cardinalfundlogo.pngThe Cardinal Fund is a $1,000,000 student-managed investment fund designed to provide students with an experiential learning opportunity by offering real-world security analysis and portfolio management experience where students become a Cardinal Fund Asset Manager.  The Cardinal Fund began with an initial donation from Peter Forlenza, and is supplemented by funding from the University endowment. It will enhance understanding of the stock market and prepare students for a career in finance. 

The Cardinal Fund Purpose

While the overall investment objective of the Fund is to provide returns consistent with the University’s Investment Policy, the primary objective of the Program is to provide students with hands-on security analysis and portfolio management experience.

Applications are required to be selected as a member of the Program. Program students are required to enroll in a two-semester investment fund class in their senior year, whose primary topics include Financial Statement Analysis, Equity Valuation, and Portfolio Management. 

Catholic Conscience Investing

The Cardinal Fund will be managed in a manner consistent with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Socially Responsible Investment Guidelines.

Pedagogy and Performance

The Cardinal Fund's primary goal is to provide an exceptional learning opportunity for students, and to help prepare them for future careers. A key component of Program membership is commitment to the responsibility to prudently manage assets, which are part of the University’s endowment. The CFIC, a group of Busch School faculty, alumni mentors, and select fund managers monitors the fund’s diversification across markets, economic sectors, and investment strategies.

Investment Philosophy

The Cardinal Fund develops a framework to understand markets. The fund believes markets overreact, and securities are either underappreciated or overvalued. We believe the market gives intrinsic signals on value; moreover, the fund seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation with returns in excess of the Russell 2000. The fund invests in stocks from industries within the Russell 2000, vetted in line with Catholic Social Teaching. To achieve superior returns, the fund relies on the student's commitment as an analyst to manage assets prudently. 

Leveraging resources available to them, analysts undergo a screening process against the Russell 2000, including ethical consideration, specific market cap, geographical location, and industry. The fund further applies its philosophy by maintaining diversification across sectors and monitoring portfolio exposure relative to the benchmark, ensuring disciplined risk management while pursuing long-term capital appreciation. The fund’s management believes the performance is a result of disciplined investing processes, and we believe valuable securities remain to be found within the Russell 2000.

Investment Process

The Cardinal’s Fund investment process operates as a continuous loop, with the fund’s philosophy and research process working together to guide decisions. The process begins with defining an eligible investment universe that reflects the Fund’s philosophy and constraints, including investments limited to Russell 2000 companies with market capitalizations between $1 and $10 billion, compliance with ethical standards through a “Do Not Invest List” (DNIL), and additional valuation and sector-based screens. From this defined universe, members apply a bottom-up research approach that focuses on individual companies rather than broad market trends, using financial analysis, valuation modeling, and risk assessment to develop disciplined investment ideas. This approach creates consistency over time, ensuring each investment idea is evaluated using the same framework, even as students cycle through the fund. Final recommendations are then presented to the Investment Committee, which decides whether to add the position and how much to allocate to it.

After positions are added, the portfolio is actively managed and adjusted as new analysis and market conditions evolve. Performance is regularly compared against the Russell 2000 benchmark to compare how the Fund is performing compared to the overall market. The portfolio can be rebalanced, for example, when there are market overreactions. Sector allocations are also monitored to ensure the Fund is diversified and that risk is being managed. Each investment is tracked by monitoring its purchase price, price as of the report date, and return on investment. This ongoing process helps ensure investment decisions stay aligned with the Fund’s philosophy while adapting to new information and opportunities.

Transparency and Accountability

Through active participation in security analysis, portfolio construction, and risk management, student analysts gain hands-on experience managing capital within a clearly defined investment policy framework. Transparency and accountability are central to the Cardinal Fund’s SOP. Portfolio performance and investment decisions are documented and reported with results evaluated both with and without investment committee involvement to promote reflection and continuous improvement.

Cardinal Fund Analysts

These are the students that are part of our program.

2025-2026

2024-2025

2023-2024

2022-2023

Performance

 

A Special Thank You

A special thank you to Peter Forlenza, Catholic '88, whose initial donation helped create the Cardinal Fund.