After taking the top prize last year at the Total Impact Portfolio Challenge (TIPC), a team from the Grossman School of Business’ Sustainable Innovation MBA, once again qualified for the final round of this prestigious finance competition.
Hosted by the University of Pennsylvania, the TIPC was developed by the Wharton Social Impact Initiative and Good Capital Project, in response to both growing student interest in Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) and impact investing, and industry demand for practical impact experience for new hires.
The competition is designed to challenge graduate students, who will be the future wealth managers, portfolio managers and investment advisors, to build financial portfolios that not only make their clients a profit; but make the world a better place.
This year the annual competition attracted 47 teams from 27 universities, many of whom were from elite programs including Columbia, Georgetown, Kellogg, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Wharton and Yale, with some schools entering multiple teams.
The UVM Grossman team of Bavin Balakrishnan, Lauren Bass, Laura Berguer, Lauren Frisch and Evan Sanfield, will be competing virtually for the top prize in mid-May along with teams from USC, Fordham University and University of Colorado/Boulder.
Sustainable Innovation MBA program academic director, Professor Charles Schnitzlein said “While there are many AACSB accredited MBA programs which provide high quality preparation to their students in the areas of portfolio construction and investment management, what distinguishes the Sustainable Innovation MBA program here at the Grossman School of Business, is the deep integration of sustainability into all courses in the program.”
He continued “Our students come here because they are committed to using for-profit businesses and investments to address the critical environmental and social challenges we face. Creating high-impact portfolios that meet both risk and expected return constraints is a natural extension of the philosophical foundation of the program. I am so proud of our students for once again making it to the final round of this ESG focused finance competition.”