About SIM
Program Overview
Goals
- To provide students with a unique and valuable learning experience
- To preserve and maintain the real purchasing power of the pricipal value of the SIM portfolio while still allowing for periodic distributions of income
- To maintain a "well-diversified" portfolio and earn a total return in excess of our market benchmark, the S&P 500 Index
Investment Strategy
Our investment strategy focuses on obtaining high returns, while maintaining desired risk levels. To generate these returns while minimizing our risk exposure, we generally select companies that have the following characteristics
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Growth
- Established and increasingly strong and consistent earnings growth
- Growth in EPS over the past five years of 10% per year
- Expected growth in EPS over the next five years of 10% per year
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High Quality
- Minimal risk in product lineswith established products
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Size
- Market capitalization of at least$5 billion
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Strength
- Recent upward price momentum
Class Structure
Approximately 35 students partake in the class each quarter. The class is offered to the following groups of students
| Quarter | Rank |
| Autumn | Undergraduate |
| Winter | Graduate (MBAs) |
| Spring | Undergraduate |
| Summer | Graduate (MBAs) & Undergraduate |
During the class, each student acts as a security analyst as follows:
Each student is assigned one stock from the existing SIM portfolio; he/she is responsible for the detailed monitoring of that stock throughout the quarter
The class is further divided into market sector groups, which are responsible for researching and analyzing that specific market sector; periodic reports are delivered to the class outlining overall trends, recent developments and specific stock recommendations.
The student analysts give updates during each class meeting on the current events and activities affecting their firm. The analyst interprets these events and activities in order to make recommendations to the class regarding the holding.
Each member of the class is also responsible for researching a new stock that may be added to the portfolio at the end of the quarter. The analyst prepares a written report and makes an oral presentation to the class.
During each class session, the professor holds discussions including topics such as portfolio management, capital market theories and specific analytical techniques. Further discussions are then held based on the students' stock and industry reports and how they relate to recent and future portfolio performance.
For continuity, a graduate associate (MBA) is responsible for:
- Preparing reports for the Office of the Treasurer
- Monitoring computer labs and answering questions
- Making presentations to each new class on previous portfolios and strategies
To further add to continuity, each analyst submits executive summaries briefing the reasons for specific buys/sells during the quarter to be passed on to the next SIM class.