The Pacer Investment Fund Continues to Grow in Value

Nearly 20 years since it began, the Pacer Investment Fund at Marywood University continues to grow in value, both from a monetary standpoint and through the real-world professional experience it provides to the students who manage it.

A $12,500 seed donation from Marywood benefactor Michael Murray, and his late wife, Mary, a former Marywood trustee, along with a corporate match from Mr. Murray’s employer, AT&T, established the Pacer Investment Fund in 2006. Additional contributions from Marywood trustee Pia Ferrario, as well as the late Michael Insalaco, former board chair and trustee emeritus, followed. Real-world experience was a key motivator for these gifts.

At the time of the endowment fund’s establishment, Mr. Murray explained, “The ability to invest real capital will provoke students to think in ways that a simulated investment experience could not. Giving students the chance to learn skills that will give them a competitive edge in the business world is key to a successful career.”

Those skills also have been key to the fund’s record growth over time. Today, the Pacer Investment Fund is worth an astounding $1.6 million, including just over $400,000 in deposits and nearly $1.2 million in growth. So, while the early support of its benefactors provided a strong foundation, the fund’s proven success throughout the past two decades belongs solely to the financial acumen of its many student managers, who make and execute proposals about how the fund should invest its assets.

The Pacer Fund regularly beats the market, with an 8-year average rate of return of 13.8 percent, whereas the S&P 500 historical average for the same time period is 10-12 percent. Last year alone, the Pacer Fund earned a 25.4 percent rate of return—yielding two percent higher than the S&P 500 and 5.3 percent better than the Russell 3000.

Art Comstock, Ph.D., who currently serves as Associate Professor of Business, and, who, for many years, directed its School of Business and Global Innovation, noted, “The Pacer Investment Fund is a wonderful initiative—something that is worked into nearly all of the finance classes for students, from their junior year through graduate school, as part of the curriculum—but it is more than a teaching tool, it’s an experience builder.”

Dr. Comstock was teaching at Marywood University when the fund began, and he still guides the students who manage its operation. “This is something that has been a flagship activity with for a long time here,” he said, noting that Marywood University is one of the few schools in the region to offer this kind of opportunity. “Working on the Pacer Fund fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and imparts an invaluable skill set that distinguishes our students’ portfolios when they graduate. They walk out of here with the kind of experience that they simply can’t get in the classroom.”

That’s because, from start to finish, the fund operates just as it would in the real world, so student managers must transform their theoretical knowledge into actual results, building experience along the way. “Decision-making is the hardest part,” observed Dr. Comstock. “Students have to test and hone their judgment skills—when to buy or sell, external influences on the market, etc. All of the things that professional analysts and brokers do, our students also do.”

Those students who have managed the fund, both as junior and/or senior analysts, have gone on to successful careers in finance and accounting with investment luminaries like Fischer Investments and Goldman Sachs, as well as excelling in different industry sectors, including healthcare or international business.

Milana Straub, MBA in Finance & Investment reflected on the experience of working with the fund, saying, “To me, the Pacer Fund has been one of my favorite ways to serve, learn, and grow within our Marywood community. Not only are we responsibly and confidently turning real investments into greater capital, but we are also developing our interpersonal skills and making a name for the Fund as a whole. It has been such a rewarding and enriching experience. I am so thankful to Dr. Comstock, the team, and the donors.”

Skyler Moyle, MBA in Finance & Investment and Student Director of the Pacer Fund, also shared the impact the experience has had on students involved in managing the fund. “Serving as Student Director of the Pacer Fund has been one of my greatest achievements by far. The experience that we have gained by managing real capital has taught us more about accountability, discipline, and collaboration than any classroom could have. Dr. Comstock has been an exceptional leader, and it has been so rewarding knowing that our contributions will directly benefit future Marywood students.”

The student team meets regularly to manage the Pacer Investment Fund, provides monthly and quarterly reports, and gives an annual review presentation, at which students, faculty, executive administrators, trustees, and Marywood’s President attend.

The Pacer Fund’s resounding success is boosting more than the yield rate of its investment portfolio. Some of its record-breaking earnings will be reinvested into Marywood itself, to offset renovation expenses for the School of Business and Global Innovation’s upcoming relocation from the McGowan Center to the Shields Center, a move that will take place in the summer. This, ultimately, benefits future generations of students, who will carry forward the incredible record of success established by the preceding Pacer Fund student managers.