HSIF

How the MFin Program Delivers ROI for Students

ilseu — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 06:00:57 +0000

How the MFin Program Delivers ROI for Students ilseu Thu, 11/17/2022 - 22:00 More News Laurie McLaughlin November 17, 2022

Jerrold Penprase ’17

Jerrold Penprase ’17 Master of Finance (MFin) earned multiple degrees in psychology and sociology before he ever considered studying finance. Today, Penprase applies his expertise as a financial specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Asst. Professor of Teaching in Finance, Greg Richey

He has company on that nonlinear path to an education and career: The academic director of UCR’s Master of Finance program, Assistant Professor Greg Richey, earned his undergraduate degree at UCR in sociology and taught English as a second language before earning advanced degrees in finance.

Examples like these illustrate the wide opportunity available through the MFin program. By combining the theoretical with practical applications—including opportunities to manage a real portfolio through the Hylander Student Investment Fund—the program is designed to build financial analysis skills that can be applied to careers in industries such as asset management, corporate finance, commercial and investment banking, and risk management.

“I think it is a degree that works for a lot of people,” says Professor Jean Helwege, Anderson Chair in Finance. “It’s a STEM-designated degree, rightfully so because there is a lot of math involved. But it’s a program you can do in a year if that’s all you’re doing. We have quite a few classes at night and a few on Saturday.”

Academic rigor, enriching opportunity

Jean Helwege, Professor of Finance and Anderson Chair in Finance

When Penprase decided to apply for the MFin program, he applied the same discipline that had served him well as a lifelong student.

“I really prepped pretty hard coming in and not being a finance major,” he says, noting that the preparation helped, but the curriculum opened the door to understanding.

“From the get-go, the coursework really helped me prepare to speak intelligently and feel confident in what I was saying and my understanding of the market,” Penprase says. “If I’m going to talk to you about why your portfolio is underperforming, how do I do that if I don’t understand the basic economic concepts and principles of inflation and what’s going on in the economy?”

That solid understanding is the foundation of the main goal of the program, says Richey, the MFin academic director.

“The whole idea here is that when students get their degree, they get a job. And not just any old job, but a career in finance,” he says, noting this emphasis upholds UCR’s role as a leader in social mobility.

“A lot of undergraduate students at UC Riverside are first-generation university students and low-income students,” Richey says. “If we can get them to earn a graduate degree here, they might stay in the area and give back to the community.”

Helwege agrees, noting the important role of finance in driving economic development.

“People who have money are more likely to invest it. They’re more likely to tell their kids about their investments and get them interested in finance,” Helwege says. “We also are a very diverse university. But finance, historically, is not a diverse industry. So, this is an opportunity for UC Riverside to try to add diversity to finance, particularly in the investments field.”

Investing in the future now

Helwege serves as adviser to the Hylander Financial Group and its investment team, Hylander Student Investment Fund, a student-managed portfolio that was established with a $200,000 gift from a School of Business alumnus.

Zachary Enes ’19, ’21 MFin

The HSIF team consists of undergraduate and graduate finance students who meet academic requirements. They research investment options, then present stock recommendations and analysis of existing investments to an advisory board of financial professionals and officers of the UCR Foundation.

Zachary Enes ’19, ’21 MFin, a founding member of the HSIF, says establishing the program and managing real dollars was a rewarding experience that paid off in his career, where he is now a risk modeling analyst for Citizens Business Bank.

“You get to constructively argue with different perspectives,” he says. “It is very fulfilling working as a team, working with people who are very driven and want to pursue the same things you do.”

Learn more about the Master of Finance curriculum.

Making Investments

ilseu — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 14:48:08 +0000

Making Investments ilseu Wed, 10/12/2022 - 07:48 More Blog Posts Laurie McLaughlin October 11, 2022

Undergraduate finance student Bryan Reyes ’23 has entered his senior year with focus and determination, actively immersing himself in academic and extracurricular opportunities that prepare him for a career in wealth management. His experiences highlight not only his personal ambition but also the many ways in which UC Riverside equips students with practical, hands-on opportunities to apply classroom knowledge in real-world settings.

Central to his involvement is his leadership role as vice president of the Hylander Financial Group (HFG), a UCR student club that welcomes students of all disciplines and levels of financial expertise. The group provides a collaborative learning environment where students can come together to learn about financial markets, investing strategies, and the broader business world. Through workshops, speaker events, and peer collaboration, HFG emphasizes experiential learning and professional development.

