Key Takeaways
- • Florida State University's Student Investment Fund (SIF) ranks No. 10 among public school student-managed investment funds nationwide and No. 23 across all North American schools, according to The Center for Investment Research's 2025 performance rankings.
- • The SIF is now valued at $11.5 million, representing substantial growth from its 2008 inception with $1.3 million in combined private donations and university foundation funds.
- • The fund operates within the Peter & Mary Lee Jones Trading Room at the Herbert Wertheim Center for Business Excellence, equipped with Bloomberg terminals and professional-grade technology used by leading Wall Street firms.
- • Master's students in the MSF program serve as portfolio managers while top undergraduate students from the Undergraduate Investment Group function as analysts, providing hands-on experiential learning in portfolio management and securities analysis.
- • FSU's SIF is the only Florida business school investment fund listed in The Center for Investment Research's Top 25 rankings.
Summary
Florida State University's Herbert Wertheim College of Business has secured a top-10 ranking for its student-managed investment fund, reflecting the institution's strengthening position in experiential finance education. The Student Investment Fund ranked No. 10 among public schools nationwide and No. 23 across all North American institutions in 2025 performance metrics published by The Center for Investment Research. The achievement underscores FSU's competitive standing within the peer group of academically rigorous business programs and marks the only Florida business school entry in the Top 25 rankings.
The SIF has grown substantially since its 2008 establishment. The fund, which began operations with $1.3 million in combined private donations and Florida State University Foundation funds, now manages $11.5 million in assets. This growth trajectory reflects both successful investment performance and sustained institutional commitment to the program. Steve Perfect, vice chair of the SIF oversight board and associate professor of finance, emphasized the fund's scale and development trajectory.
The fund's infrastructure supports professional-grade portfolio management. Operations are housed in the newly built Peter & Mary Lee Jones Trading Room within the Herbert Wertheim Center for Business Excellence, equipped with Bloomberg terminals and ancillary technology platforms standard to institutional asset management environments. This facility design enables students to develop competencies using the same tools deployed at leading Wall Street institutions.
The program employs a structured student hierarchy aligned with educational outcomes. Master's students pursuing the MSF degree serve as portfolio managers overseeing investment decisions, while select undergraduate students from the college's Undergraduate Investment Group function as securities analysts. Don Autore, Dean L. Cash Professor of Finance and chair of the Department of Finance, noted that this structure provides "hands-on experience as portfolio managers and analysts under the guidance of faculty experts." Andrew Schrowang, MSF program coordinator and associate lecturer, characterized fund management as "one of our most impactful opportunities" within the Master of Science in Finance program's emphasis on experiential learning.
The SIF has grown substantially since its 2008 establishment. The fund, which began operations with $1.3 million in combined private donations and Florida State University Foundation funds, now manages $11.5 million in assets. This growth trajectory reflects both successful investment performance and sustained institutional commitment to the program. Steve Perfect, vice chair of the SIF oversight board and associate professor of finance, emphasized the fund's scale and development trajectory.
The fund's infrastructure supports professional-grade portfolio management. Operations are housed in the newly built Peter & Mary Lee Jones Trading Room within the Herbert Wertheim Center for Business Excellence, equipped with Bloomberg terminals and ancillary technology platforms standard to institutional asset management environments. This facility design enables students to develop competencies using the same tools deployed at leading Wall Street institutions.
The program employs a structured student hierarchy aligned with educational outcomes. Master's students pursuing the MSF degree serve as portfolio managers overseeing investment decisions, while select undergraduate students from the college's Undergraduate Investment Group function as securities analysts. Don Autore, Dean L. Cash Professor of Finance and chair of the Department of Finance, noted that this structure provides "hands-on experience as portfolio managers and analysts under the guidance of faculty experts." Andrew Schrowang, MSF program coordinator and associate lecturer, characterized fund management as "one of our most impactful opportunities" within the Master of Science in Finance program's emphasis on experiential learning.
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