Student-Managed Fund Turns 10

Intrieri Fund Now Providing Scholarships for Student Analysts

In its tenth year, and with more than $1 million in holdings, the Intrieri Family Student-Managed Fund at Penn State Behrend paid a different kind of dividend: Thirteen student analysts earned scholarships that were paid from the fund’s profits.

Additional scholarships will follow, as long as the fund’s balance remains above $1 million. That provides an additional incentive for students, who manage a portfolio with approximately 40 stocks.

“No one wants to be the one who tanks the fund and ruins this for everyone,” said Michael Tejchman, a 2021 graduate who now works at BNY Mellon.

That pressure increased over the last year as the Federal Reserve tried to tame inflation by raising interest rates. The S&P 500—the primary benchmark for the Intrieri fund—fell by more than 19 percent.

The Intrieri fund ended the year ahead of the benchmarks but still lost approximately 8 percent of its value.

“Nobody panicked,” said Dr. Tim Krause, director of the fund and an associate professor of finance. “We kept meeting, and I kept saying to the students, ‘Look, we have a strategy, and we’ve executed it. Trust in that. Hold on. We’ll see how this works out.’”

A bear market was always a risk for the student-managed fund, which launched in 2012, building on a $100,000 gift from Behrend alumnus Vincent Intrieri and his wife, Joanne. Because the fund uses real money, the student analysts feel a responsibility that can’t be matched by a classroom simulation.

“Mock portfolio classes tend to be a waste of time,” said Vincent Intrieri ’84, the founder and CEO of VDA Capital Management LLC and a former senior managing director of Icahn Capital LP. “Students don’t really do the work. They listen to their buddy, or their uncle, or whomever, and they put all the money into a few big-name stocks. It doesn’t really teach them anything.

“When you’re dealing with real money,” he said, “you very quickly learn to appreciate the stakes.”

As a result, the student analysts tend to favor value stocks. When the market is down, they look for bargains: In 2022, the fund added stocks in Tesla and Meta Platforms, the company that runs Facebook.

Most students pitch at least four stocks every semester. They offer detailed valuations, including price targets, and the team votes. A smaller group manages the portfolio during the summer months.

Krause serves as the team’s adviser, with help from Phil Stuczynski, an assistant teaching professor of finance. But the students have the final vote.

“Their immersion in the fund really becomes the marquee item on their resúme,” said Dr. Greg Filbeck, director of the Black School of Business. “They learn to be careful and thorough with their research and to be strategic as they balance the fund. They also hone their communication skills. They need to be able to convince the rest of the team that the stock they picked is the right fit.”

Even in a down market, with the S&P and other benchmarks wobbling, students can point to their experience with the Intrieri fund as they meet with potential employers.

“It’s a differentiating experience,” Filbeck said. “These students enter the job market having managed an investment portfolio that is worth more than $1 million. They can point to something more than classroom knowledge. They can show the fund’s growth and say, ‘I contributed to that.’”

PROJECT MANAGEMENT IS ONE BIG PUZZLE

Dual degrees help recent graduate find her niche

While some students cringe when professors assign a group project, Grace Blackford ’21, ’22, wasn’t one of them.

“I’m a people person,” said Blackford who dual majored in Project and Supply Chain Management (PSCM) and Management Information Systems (MIS) and went on to earn an MBA at Penn State Behrend. “I like to be around other people and work on a team. I also am very organized, so being able to use my organizational and social skills to help manage projects and understand complex supply chains is a good fit for me.”

Blackford is an associate information technology project manager in the IT Apprentice Program at Erie Insurance. It’s a two-year rotational program in which participants work on different IT teams, learning and expanding their skillset.

“The IT Apprentice Program was one of the things that attracted me to Erie Insurance because I knew I wanted to gain a breadth of knowledge early in my career,” she said.

Business News talked with Blackford to learn more about her career path:

Why did you decide to dual major?

Initially, I was pursuing only a PSCM degree, but after taking a few MIS courses, I realized that I wanted to learn more about it. MIS was completely unfamiliar to me when I started at Behrend, but I liked coding and knew it would be useful in any sector.

How would you explain your degrees to people unfamiliar with them?

I explain that I have two business degrees, one is focused on logistics and managing projects, while the other is focused on using technologies, such as Excel, to interpret data.

How does your education help you in your current role?

I use my project management skills every day to coordinate project tasks. The skills I learned in MIS help me grasp the technical aspects of the projects I manage. It’s nice because I can understand and speak the jargon of both the business and IT sides of a project team.

In what other ways did the Black School prepare you?

Group projects really helped because almost everything I do now involves working collaboratively. At Behrend, I learned how to work with people I might not have otherwise, people who had different ways of communicating, approaching projects, and dividing the work.

How did you get your job?

I started at Erie Insurance in the summer of 2020 as an IT intern in a business analyst role. I worked remotely throughout my senior year. When I graduated, I started working full time in the apprentice program. After completing the two-year program, apprentices join an IT team as a professional level employee.

What do you like about your job?

I like that project management is one big puzzle with competing priorities, and my role is to find harmony and keep everyone happy. I feel accomplished when I am able to help the pieces fall into place, my team members are confident in their work, and our project is making progress.

What are your future goals? I’d like to pursue Project Management Professional certification. My long-term goal is to be an IT supervisor.

What advice do you have for current students?

Raise your hand when opportunities arise. Say yes to every learning experience. Join different clubs. Try new things.