Each sub-fund is run by its own investment committee, made up of all of its members.
What the fund can hold
The constraints on what the fund may hold, and on how it may invest, reflect the needs of an endowment and the educational nature of the experience.
The fund is long only and unlevered. It invests in U.S. stocks, bonds, money market instruments and mutual fund shares, and in some cases foreign stocks and ADRs. It does not hold commodities, derivatives, real estate, penny stocks, or instruments that cannot readily be sold, and it does not borrow, lend, or buy on margin.
Working within those limits is part of the education. Without shorts, leverage or derivatives, a committee can express a view only through what it owns and how much of it, so every position has to be argued on its merits.
The investment committee
Ideas reach the portfolio through the committee. A member researches an idea and pitches it with a written thesis, a target price and a stop-loss. The committee debates it and votes. Approved trades are executed by the committee's traders, and every position is tracked against its thesis, its target and its stop-loss until it is closed.
Members also take on formal roles within their committee: portfolio manager, trader, risk officer, market strategist, or communications director. Between them, those roles set the agenda, execute trades, monitor risk, track markets, and keep the record of every decision.
The course year
The course admits one class each year, for fall entry. The committees invest through the academic year and write the annual report as the year closes. At the end of the academic year every portfolio returns to its benchmark, and the next class builds its own portfolio in the fall.