ABOUT US
STRUCTURE AND INVESTMENT STRATEGY
Executive Summary
For many years, Miami University finance students managed a small portion of the endowment assets. The investment process for these assets was organized around the Finance 481 class and a stock pitching competition held once a semester.
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As of September 2022, we have combined efforts to form, build and grow the Miami University Student Investment Fund: now Red Brick Capital. The Fund is led by an executive team of students, advised by both an alumni Advisory Board and alumni Investment Advisory Group. The Fund operates through the Finance 481 and Finance 482 classes. Current AUM is approximately $1,200,000 USD with aspirations to continue growth organically and via additional capital contributions by alumni donors.
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Student Analysts in Finance 481 are responsible for conducting quantitative and qualitative research on potential investments within their sectors. They are also responsible for researching sector trends and following major firms and communicating their findings to the Fund. The Finance 482 Student Management Team is responsible for determining the Fund's high-level strategy, including monitoring the portfolio's sector allocation, risk tolerance, and keeping the Fund in line with the Investment Policy Statement. They also vote on investment ideas and conduct performance attribution analysis to understand Fund returns and improve future outcomes.
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The Student Executive Team coordinates between the alumni Advisory Board and Investment Advisor Group to host speaker events and receive feedback on stock pitches. They also work alongside the Miami Finance Department with regard to the classes, alumni donations, recruitment, and other initiatives. Finally, this team is responsible for the marketing of the Fund via this webpage, LinkedIn, and distributing monthly reports to a student and alumni email list.
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Red Brick Capital aims to grow as both a fund and network of Miami University alumni in finance, and particularly, the Institutional Asset Management Industry.
Students can also apply to be non-active observers and attend the speaker series events and are encouraged to reach out to learn more.
Red Brick Capital Structure
Student Executive Team
SMIF Endowment Committee
Advisory Board
Investment Advisory Group
Portfolio Management Team
Analyst Team
Small group of students involved with FIN 481 and 482 interested in asset management and RBC development​
Faculty Advisor(s), Faculty of the Department of Finance, Members of the Office of Investments and Treasury Services​
Senior Investment Management and Banking Executives​
Investment Professionals from the Banking, Equity Research or Asset Management Fields​
Consists of all students in FIN 482 class​
Consists of all students in FIN 481 class​
Class Structure
FIN 481
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FIN 481 (SMIF I) is a membership-only class normally composed of 20-30 students. Each student will be assigned to an industry(s) sector team. Student Analysts in FIN 481 are responsible for conducting quantitative and qualitative research on potential investments within their sectors. They are also responsible for researching sector trends and following major firms and communicating their findings to the Fund.
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Analyst teams are organized into the following sectors:
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Consumer Discretionary & Staples
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Information Technology
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Healthcare
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Communications
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Financials & Real Estate
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Energy, Utilities, Materials & Industrials
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FIN 482
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FIN 482 (SMIF II) is a management level class with FIN 481/FIN403 as a prerequisite. The FIN 482 Portfolio Management Team is responsible for monitoring the portfolio's sector allocation, risk tolerance, voting on investment decisions, and keeping the Fund in line with the Investment Policy Statement. They also conduct performance attribution analysis to understand Fund returns and improve future outcomes. The Portfolio Management Team will report to the University’s Treasury Services Office and the Investment Advisory Group at the end of each academic semester, and is also responsible for maintaining records of the fund. All trade orders are submitted in an email request by the Management Team, through the faculty advisor, to the University’s Treasury Services Office for approval and execution.
Executive Team & Advisors
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Students in both courses will work with their faculty advisor(s), as well as the Investment Advisory Group and Advisory Board, which consist of investment and banking professionals. In-class presentations are used to determine which recommendations proceed to alumni-judged pitches for final approval.
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The student Executive Team coordinates between the alumni Advisory Board and Investment Advisory Group to host speaker and stock pitch events and receive feedback on pitches. It also determines the Fund’s high-level vision, marketing strategy, including website development, LinkedIn management, and report distribution, and communicates with the Farmer Finance department. The student Portfolio Management Team determines the Fund’s high-level investment strategy and approves investment recommendations made by sector teams through a majority vote. An overlap between the Executive Team and the Portfolio Management Team is expected and encouraged.
Suggested Reading List and Market Podcasts:
Books:
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The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Samuel P. Huntington
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Market Wizards Series, Jack D. Schwager
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Color of Money, Mehrsa Baradaran
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No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, Reed Hastings & Erin Meyer
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The Ride of a Lifetime, Robert Iger
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Rise of the Data Cloud, Steve Hamm & Frank Slootman
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The Scout Mindset, Julia Galef
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The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success, Ross Douhat
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The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America, Margaret O’Mara
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The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman
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Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, James Clear
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The Voltage Effect, John A. List
Podcasts:
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Bloomberg Odd Lots
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Knowledge Project
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Saxo Market Call
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Business Breakdowns
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Conversations with Tyler
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80,000 Hours
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Sway
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Rationally Speaking
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Deep Background Noah Feldman
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Big Brains
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How I Built This
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BBC Global News Podcast