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Students at The University of Western Australia will soon be managing a $20,000 investment portfolio on behalf of Viburnum Funds.

Run by students in the UWA Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF), the SMIF-Viburnum High Conviction Portfolio will be overseen by Viburnum Fund's Research Director Rob Huth and Managing Director Marshall Allen.

SMIF President Timothy Andrew said the club's new partnership with Viburnum Funds would give students valuable experience in portfolio management.

"The objective of the SMIF-Viburnum High Conviction Portfolio is both an education and experience opportunity for the student body," Timothy said.

"The reality of managing money that is not one's own takes an individual to a new level of responsibility and awareness. Managing a virtual portfolio is an exciting yet daunting task; however, consciously the trader or investor knows the downside to mismanagement isn't painful but just numbers on a screen.

"When real money is thrown into the mix, students have to weigh every trade and the entire process of execution to close of the position has to be taken with utmost respect. This places the student in the shoes of a portfolio manager."

Viburnum Funds Managing Director Marshall Allen said the company was attracted to educational mandate of SMIF.

"Many young investors are daunted by the ASX and confused by the many strategies employed by investors. What we want to do is demystify this process and get them to understand that the ASX is simply a window through which to look at the companies beneath," Mr Allen said.

"We have stressed to the team that we are investors - not traders. Much of what Viburnum does on the private and strategic equity side is difficult to roll out to a student environment but the recent launch of our High Conviction Fund managed by Portfolio Managers Alex White and Edmon Odza gave us the perfect platform through which to have this conversation. Although it's only a small amount of money, the SMIF High Conviction Portfolio will be modelled on that Fund strategy."

Simon Ringrose, SMIF Lead Sponsorship Officer, said the new partnership with Viburnum Funds would be invaluable. "It is fantastic that Viburnum Funds has given us this opportunity and we are very excited to be working with the company," Simon said.

SMIF was established in mid-2014, winning the UWA Student Guild's Best New Club award for the year. In a short space of time, SMIF has become the official Bloomberg representative on the UWA campus, held trading seminars and a trade-a-thon during London and New York market hours, and facilitated six virtual portfolios run by student teams.

SMIF Chief Investment Officer Dmitry Ansheles has high hopes for the new SMIF-Viburnum High Conviction Portfolio, which will consist of around 10-15 ASX-listed stocks.

"We will strive to finish ahead of the index while maintaining a balanced risk portfolio. The profits will be reinvested along with a certain percentage going to a charity of choice," Dmitry said.

Into the future, SMIF will continue to educate its members on trading and investment, as well as providing social and career networking opportunities.

SMIF is supported by the UWA Business School . The sponsorship team has secured firms including Macquarie, Barclays, Bloomberg, Patersons and Argonaut.

More information on SMIF can be found here .

Viburnum Funds was established in 2007 by UWA Business School alumni Craig Coleman and Marshall Allen with the support of the Wyllie Group. Viburnum manages a range of portfolios for a small group of US endowments and family offices including the Wyllie family.

Media references

Karen Della Torre (UWA Business School)    (+61 8) 6488 8538
Verity Chia (UWA Business School)    (+61 8) 6488 1346