Success isn't measured by the size of a portfolio, but by the passion behind it. For The University of Texas at Arlington's Student Managed Investment Fund, that passion just earned national recognition.
UTA's College of Business Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) won first place in the poster session competition at the Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium (SMIFC) in Chicago, topping more than 50 universities from across the country.
Hosted by Indiana State University, the consortium brings together SMIF programs nationwide for networking, professional development and competition. The event features keynote speakers, panels and portfolio presentations that allow students to apply classroom knowledge in a real-world setting.
"We compete against other schools all over the nation. We spent probably 50 hours making this poster," said junior Tyler Le, a double-major in accounting and finance major.
SMIF gives students the opportunity to manage a real-money portfolio and gain hands-on experience in investment analysis, teamwork and decision-making. Participants put theory into practice through daily trading and by testing their skills at national competitions.
Le said he joined SMIF because he wanted to deepen his financial knowledge, especially in investing.
"This is my first semester, and I've learned so much in terms of investing into a portfolio of stocks and ETFs [exchange-traded funds], and I've gotten a great knowledge of that," Le said.
Clinical Assistant Professor and SMIF advisor Trang Thai said earning first place was a major accomplishment given the scale of competition.
"To win this, it's not easy, because you must be the best out of over 50 schools," Dr. Thai said. "Some of the funds are over $4 to $6 million. We are only at $125,000, so very small. Size does not matter in this case."
Though the program is only five years old, it has already earned four awards across various categories and levels.
"We felt like celebrities," Thai said. "Random students who were in the city for the event recognized us and said, 'Oh, you're the team that won the poster competition, congratulations!'"
The teams presented detailed posters summarizing their portfolio's performance, risk management strategies and investment philosophy. UTA's entry highlighted strong key metrics such as high Sharpe ratio and low beta, signaling strong returns with minimal volatility.
When the winners were announced, the UTA team didn't expect to hear its name.
"We didn't think we had won," Le said. "Then they called 'University of Texas at Arlington,' and we were like, whoa. Everyone was shocked. It was surreal."
Thai said the judges praised the group's presentation and teamwork. One judge told her the UTA team "did an outstanding job" and stood out collectively.
For Thai, the award represents how far the program has come.
"Getting first place for the first time means our program has fully developed," she said. "We're attracting talented students and proving that we can compete with larger schools. We might be the underdogs, but this shows that we can go against the odds and come out on top."
Le said representing UTA at the competition felt especially meaningful during the College of Business' 60th anniversary.
"It was a great way to turn out for that," Le said.
Learn more about UTA SMIF here: https://www.uta.edu/academics/schools-colleges/business/departments/finance-and-real-estate/smif
