (specifically, KO, PEP, and DPS), and our internal Socially Responsible Investing mandates prohibit us from investing in Smoke, Beer, or Guns, our team decided to turn to the other top-performing industries for investment possibilities.

Equiees$17,796.02

60%

FixedIncome$11,847.21

40%

CFAOCFPorPolioAllocaQon

Equiees

FixedIncome


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• Among these other possibilities, VPU (Vanguard Utilities) was selected because not only has it historically outperformed the S&P 500 during underweight signal environments, but is also currently exhibiting strong momentum. In addition, it is diversified across 82 companies, has a low expense ratio (0.10%), and is relatively liquid.

• Another industry that has historically outperformed during underweight signals is software. Based on this finding, XLK (SPDR Technology) was selected because of its software-heavy allocation. Consistent with this industry’s history, XLK has outperformed the S&P 500 since our underweight signal was received on 21 August 2015. In addition to these strong factors, the fund includes many top companies including Google, Facebook, and Oracle.

• The Meals industry includes primarily hospitality and restaurants. However, because we had already invested in the Food & Beverage industry, we decided to focus on the retail portion of this category. XRT (SPDR Retail) holds a number of big box stores, and, moreover, has also exhibited stronger momentum over the past 6 months than the S&P 500.

• We invested in Berkshire Hathaway because of Warren Buffett’s successful record at value investing. His fundamental approach at discovering undervalued companies has led him to become one of the wealthiest, most successful investors in the world.

• We invested in iShares iBoxx High Yld Corp Bond ETF to try and get more return from high yield bonds by taking on a little more risk in our fixed income allocation. A high-yield bond is a high paying bond with a lower credit rating than investment-grade corporate bonds, Treasury bonds and municipal bonds. Because of the higher risk of default, these bonds pay a higher yield than investment grade bonds.

• Finally, to finish out the portfolio, we turned toward utilizing momentum as a primary strategy and followed a limited application of our proprietary momentum-based style-rotation strategy. Following this approach, we selected IVV (iShares Core S&P 500) and IVW (iShares S&P 500 Growth), both of which have exhibited stronger momentum over the past 6 months than our internal benchmark of SPY.


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Economic Environment

The picture above is a trend based model which measures equity market momentum. It is a model designed by SMIF students from California State University Long Beach. The middle line is a 200 day moving average surround by a +5% and a -5% band. We receive an overweight signal when the S&P 500 Index crosses above the +5% band and an underweight signal when the index crosses below the -5% band. On August 21, 2015 the S&P 500 generated a sell signal which is why we are currently underweight equities. This leads us to shift our asset allocation by increasing our bond holdings and decreasing our tactical equity holdings to help minimize risk.

In order to support our momentum model plenty of research regarding the economy is completed. Based on our economic outlook we expect the U.S. economy to go through some challenges but ultimately see small gradual growth. For this reason, we believe Interest rate risk is greater than default risk. Given this information we are maximizing our High Yield Bond Holding capabilities in order to obtain better returns. Overall we do not anticipate any upcoming recessions in the U.S. economy and because of the underweight signal we are focusing on industries that do fairly well during a sell signal such as: foods, utilities, consumer staples etc.


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History TheCSULBStudentManagedInvestmentFund(SMIF)wascreatedinAugustof1995toexposeitsmemberstoadegreeof"realworld"experiencebyprovidinghands-ontraininginsecuritiesanalysisandportfoliomanagement,andexposingitsmemberstocareer-enhancingopportunitieswithintheinvestmentsindustry.TheSMIFportfolioismanagedbyacombinationofsenior-levelundergraduatestudentsconcentratingininvestmentsandsecondyearMBAstudentsspecializinginfinance.Studentsenrolledinthishonorslevelcoursehavetakenanumberofrequiredprerequisitecourses,andaresubjecttoapprovalbytheSMIFadvisors.TheSMIFprogramwasthefirstprogramofitskindwithintheCSUsystem,andthisalongwiththeschool’slocationnearbothLosAngelesCountyandOrangeCounty,ledtosomeuniqueadvantagesfortheprogram.PIMCO,inOrangeCounty,isoneofthebiggestfixed-incomecompaniesheadquarteredinSouthernCalifornia.Payden&RygelandBradford&Marzec,inL.A.County,aretwootherfixed-incomecompaniesthataresuccessfulintheindustry,andthesefactorsledtheleadersoftheCFAOCFandForty-Ninersprogramtorequiresomeallocationtofixedincome.Thisisamajordifferencebetweenourprogramandmostotherstudent-managedportfolios,whichtendtobefocusedexclusivelyonequities.Thisgivesourstudentssomeexposuretothefixed-incomemarketsandgivesthemanedgeoverothercollegegraduateslookingforajobinfinancialmarkets.Theoriginalportfoliothathadfundsstartingat$50,000isnowvaluedatover$100,000andisalsojoinedbytwootherportfolios.ThesecondportfolioisfundedbytheCFASocietyOrangeCountyFoundation,andthethirdportfolioisfundedthroughtheForty-NinerShops,Inc.,thenon-profitcorporationthatrunsCSULB’sbookstoresandfoodconcessions.Together,theseportfoliosarenowvaluedatover$300,000,andstudentsareknowledgeableabouttheinvestmentpolicyguidelinesforallthreeofthem.

