Position Yourself for Success

SIAS Fund

Every fall, selected students from the Master of Science in Finance Program are invited to help manage the Student Investment Advisory Service (SIAS) Fund. SIAS is Canada's largest student-run investment fund and one of the largest such funds in North America.

It has a current market value in excess of $20+ million CAD. This endowment portfolio is funded by generous donations from HSBC Canada and the Lohn Foundation.

To find out more about the SIAS fund, email mscfinprogram@sfu.ca.

How it works

The performance of the SIAS Fund is monitored closely against relevant benchmark indices. The results are presented quarterly to the Performance Review Committee, an esteemed collection of industry experts who are keen to lend their expertise to challenge and advise SIAS at these presentations.

What you’ll learn

The opportunity to manage the SIAS Fund rigorously tests and expands selected students’ qualitative, quantitative and analytical skills on a daily basis. If chosen, you’ll acquire invaluable real world investment, risk management and compliance experience, and be ready to hit the ground running from your first day in the finance industry.

Responsible investing

In 2014, SFU became the second university in Canada to adopt a responsible investment policy, by becoming a signatory of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI).

As a signatory, we’re committed to applying Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria to our endowment investments, including our two student-managed investment funds. These ESG principles are integrated into the curriculum to help students develop specialized skills that are increasingly in demand at professional investment firms.

The SIAS teams

With the Treasurer of the Simon Fraser University Endowment Fund as the client, the SIAS Fund follows a balanced investment style, with four asset classes that are semi-actively managed: Canadian Equity, Global Equity, Fixed Income and Cash. Traders coordinate with brokers and ensure that approved transactions are executed in a timely and efficient manner.

Each non-cash asset class is led by a Portfolio Manager and supported by Associates and Analysts responsible for Sectors (Canadian and US) or Regions (Global).

• The SIAS Economics team provides the Equity and Fixed Income teams' short-term and long-term Capital Market Expectations, so that the Portfolio Managers can develop an overall asset allocation strategy for the fund.
• The Fixed Income team manages a portfolio of bonds that is allocated between Canadian Federal, Provincial, Municipal and Corporate bonds.
• The Compliance team ensures that the portfolio is in compliance with the Investment Policy Statement, and that sufficient due diligence was performed prior to executing any transactions.
• The Risk Metrics team identifies strategies that can be used to systematically manage the risk of the portfolio, and advises the equity teams about the impact of proposed transactions to the existing level of risk.