“Every time I go to a meeting, I’ve increased my financial knowledge and have the opportunity to network with like-minded individuals,” says Reyes of the HFG meetings. For him, these gatherings are not only about theory but also about building a professional community that extends beyond the university setting.

In addition to HFG, Reyes has become deeply involved in the Hylander Student Investment Fund (HSIF), a student-managed fund that was established in 2019 with a $200,000 donation from an alumnus. The fund offers students the opportunity to act as investment managers, evaluating equities and fixed-income securities while applying the principles of portfolio management.

“I have learned that the art of investing is not only to build a strong real-world portfolio, but to develop the skills to keep it growing,” says Reyes, who has also served as a research assistant with finance faculty. His academic journey includes working on certifications in SQL and Excel, technical skills that enhance his ability to analyze data and support investment decisions.

As for his involvement with HSIF, Reyes explains the group’s long-term strategy: “The target asset allocation for the HSIF portfolio is 80% equity and 20% fixed income,” he says. “By using and sticking to this strategy, we hope to outperform the benchmark.” This disciplined approach reflects the importance of consistency in investment management and reinforces the lessons taught in the classroom.

Evidence of their success came in 2021. “Our benchmark was 70% of the Russell 3000 and 30% of the Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond Index,” Reyes reports. “For the fourth quarter of 2021, HSIF returned 6.59% while the benchmark returned 5.52%.” These results demonstrated that disciplined planning, informed decision-making, and teamwork can generate real-world returns, giving students confidence in their training.

Reyes looks ahead to a profession that allows him to “give advice to people and companies on what to do with their money,” he says. He has also set his sights on graduate education, recognizing that advanced study will strengthen his technical knowledge and broaden his career opportunities. “I have learned a lot, and I have improved my analytical, problem-solving and teamwork skills,” he reflects.

Among the most important lessons Reyes has taken from his academic and extracurricular work is the personal discipline required for investment management. “It’s very important to have the discipline to manage money with a solid plan—and the ability to control emotions,” he says. These insights underscore the balance of technical knowledge and emotional intelligence required to succeed in finance, and they reflect the strong preparation that UC Riverside students gain as they prepare to enter competitive industries.

Smart Investing

ilseu — Thu, 03 Jun 2021 07:13:25 +0000

Smart Investing ilseu Thu, 06/03/2021 - 00:13 More Blog Posts Laurie McLaughlin June 02, 2021

The March 2020 stock market sell-off was a challenging event for the Hylander Student Investment Fund (HSIF), says Sindy Fabrizio, a first-year Master of Finance student and student investor with the fund. “No one had any idea how long that decline would last, so those few weeks were scary and uncertain.

“Nonetheless, not every student can say they were able to manage a portfolio well through a market downturn, so 2020 was a very good learning experience for us.”

In their 2020 fourth quarter report, the fund’s student managers stated their target asset allocation was 80 percent equity and 20 percent fixed income, and they credit the portfolio’s outperformance in the quarter to this strategy. Their benchmark were 70 percent of the Russell 3000 and 30 percent of the Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate Bond Index.

For the 2020 calendar year, the HSIF portfolio returned 20.84 percent, while the benchmark returned 15.77 percent, reported the investors.

“At the beginning of the [fourth] quarter, … the team decided not to invest in the energy sector … due to the historical underperformance throughout the year. … Instead, the decision was made to overweight technology, consumer discretionary, health care, and communications sectors,” stated the report. The fund outperformed the market portfolio in the technology, consumer discretionary, and health care sectors.

“Given all the market rallies that occurred during the year, posting returns above the benchmark was a challenging thing to accomplish, but the team did this through research and collaboration,” says Fabrizio, who will graduate in fall 2021 and plans to work for an investment firm as an analyst in either the buy or sell side.

“We follow a growth and value investment strategy, with a long-term horizon,” she adds. “As market conditions change and the country continues its recovery, our investing strategy needs to be more flexible.

“For instance, lately we have seen value stocks outperform growth stocks. We’ve learned to be adaptable by looking at value companies but sticking to fundamental quality research.”

What Fabrizio finds most interesting is that “no matter how much investors try to predict the market’s next moves, in the end, in an ‘efficient market,’ returns are unpredictable,” says. “All we can do as investors is know our investments well and analyze in detail our risk-reward trade-off.”