The CMU Student Investment Advisory Committee has nearly doubled its original $100,000 investment from 2019. Senior finance and economics major Zach Delkas said that steady, low-risk management has been the key to their consistent returns.
“The return last year was 12%,” Delkas said. “It got up briefly to over $200,000, so double returns in seven years, so, it’s done pretty solid.”
He’s been part of the student-run club for four years and now serves as its president. He said the opportunity to manage a real portfolio has been invaluable and will likely set him apart from other applicants when he begins his job search after graduation in May.
The club started in 2019 after former CMU President Tim Foster approached Associate Professor of Business Dr. Yen-Sheng Lee with the idea. Lee became the club’s advisor and still holds that role. The CMU Foundation provided the club with $100,000 in seed money with the intention of giving students hands-on experience with portfolio management.
At the end of January 2026, the portfolio was worth $197,045.18. The majority of their holdings are in the technology and finance sectors. Lee and Delkas said they see an average return each year between 8-12%.
In order to decide what stocks to invest in, club members develop a pitch and present it to the rest of the club for deliberation. Delkas said the club hasn’t shot down a single pitch since he joined. Although there was one pitch Delkas remembered had a split vote but still passed.
“I think the reason it was, like, kind of iffy is because the communication sector–it’s kind of a volatile sector,” Delkas said. “It was seen as slightly more risky.”
Lee and Delkas said that some of the most influential factors driving the economy right now are artificial intelligence (AI) and President Trump’s tariff plans. Lee said that compared to ten years ago, the economy is much more unpredictable because of these two key factors. The Criterion interviewed Lee on Feb. 20, the day that Trump announced his new tariff plan.
“Trump just announced today he will impose about a 10% tariff globally, so I think that will be a huge implication,” Lee said. “I just saw the news and then the market reacted immediately.”
Lee said that AI contributes to market unpredictability in both manifest and latent ways. The AI tech sector is currently booming with rapid growth on the horizon, according to reporting in February from Harvard Business Review. Federally, there are no regulations in place to slow its growth and just a few states have proposed legislation to mitigate potential discrimination in AI-based hiring practices for employment.
This wild-west environment coupled with rapid corporate integration means that the impact to the financial market will go beyond the tech sector. Layoffs and changes in operations to account for AI integration could mean changes for many types of industries..
Although the club has nearly doubled their returns since starting in 2019, the students do not have access to the money and all of the returns are re-invested back into the portfolio. According to Lee, CMU technically owns the money but the students make all the decisions.
“We run this fund just like a real company, a real investment company,” Lee said.
The club has a chair that oversees the operations and financial analysts that make recommendations on which stocks to buy and sell, develop an investment strategy, conduct risk analysis and review macroeconomic trends.
Since the club only makes a few transactions throughout the year, the club also spends time talking about their personal investment portfolios and teaching newcomers about the basics.
Lee said he hopes that eventually if the fund grows enough that the returns could be used to develop a scholarship for the finance program or be reinvested back into the Davis School of Business. Until then, the funds remain untouched and as a tool for learning.
There are no requirements for students to join and in fact diverse perspectives are encouraged. Lee said that they have students from computer science and biology programs in the club. Their knowledge background means they have a deeper understanding of certain market sectors like biotechnology and AI which contributes to stronger group decision-making. The CMU Student Investment Advisory Committee meets bi-weekly on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. in Dominguez 204.
