The Villanova Equity Society is a not-for-profit student organization that gives students the opportunity to participate in and learn from actual financial scenarios, while emphasizing the importance of ethical conduct.

The society allows students to perform in-depth fundamental analysis of equity securities through the use of the Applied Finance Lab. The organization manages the two Christopher Haley investment funds, consisting of a large cap and mid cap portfolio. The large cap fund focuses on US equity securities with a market capitalization above $10 billion, which is benchmarked against the S&P 500 index. The mid cap fund focuses on US equity securities with a market capitalization of $1 billion to $15 billion, which is benchmarked against the Russell Midcap Index and the S&P 400 Midcap Index. Each fund has a similar investment strategy. Analysts spend time researching stocks in order to identify companies that can achieve earnings growth that is greater than the stock’s valuation implies.

Each fund is managed by an independent investment committee. The investment committee consists of a chief investment officer, a portfolio manager, and five sector captains. Each fund has a sector captain for the consumer, financial, healthcare, energy, and technology sectors. Analysts are then sorted into teams according to the sectors where each analyst is responsible for analyzing and monitoring securities in a particular sub-sector. Analysts recommend securities to their sector captains. Sector captains meet with the chief investment officer to select the overall portfolio. This model enables each student to participate in the initial investment process. Both funds are overseen by an operating committee, which consists of two co-presidents, a secretary, a treasurer, and a director of marketing.

The organization provides an outlet for students to experience the capital markets and the financial world. It enables students to become fully involved in the investment process and learn about the factors that drive the market.

Christopher Haley Student Managed Funds IPS