The Torch Funds
A Portfolio Management Opportunity for First Year MBA Students
Haslam and LaPorte Torch Funds
Due to the generosity of Jim Haslam, Pilot Travel Centers (Knoxville,TN) and Mr. and Mrs. Christopher LaPorte, Coastal Securities (Houston, TX), UT's MBA students have the opportunity to gain valuable experience managing a portfolio of securities. During the four calendar quarters beginning October 1st and concluding September 30th, students selected to participate will manage the Haslam Torch Fund or the LaPorte Torch Fund. These funds are currently worth between $418,000 (Haslam Fund) and $251,000 (LaPorte Fund). The objective of each fund is to maximize total return to the portfolio.
Torch Fund managers are selected each September, and those selected receive a total of three hours of academic credit for their one-year tenure as a manager. The three hours in Finance 599 count as a finance elective and are awarded at the end of the one-year tenure. Each fund is responsible for four, written quarterly reports and various oral presentations. The quarterly reports detail the fund’s holdings and performance over a particular quarter and relate that performance to a benchmark, The S&P 500. Torch Fund managers meet once a week during a time period suitable to the managers and the faculty advisor. The Torch Fund meets in the Masters Investment Learning Center in the Haslam Business Building.
The 2010-2011 Haslam and LaPorte Torch Fund managers completed their one-year tenure as portfolio managers on September 30, 2010. The fund managers for both teams presented their performance results to Mr. Chris LaPorte and local investment professionals on October 7, 2011 in the Masters Investment Learning Center, Haslam Business Building.
The profiles of the 2010-2011 Haslam and La Porte Torch Fund managers are found here.
The profiles for the 2011-2012 Haslam and La Porte Torch Fund managers are found here.
View most recent quarterly fund reports here.
Andrew Chalache, Daniel Shumate, David Edelson, Chris LaPorte, Andrew Stafford, Kyle McMahon, and Deena Barnes at Torch Fund presentation in October 2011. |
David Edelson, Chris LaPorte, Andrew Chalache, and Daniel Shumate at October 2011 Torch Fund dinner. |
Jim Wansley, Kimberly LaPorte, Quinita LaPorte, and Deborah Harrell at October 2011 Torch Fund dinner. |
Contact:
If you have questions or wish to be considered for the position of portfolio manager, please contact the current faculty advisor, Dr. Deborah Harrell, Department of Finance, 433 Stokley Management Center, at 865-974-8396, or to dgunthor@utk.edu.