MCOBA Student Investment Fund

In January 2026, the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration launched a Student Investment Fund, a unique, first-of-its-kind initiative to engage and empower students - from all business majors - in the art and science of managing an investment portfolio.

On January 1, 2026, $100,000 of donor capital was deposited into a brokerage account. Throughout the year, students will meet with faculty advisors, the dean and industry experts to make their investment decisions.

One thing, among many, what makes this initiative unique is that it is open to any and all business students - it is not just available for finance students or students in dedicated courses...because all business students need to gain the knowledge, experience and confidence necessary to own and manage their financial futures.

This page will be updated monthly to share portfolio performance, best (and worst) stock picks and overall lessons learned from the MCOBA Student Investment Fund.

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MCOBA Student Investment Fund
Policies & Strategies

Here is a summary of the key policies and strategies of the MCOBA Student Investment Fund:

• The Fund’s Fiscal Year runs from January through December.
• The Fund Members will determine which investments are made.
• The dean and faculty advisors have veto power over investment decisions, if necessary; but the advisors’ role is generally to facilitate discussion & debate, to execute investment decisions and to make sure the portfolio adheres to Fund policies. The faculty advisor will not veto any recommendations based on their own beliefs, but may veto recommendations that violate policy or have obvious legal or ethical concerns.
   
• The primary focus of investable securities will be U.S.-based equities (stocks). The Fund will not invest in bonds, derivatives, options, currency, cryptocurrency, NFTs, commodities, forwards, futures or other exotic securities. Each investment will be held for at least 2 months. This is not a trading Fund.
• No single investment will comprise less than 3% of the total portfolio value
• No single investment will comprise more than 10% of the total portfolio value.
• No single sector of the S&P 500 will comprise more than 40% of the total portfolio value. The 11 sectors of the S&P 500 are: Information Technology, Health Care, Financials, Consumer Discretionary, Communication Services, Industrials, Consumer Staples, Energy, Utilities, Real Estate, Materials.
• Portfolio rebalancing is required at the beginning of each fiscal year but can be done anytime through the year, if desired by the Members. All uninvested capital will remain in a cash account within the investment account.
   
• All annual portfolio profits will be returned back to the student fund managers in the form of scholarships or other rewards.
• Any annual portfolio losses will be absorbed by the donors and faculty advisors. This is a really good deal for the students and a (potentially) really bad deal for the donors...but it's also a testament to the confidence the donors have in the students, in the fund polices and in the dean, faculty advisors and industry experts who work with the students on their investment selections.

Dr. Brian Bolton is currently the Interim Dean of the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration – and he will be the primary sponsor and faculty advisor of the MCOBA Student Investment Fund. Dr. Bolton is also a Professor of Finance and the Dwight W. Andrus, Jr. / BoRSF Eminent Scholar Endowed Chair of Finance at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He has been teaching finance, investment strategy and portfolio theory to finance students for more than 20 years. Leading this MCOBA Student Investment Fund is him putting his money and time where his mouth is – if he gets paid to teach students how to invest and manage money, shouldn’t he be willing to let them invest and manage his money and donor money?

Since 2023, he has led 3 similar Investment Club programs for several select scholarships across campus. During this time, these funds have achieved annualized returns in excess of 29%, considerably more than the 21% earned by the S&P 500 during the same period. That may or may not be due to the students’ exceptional genius – but it is real money and it is pretty empowering. We hope to achieve similar financial, personal and professional results with this MCOBA Student Investment Fund. No pressure.

Dr. Bolton has been leading other Personal Financial Planning initiatives across campus and across Louisiana since 2020. You can find more details about these programs and substantial resources on this work here.

Dr. Bolton will be the primary point of contact for the MCOBA Student Investment Fund. On occasion, he will invite other faculty, interested alumni and local finance industry professionals to join the advisory role of the Fund – and, perhaps over time, we establish an advisory board. If Dr. Bolton is unable to attend any of the SIF meetings, he will designate another advisor to assume his responsibilities.

You can contact Brian Bolton at: brian.bolton@louisiana.edu