Dr.PeterAmmermannhasbeendirectoroftheSMIFprogramsince2002,andisaveryknowledgeableandhelpfulmentortotheclass.HishighexpectationoftheSMIFmembersisreflectedbyhisdedicationtoeverystudent’seducationandhisfulfillmentoffiduciaryresponsibilitytoourclients.


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Theclassisdividedintothreeteamstoeffectivelyanalyzedifferentsecuritiesandcompaniesinthemarket.Atthebeginningofthesemester,thestudentsselectoneofthreeteamstobeapartof.Eachteamisthenexpectedtoprepareapresentationandcontributetotheclassdiscussionfortheupcomingweek.Inthesecondsemester,thestudentswerebrokenupintosmallerteamsandplacedingroupswithmembersfromdifferentteamstomoresuccessfullyfacilitateefficientteamworkanddiversityofideasthroughoutthewholeclass.Everyweek,onememberofSMIFisselectedastheChiefExecutiveOfficerfortheweekandtaskedwithleadingtheclassdiscussionandmanagingtheprogram.TheCEO'sresponsibilitiesincludedevelopinganagenda,delegatingtasksthatneedtobeaccomplishedfortheweek,andfacilitatingasmoothdiscussionforthefollowingweek.Theclassdoesalotofresearchindividuallythattheypooltogetheranddiscusscollectively.Somediscussiontopicsincludethecurrentmacroeconomicenvironment,individualcompanyanalysis,fixedincomestrategies,andamultitudeofdifferentinvestmenttopics.Afterextensiveresearchanddiscussiononcertaintopics,theclasswillvoteonimportantmattersthatneedtobeaddressed.Athree-fourthmajoritymustbepassedtofinalizedecisionssuchasassetallocation,securityselection,andtheweightofeachsecuritywithintheallottedallocation.SMIFapplicantsarerequiredtoattendthree“SMIFBootCamp”sessionsduringthecomingsummertofamiliarizetheapplicantswiththedetailsoftheSMIFportfolio-managementprocessandtheguidelinesoftheCFAOCF’sRFPcompetitionandtoassisttheapplicantsingettingstartedontheportfolioandsecurityanalysisprocessthatwillleadtotheconstructionoftheSMIFportfolio.Prospectivecandidateswillbeevaluatedonthelevelofenthusiasmdisplayed,theirworkethic,andtheirabilitytofunctioninateam-likeenvironment.


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SMIF Class Photo & Biographies


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Biographies Spencer Blim will be graduating in fall 2016 receiving a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. He has an upper division GPA of 3.5 and Finance GPA of 4.0. Spencer is involved in a number of organizations at CSULB including, Financial Management

Association, Student Center for Professional Development and Leadership Academy. Spencer has a strong passion for finance and investing which is what lead him to join SMIF. Upon graduation, he plans on pursuing a career in the finance industry and continuing his education by obtaining his MBA.

Andrew Chu is graduating in Fall 2016 and obtaining a BS in Business Administration with a focus in Finance. Andrew is an active member in Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business fraternity. He currently holds a position in the organization as Vice President of Finance, but has held positions in the

past as Head of Marketing, and Auditor. Andrew is a recipient of the Student Center for Professional Development certificate and a student of the Lois J. Swanson Leadership Academy. After graduation, Andrew plans on pursuing a career in the Finance industry.

Huy Doan is a senior at California State University, Long Beach. He is finishing his degree in Business Administration, option in Finance and will be graduating in May 2016. Huy studies hard to maintain his 4.0 major GPA. He is a student research assistant for the Center for Student Success at the CBA,

CSULB. Huy has a great passion in finance and he is committed to pursuing a career in the financial world. His goal is to become a successful financial analyst and get an MBA degree for the next 5 years. The SMIF program has offered him a great experience and insight into the financial field. Huy chose CSULB since the school offers a great education and community that prepare students for the real world.

