Our MBA candidates work in a highly-interactive environment with teachers and business executives to share experiences, examine issues and develop creative solutions. Students engage in rigorous, market-focused courses and receive personal attention and specialized programming designed to help them meet their specific career goals.
To maintain this innovative curriculum and exceptional learning environment, we rely on the committed support of alumni and friends like you.
Angel Investing Fund
The Willamette University Angel Investment Fund is the first student-run angel investment program in the country. Since its inception in 2008, the program has exposed more than 200 students to the real-world challenges of entrepreneurship and made investments in 30 early-stage companies. It was ranked one of the top 10 entrepreneurship courses in the nation by Inc. magazine in 2011. With an average age of 24 and average work experience of about two years, this kind of hands on experience is invaluable for the Atkinson students.
Students work with entrepreneurs, business leaders and management teams to identify viable investment opportunities. The fund works to support 2-4 investments per year, directly into high potential Northwest ventures. Investment decisions are made by students with Advisory Board oversight. Read more here.
O’Neill Investment Fund
Through a generous donation from Robert and Doris O'Neill, the Willamette MBA established the O'Neill Student Investment Fund (OSIF). Students take the funds available in the O’Neill fund and invest them in the stock market. They track the performance of their investments as well as the performance of investments made by students in the course during previous years. An important part of the course curriculum involves making presentations to panels of professional fund managers.
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.
To date, the fund has retained earnings of 17.7%. Earnings are being spent on professional level global financial and economic data and breaking news service, including company data, deals, and credit market analysis. Some profits from the investment fund support scholarships for students.