UAF students win national honors for investment portfolio
Morrow Duszynski
907-474-5942
May 15, 2025
UAF Student Investment Fund portfolio managers, from left, Eric Kelly, Alex Winger, Tobias Bernhoft-Osa, and Matteo Pecchia stand with assistant professor Kim McGinnis after the GAME Forum Global Portfolio Competition in New York City.
Students from the Ӱpro College of Business and Security Management returned from New York City with national honors after placing second in the Undergraduate Growth Portfolio category at the Quinnipiac University Global Asset Management Education Forum.
The UAF team representing the CBSM Student Investment Fund included Tobias Bernhoft-Osa, Eric Kelly, Matteo Pecchia and Alexander Winger. They competed against more than 150 teams from colleges and universities around the world. Their 2024 portfolio achieved a 27% return, outperforming the S&P 500.
The GAME Forum, widely considered one of the premier student finance conferences in the country, brings together aspiring finance professionals, academic leaders and industry executives for a blend of keynote presentations, breakout sessions and networking opportunities.
“At the GAME Forum, I learned about the many different jobs within the world of finance and asset management, the power of networking, and a lot about how some of the top financial minds interpret current events,” said Kelly, a finance major and member of the UAF Class of 2025.
During the forum, students also observed how global markets respond to major policy changes in real time.
“It was amazing timing to be in New York for a finance conference the day after Trump announced the tariffs,” said Bernhoft-Osa, a junior studying accounting and a member of the UAF Rifle Team. “We heard from the most influential people in the industry on how they think policy changes like that will affect the future.”
The CBSM Student Investment Fund is a rigorous, upper-level course that gives students hands-on experience managing a real investment portfolio. Students research and pitch stocks to buy and sell, building a diverse portfolio that includes companies such as Google, Nvidia and Costco.
Since its founding in the 1990s, the CBSM Student Investment Fund has grown from an initial $100,000 investment to more than $3 million. It is overseen by assistant professor Kim McGinnis and the SIF Young Alumni Board, which includes former student investors Bryan Sauer, Peter Freymueller and Zach Norum.
“I pitched Raymond James Financial and Corepay, and would like to thank Kim McGinnis for the opportunity that SIF has given me,” Kelly said. “She has been an extremely good teacher as well as a supporter of my career goals.”
“If you are new to SIF, expect it to be hard and expect to work a lot,” Bernhoft-Osa added. “But know that you will also learn more than in any other class.”
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