Greyhounds Investment Fund Secures $120,000 in Donations to Advance Experiential Learning 

Assumption University’s Greyhound Investment Fund received $120,000 in new donations from multiple donors, providing the club resources to establish its inaugural fund. The funding allows the club to advance the experiential learning of students in the Grenon School of Business by providing its members funds to invest in real world investments, building a portfolio comprised of primarily US Stocks. 

In early April, Don Sullivan ’90 generously donated $100,000 to the investment fund to unlock valuable real-world experiences and learning opportunities for Grenon School of Business students. After graduating summa cum laude from Assumption with a B.A. in Finance, Sullivan built an impressive career in the finance field with several high-level positions including chief financial officer of Wildfire Communications. In 2000, he joined Greylock Partners, a venture capital firm with over $3.5 billion committed capital under management, where he leads the operational, financial, and administrative activities of the firm as Administrative Partner.

“I was very impressed by the Grenon School of Business and its various initiatives, in particular the Greyhound Fund,” Sullivan said. “The fund will expose business students to the world of investing, initially public investments but hopefully private investing eventually as well. The investment field provides an abundance of opportunities and having active exposure to this world as an undergraduate will help guide students in making career decisions.”

Initial funding was secured by a group of donations totaling $10,000 and supplemented by a $10,000 donation from Ken Kopecky, Ph.D. ’65, Professor Emeritus of finance at Temple University. An economics major and 1999 recipient of the Fr. Louis Dion, A.A. ’35 Outstanding Achievement Award, Kopecky notably influenced the University’s establishment of the Economics Student Development Fund to inspire and empower all current and future Grenon School of Business students. 

“The club itself offers a valuable experiential learning opportunity for students to work using real money to invest in actual stocks in the market,” said Olivia Wu, Assistant Professor of Finance and academic advisor to the Greyhounds Investment Fund. “Students experience the complicated process of analyzing, screening, and ranking top stocks to invest in. They also have an opportunity chance to systematically experience such investments and processes that will not only help them in their career, but also in personal investment decisions they will make in their life.” 

The Greyhounds Investment Fund, which officially launched its weekly meetings at the beginning of the spring semester, was created as a special topics course that combines financial coursework with hands-on investment education. Since January, students have worked collaboratively to screen through hundreds of stocks representing various sectors such as technology, healthcare, financials, and telecommunication down to a small collection of options that the group votes on to be their allocated portfolio. 

“I joined the club to further my knowledge in the stock market and investments,” Cameron Duda ’22 said. “I gained an interest in the stock market during Covid when I saw how the pandemic impacted the market and I thought this club would be a great opportunity to learn more about it. I think the concepts and material we experience in this club will translate well to a career in finance.”

“I try to limit the number of lectures I give,” added Prof. Wu. “Real investments are very different from the textbook explanations so it’s important that Assumption students learn how people make investment decisions in the real world and learn firsthand some of the challenges they will face.” 

The club headquarters its operations in the brand new Lagarce Trading Room, a high-tech financial data center equipped with Wall Street-quality Bloomberg Terminals and a real-time stock ticker to help optimize investment decisions. 

Students earn their Bloomberg Market Concept certification and other industry-standard software skills that prepare them for the work they will perform for the club and in modern workplace settings. More than 20 students have earned Bloomberg certifications since the club commenced operations.

“My vision is that this is a way for the students to experience the transition from doing things in the classroom to what they might do in a real-world application,” Joseph Foley, CPA, CGMA, MBA, Founding Dean of the Grenon School of Business said. “We have firms like Bain Capital, Fidelity, and several other investment houses that actively recruit our students. Having Bloomberg certification is a huge positive to their resume, and those are the students who are going to be actively involved in the Greyhounds Investment Fund.”

“This program is an excellent way to help prepare Assumption students to face the challenges associated with managing a portfolio of assets, a must for anyone pursuing a career in investment management,” said Andrew Viens ’94, a Managing Director of Bain Capital.  “The opportunity to gain certification and familiarity with Bloomberg – a tool we use every day at my firm – is also a game changer for Assumption students.  This helps them better prepare and obtain the skills they need to have an impact on day one.”

The club currently has 14 members who serve as Security Analysts and Portfolio Managers. Membership earns students one credit per semester, and up to three in total, and is open to all current Assumption students who have completed prerequisite courses FIN 325 Financial Management and ECO 115 Statistics. 

The Grenon School of Business, named for Assumption Preparatory School graduate David Grenon AP’57 HD’86, forms students who are entrepreneurial and committed to ethical business practices. In the Grenon School of Business, students choose among several majors and minors to advance their understanding practical business practices. These programs include accounting, economics, finance, fraud examination and forensic accounting, international business, management, marketing, marketing with a concentration in digital marketing, organizational communication, and sport management.