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Benefits to Students

Educational Benefits

Senbet Fund Members 2007-2008

The Senbet Fund is a year-round, advanced finance course for senior finance majors. The course provides them with the opportunity to put their knowledge and skills to the test by making real investment decisions with real money. The course not only serves as chance to put classroom material to practice, but also as an enhanced forum for learning. As part of this course, students discuss in-depth financial topics such as:

  • Portfolio Management Theory and Practice;
  • Security Screening and Selection;
  • Economic and Industry Analysis;
  • Corporate Qualitative and Financial Analysis;
  • Valuation Analysis; and
  • Trading Strategies.

Additionally, students learn from reviewing the results of the decisions they make, determining which strategies to replicate and which strategies to avoid in the future.

Career Benefits

"This program, and several others in our Undergraduate Fellows Program, gives Smith students a competitive edge in the job market and prepares them to be business leaders with analytical skills and hands-on experience."

Howard Frank, Dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business

The Senbet Fund provides members with skills and knowledge highly coveted by corporate recruiters. However, it also gives these high achieving students enhanced opportunities to network with industry professionals, use financial tools such as Reuters, Bloomberg, and First Call, and gain real-life market experience. Working for the Senbet Fund, in some ways, can be as demanding as a senior finance major’s first job, and it definitely gives him or her a competitive edge during recruiting season.

Selection of Members

Applications for the 2008-2009 Senbet Fund team are now open.  Please apply using the link below.

Member application and selection is conducted each spring for the following academic year. 

Recruitment Presentation.  Click on this link to view the presentation Senbet Fund team members gave interested juniors during February 2007 recruitment efforts. 

Applicant Requirements/Criteria

  • Must be a declared Finance major.
  • Must be a rising senior.
  • Completion or concurrent enrollment in BMGT 343 Investments for this Spring semester.
  • Minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA.
  • Completion of the Smith School gateway courses: MATH 220/140, BMGT 220, 221, 230, ECON 200 & 201.
  • BMGT 340 should be completed prior to entering the program and BMGT 443 should be complete the Fall semester of your senior year.
  • Recommended courses: BMGT 310, ECON 305/306, and ECON 330.
  • While completion of MATH 220 Elementary Calculus I is required, MATH 140 & 141 Calculus I and II are preferred. MATH coursework beyond MATH 220/141 is a plus.
  • Preferred/Recommended Course sequence: Junior year Fall: BMGT 340, ECON 330, BMGT 310 Junior year Spring: BMGT 343, One of ECON 305 or 306 Senior year Fall: BMGT 443 and BMGT 449 (Fellows fund course).
  • Requires a two semester commitment from Summer Session II to May of next year.
  • Completion of online application.

    • Process

    Submit your application on the web by clicking here. You can work on your application in any order you choose; however, remember to save your application before making a final submission. Your saved applications (drafts) are located in your "Profile" under "My Applications" in UNet. Please remember not to submit your application until you have finished entering all parts of your application. You will only be able to submit this application once and are then unable to return to make edits. (You will be able to view a submitted form in your "Profile" under "My Applications").  The application will be available before the start of the spring 2007 semester.

    Part of the online application is the submission of an analyst report. This report should be uploaded to your UNet "Profile" as an essay so that it can be accessed and uploaded to the application. For the Analyst Report, you are to analyze a stock and make a recommendation whether to buy, hold or sell the stock based solely on its current price relative to what you believe the stock is worth. Provide no more than three typed pages, not including exhibits, double spaced in Times New Roman 12 point font. Your written analysis is to include an economic overview, industry overview, and company overview, including your recommendation. Each section of the report should be written within the context of the stock you have chosen to analyze. It is highly recommended that you select a company and industry with which you feel comfortable. Please note that the Honor Code will be enforced for this application.

    You do not need to apply for a specific position (portfolio manager or equity analyst); however, you can specify a preference in your cover letter.

    • Tuesday, Feb. 5, Wednesday, Feb. 6, & Thursday, Feb. 7– 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.:
      Fellows program faculty, staff and students will offer concurrent and rotating information sessions/presentations on all fellows programs, scholarships and study abroad opportunities, to give you an opportunity to ask questions and learn more about each program.
    • Thursday, Feb. 7: Fellows Applications Live on UNet
    • Friday, Feb. 29: Application Deadline for All Fellows Programs (except QUEST)
    • Saturday, March 8: Senbet Fund interviews. Candidates will be notified March 6-7
    • March 17-21: Applicants notified of program acceptance. Some candidates may be selected for more than one program or project, and must communicate which program/project they wish to accept by emailing Brian Burt not later than Friday, March 28.
    • Friday, April 4: Final program notification for all programs (except QUEST)

    Contact Sarah Howerton Kroncke at 301.405.0354, if you have questions about the program.