Mario A. Diaz is graduating in May 2016 with a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance. During his undergraduate study, he made the Dean’s Honor List and President’s Honor List four consecutive semesters. Mario has been heavily involved in student organizations at CSULB.

As President of the Financial Management Association (FMA), Mario spent much of his time helping other students with their professional development and networking. During the Fall 2015 Mario also served as part of the Bloomberg Campus Ambassador Program at CSULB, where he held Bloomberg Terminal workshops and proctored the Bloomberg Aptitude Test (BAT). Upon graduation, Mario will be starting his career with Capital Group at their Downtown Los Angeles office.


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Irie Elizalde will earn his BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance in May of 2016. During his years at CSULB, Irie was on the President’s Honor List and the College of Business Administration Dean’s list. He has earned a membership in the Financial Management Association National

Honor Society. Upon graduation, Irie plans on pursuing a career in the investment industry and work towards obtaining the CFA®.

Cory Haggerty is graduating in Fall 2016 with a BS in Business Administration with a focus in Finance. Corey has been very involved on campus and working to his utmost potential throughout college. He plans to pursue finance in the future as both a career and to pursue further education through an MBA

program. He has been involved in the SMIF program through Fall 2015 and Spring 2016. He also has worked full time throughout college in both the construction and restaurant industry. The SMIF program has positively benefited his experience and total education here at CSULB.

Devin Jett is set to graduate in May 2016 with a BS in Business Administration with an Option in Finance. During his undergraduate study, he made President’s List in two of his four semesters finishing with a 3.5 GPA. As a member of the SMIF Quantitative Analysis Team, Devin has explored the

program’s asset allocation approach and conducted extensive research into the relative performance over different types of market environments of the various industries that comprise the markets and, based on this analysis, worked to select individual stockholding for our portfolio. Looking forward, Devin hope to obtain his MS Degree in Statistical Analysis from a college yet to be decided and hopefully find a career in Financial Consulting.

Ryan Jordan is a 4th-year senior at Long Beach State graduating in December 2016. His work with SMIF includes quantitative research and analysis on industry performance during market sell signals, as well as research on the price-to-sales ratio and potential modifications to increase its viability as a screening factor.

Outside of SMIF, he is the current president of the Long Beach State chapter of the Phi Gamma Delta men's fraternity, and enjoys playing basketball and reading in his spare time. Post-graduation, he plans to earn his CFA designation and eventually become a portfolio manager.


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Analiese Lauro is graduating cum laude in May 2016 with a BS in Business Administration, with a concentration in Finance. During her time at CSULB, Analiese has been on both the President’s and Dean’s List. She studied abroad for a semester at the University of Wollongong in

Australia. As a member of the University Honors Program at CSULB, she wrote a thesis on creating a stock screener that college students can use. Analiese is an active member in the Co-Ed Professional Business Fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. She has held numerous positions such as Vice President of Professional Activities, Vice President of Community Service, and Faculty Relations Director. Currently, she interns at the Wealth Management Firm Halbert Hargrove. After graduation, Analiese plans to pursue a career in the finance industry.

Van Le is graduating in December 2016 with an MBA in Finance. Prior to joining the SMIF, Van worked for banks as IT project manager for 10 years and HSBC was her previous employer. From Southeast Asia, Van has an international background, understanding local banks and international banks. Currently in

good academic standing, with a 4.0 finance GPA, Van looks forward to working in investment banking. Van is Bloomberg Certified in both Fixed Income and Equities. After graduation from her MBA program, Van is planning to take all three levels of the CFA® designation.

Justin Lee is a senior at CSULB, and is graduating in May 2016 with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance. He made the President’s Honor List, received the Middle Class Scholarship, and is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma international honors

society. While studying as a full-time student, Justin interned with The Shadden Group at Morgan Stanley, a prestigious private wealth management in Long Beach, where he performed various financial and wealth management services. After graduating, Justin will begin working in financial markets and pursue an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. He also plans to take the CFA Program Level I exam in 2017.

Ryan Lee will be graduating in May 2016 with a BS in Finance. During the past two academic years, Ryan has received the Dean’s List or President’s Honor List for the past, and the Business Professional certificate. He plans on further developing skills in finance, with the plan to pursue the CFA®

Program, starting in June 2017. Ryan is working hard for the development of his career in the investment industry, but could possibly be interested in a pivot to corporate finance down the road.


