Managing Real Money: How UNK Students Learn Finance Where It Counts

KEARNEY, Neb. (KSNB) - At the University of Nebraska at Kearney, business students aren’t just learning about the stock market—they’re managing a real $400,000 portfolio.

“The fact that it is real money really helps to make it a lot more serious for everyone,” says Nathan Grabenstein, a senior business administration major. “If you’re just doing theoretical transactions, you wouldn’t take it as seriously.”

This is the William L. Bauhard Student Managed Investment Fund, and it represents experiential learning at its finest.

Learning Like Professionals

Launched in 2014, the fund puts upper-level finance students to work as professional portfolio managers. They research stocks, analyze companies, write equity research reports, and pitch ideas to their peers. Teams evaluate potential trades, present findings, and vote on transactions—all requiring two-thirds majority and faculty approval.

“Our primary goal is education,” says Suzanne Hayes, a finance professor and faculty adviser for the fund. “The purpose is for students to gain critical-thinking, communication, and decision-making skills that employers are looking for.”

The strategy is disciplined: roughly 60 blue-chip holdings (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, PepsiCo, Bank of America) designed to match the S&P 500 index—a benchmark the fund has met nearly every year since inception.

The Weight of Responsibility

What makes this program transformative isn’t just the portfolio performance—it’s the responsibility. Students prepare annual reports for donors, write thank-you notes, and feel accountable for funds entrusted to them.

“You kind of have an ethical requirement to do well,” says Connor Reeson, a senior accounting and finance major. “You don’t personally get the money, but you don’t want to give a bad stock pitch or make a careless decision.”

Hayes treats her students as true portfolio managers, and they respond accordingly. For many, it fills a gap that traditional internships can’t.

“This gives you real-world experience—analyzing companies, presenting ideas, being accountable for outcomes,” says Nolan Wetovick, a senior finance major. “It’s definitely a unique opportunity.”

Looking Forward

The students bring these lessons into their careers. Reeson is pursuing accounting, Wetovick is preparing for law school, and Grabenstein is considering agricultural banking. All credit the fund with accelerating their professional development.

“This experience helps us grow into professionals,” Grabenstein says. “What we’re doing now will directly translate into our post-grad work.”

As the portfolio grows, Hayes hopes to use earnings to establish scholarships for future finance students. For her, the most rewarding part is watching students transform throughout the academic year.

“It’s rare that students have the opportunity to make decisions that have a real-world, monetary impact,” she says. “And they rise to that challenge.”

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