Osprey Financial Group

The Osprey Financial Group (OFG) is a unique program that permits a select group of students to manage a portion of the UNF Endowment. OFG has many special characteristics and manages hundreds of thousands of dollars in the stock market today. Everything about OFG is real. Students manage a portfolio with real money. Students navigate the same daily risks, information and unexpected events as professional money managers do and earn returns.

OFG has access to a trading room and the same resources professionals use - including Bloomberg, Morningstar, Capital IQ, Eikon, and Briefing.com. OFG students gain practical experience applying these resources and databases, making them prime job candidates when they graduate. 

Academically, OFG spans two semesters - Fall and Spring - and represents 6 credits. For undergrads, the credits are finance elective credits. For MBAs, the credits are general elective credits. Each cohort of students becomes a team through the year. They develop deep bonds with each other and establish life-long relationships through this class. 

OFG students take on the role of active money managers who are assigned their own specific portfolios. The students research, develop and present a formal portfolio plan to the UNF Foundation Investment Committee - a group of experienced, working financial professionals. Before the portfolio plans are enacted, the Committee provides oversight and vets the strategy behind them. Currently, the performance is based on two indexes - the Morgan Stanley All-Country World Index (80%) and the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index (20%). The Client, which is the UNF Foundation Investment Committee, measures performance and also establishes rules reflecting the risk the Client is willing to bear.  

OFG membership is prestigious and students must apply for entry into this elite program. A professional process includes applications and interviews akin to real analysts applying for positions. Only 12 students are accepted into OFG each year. They manage the fund for two semesters. A call for applications is made in February and by the end of April the next cohort is formed. Over the summer, the incoming students conduct studies and engage in trading to get Bloomberg Certified.

OFG was formed in 2001 through a $500,000 gift from Jody and Layton Smith. Since then, OFG has grown the fund to more than $1,400,000.