Student Investment Fund

Through a generous donation from Robert and Doris O'Neill, the Willamette MBA established the O'Neill Student Investment Fund (OSIF). The OSIF is managed by Willamette MBA students.

The investment process at OSIF begins with a design of a global benchmark for the following year. Students analyze economic, financial, and political developments and trends, and design an asset allocation model that combines U.S. industry sector view, a global regional view, and a risk model that represents the risk tolerance of the University and the students, and which is appropriate for the circumstances.

For 2006, the students designed a benchmark that contains a mix of U.S. energy stocks (natural gas and pipeline services), U.S. health care stocks, U.S. information technology and telecom stocks, U.S. financial services stocks (investment banks), foreign equities (Europe and Japan), emerging market equities, and U.S. money market funds.

In 2005, Fund total return before investment expenses was 5.83% (5.23% after expenses), compared with total return to the S & P 500 index of 4.91%, and Nasdaq total return of 2.13%. The students accomplished this with return volatility of 5.1%, compared with S& P 500 volatility of 10.3% and Nasdaq volatility of 12.7%.