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Yvonne Lopez will be graduating in May 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an Option in Finance. She is a Long Beach Rotary Scholar and was the recipient of the CSU Future Scholars Scholarship. During her undergraduate education Yvonne participated in the Student Managed

Investment Fund and was on the Fixed-Income team. She contributed to the response request for investment management proposal by assessing global market conditions and forecasting economic conditions for 2016. Yvonne worked in a two-person team to monitor and report updates on economic indicators, such as ISM, PMI, Consumer Confidence, amongst others. Additionally, she alongside other SMIF students competed in the CFA Global Investor Research Challenge and were awarded first place locally.

Briana Rico graduates this May 2016 with a BS in Finance and a BS in Accounting. She works full time in her undergraduate study preparing personal and small business tax returns, and as an accounting assistant for the LA Clippers, an NBA basketball team. With a solid foundation in accounting, she hopes

to first get her CPA, then utilize these skills to transition into the finance industry. She is an FMA member, as well as a member of the Accounting Society.

Aye Thiri Mon is scheduled to graduate in December 2016 with a BS in Business Administration, with an option in Finance and concentration in Investments and Financial Management. She is an elected President of Financial Management Association, a networking committee of Student Managed

Investment Fund, a member of the Corporate Mentoring Business Program, a member of National Honor Society of the Financial Management Association, and a member of Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society. During her undergraduate study, she attained Dean’s List honors in the academic year of 2014 – 2015. She has been actively involved with CFA Orange County. She is in the process of obtaining her Bloomberg Market Concepts Certification and has future plan of sitting for the CFA Level 1 in the next year. Aye also plans to pursue her MBA at a top business school. She is a multilingual, with Burmese, Hindi, and Urdu. Her ultimate goal is to become a portfolio manager or to

work in the corporate finance. Jeffrey Sherden will be graduating in May of 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance. He was a part of the presenting team for the CFAOCF RFP competition, and benefitted greatly from the hands-on experience that the SMIF program

provided. During his time at CSULB, he earned a spot on the President’s Honor List and upon graduation, he plans on pursuing a career in the investment management industry and working towards obtaining the CFA® designation.


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Billy Toledo graduates in December 2016 with a BS in Business Administration with a focus in Finance. He is a CFA level I candidate and is Bloomberg Certified. He is a key contributor to the Fixed Income and Economics team. He Participated as a speaker in the CFAOCF Rep competition. He plans to

work for an investment firm after he graduates and has a goal to become a portfolio manager. After obtaining his CFA he plans to pursue an MBA degree at Loyola Marymount University. Aside from Finance, he loves to play soccer and is a Real Madrid fan.

Henry Tep graduates in May 2016 with a BS in Business Administration, with a major in Finance. He holds a 3.6 GPA. He has also been on the President’s List once, and twice on the Dean’s list. He has been a Supplemental Instructor Leader for Business Finance and is currently Kappa Phi Kappa

National Honor Society member, and Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society member. Henry is currently working on becoming an officer in the U.S Army Reserve, Uber driver, and completing the CFA® Level I exam in June 2016. His next goal in life is to continue pursuing an education and double major in finance and engineering.

Adam H. Tran was born in 1991 in Westminster, California and is an Army veteran. He is currently a valuable member of the Student Managed Investment Fund (2015-2016) at Cal State University Long Beach. Adam has earned an associate’s degree in Accounting, and will be receiving a bachelor’s degree in finance on May

19th 2016. Adam is a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. After graduation, Adam’s plan is to become a financial advisor and fund manager. He believes that being a financial advisor is one of the most noble profession. As a financial advisor, Adam will be able to wake up every day with a burning desire to help others realize and achieve their financial goals.

Matthew Woo is graduating in May 2016 with a BS in Finance. Throughout his college career, he has held different leadership positions in the Business Professional Fraternity, Delta Sigma Pi. He took initiative to participate and compete in the International

Collegiate Business Strategy Competition and the CFA Institute Research Challenge, receiving first place in written report and presentation, and first place in local level respectively. Matthew is currently completing an internship with Springleaf Financial, where he learns about subprime consumer lending. SMIF has been a tremendous experience for Matthew providing exposure to knowledge and connections in the investment field. Upon graduation, Matthew plans on pursuing a career in the investment industry and work to obtain the CFA designation.

2015-2016 smif annual report

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