NEW ALBANY, IN, (Dec. 16, 2011) – Indiana University Southeast is partnering with the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County on an innovative project to establish a student investment fund that provides real-world learning experience in investment portfolio management. 

The Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County Student Investment Fund is being established in the IU Southeast School of Business with a $100,000 fund from the foundation. 

Under the leadership of Jay White, Dean of the IU Southeast School of Business, and Professor Elizabeth Reisz, School of Business students will actively manage the $100,000 fund by designing long-term investment strategies, recommending trades, and providing performance reports to the Foundation. 

The project works in conjunction with the Sanders Financial Markets Lab, established in 2010 to create a center of learning in Southern Indiana and the Greater Louisville Metropolitan Region. The lab, the first of its kind in the area, is a state-of-the-art lab that prepares students for the transition from classroom to Wall Street. The lab gives IU Southeast the ability to strengthen and expand their business programs as well as address regional concerns for financial and economic literacy. 

The Horseshoe Foundation Student Investment Fund will move the Sanders Financial Markets Lab to the next level by providing students with the opportunity to make real investment decisions with real money. 

Although students can learn mechanics of various investment activities and the theory side of investing through the use of simulation, true learning takes place with an applied, real-world experience, White said.

“The use of a simulated portfolio does not elicit the same types of risk-taking behavior as when real funds are at stake,” he said.   

With access to the fund, students will see the real-time effects of their business decisions.

“While the funds will remain part of the Foundation’s assets, students will be responsible for the outcome of the fund they are managing. Their decisions will have real life implications,” said Jonathan Jones, Horseshoe Foundation Board member and Investment Committee chair.

Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County was established in 1999 to provide resources to nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and governmental agencies for the benefit of residents in New Albany and Floyd County.  The foundation has awarded $24.9 million in grants and scholarships since its founding.