Buena Vista University finance students compete at Miami investment conference

Buena Vista University’s finance students brought home more than a line on a résumé from Miami. At the Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium-South conference, they put the Cramer Student Managed Investment Fund in front of judges and peer schools, and earned honorable mention for both the poster presentation and the fund’s performance.

The April 10-11 conference at the Hyatt Regency Miami drew student-managed funds from member institutions that use real portfolios as a classroom and a proving ground. During the poster session on April 10, teams had to explain fund performance, fund history and overview, the investment policy statement, investment strategies and the student roles behind each decision. Judges also weighed Sharpe ratio, visual presentation and the presentation itself, with top posters receiving awards of $600, $500 and $400. Teams were required to submit a Sharpe ratio template and 12 monthly brokerage statements for the 2025 calendar year, making the competition a test of both analysis and discipline.

For Buena Vista County, the value goes beyond a conference ribbon. BVU says the Cramer fund gives students hands-on investment experience and real-world decision-making opportunities with real money, the kind of practice that can translate into internships, entry-level finance jobs and, ultimately, more young professionals who see northwest Iowa as a place to build a career. That matters in a region where schools, banks, employers and community leaders are all looking for ways to keep local talent from leaving after graduation.

Assistant Professor of Finance Kyle Jones said BVU students should be especially proud because they do their own research and make their own investment decisions. Jones, whose faculty profile says he studies how information affects asset prices, risk assessment and corporate decision-making, is helping connect market fundamentals with current events in a way that moves finance beyond textbook theory. The conference sessions also exposed students to speakers from places such as the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and the CFA Institute, widening their view of how professional finance works outside Storm Lake.

The Cramer Student Managed Investment Fund was created about two years ago through a donation from Robert L. Cramer, a retired member of the BVU Board of Trustees and former Fareway president and chief operating officer. That origin story is part of the local return on investment: a donor-backed program in the Harold Walter Siebens School of Business is giving BVU students a shot at professional-level work while building a stronger pipeline of finance talent for Buena Vista County and northwest Iowa.