Rutgers Business School has officially entered a new era of experiential learning with the launch of the Managing Scarlet Student Fund, a $1 million investment portfolio managed entirely by students.
The fund was established through a generous gift from Rutgers alumnus Daniel Davidowitz, a portfolio manager at Polen Capital Management. Inspired by his time guest-lecturing in Professor Rose Liao’s finance classes, Davidowitz sought to bridge the gap between academic theory and real-world execution.
The Scarlet Student Fund is the centerpiece of a high-level, two-semester course where MBA and select undergraduate students act as research analysts and portfolio managers. Unlike traditional simulations, these students are making decisions with actual capital.
“You learn how to pick stocks and manage a portfolio, but if you’re not doing it with money, there’s nothing tangible to it,” Davidowitz said. “If someone gives you money to manage, now you care about it.”
Key Program Features:
- A “Merging of Minds”: The class includes a mix of full-time and part-time MBA students, quantitative finance graduate students, and undergraduate honors students.
- Strict Selection: Students screen thousands of companies, narrowing them down to a final selection through rigorous stock pitches and majority votes.
- Current Portfolio: The fund’s founding students have already deployed approximately 24% of the capital into stalwart companies like VISA, Meta Holdings and Johnson & Johnson.
Despite recent market volatility, the student-led team has demonstrated early sophistication in risk management. Student portfolio manager Caliph Mohammed reported that the fund outperformed the S&P 500 by 2.7% since its inception in mid-January.
By maintaining a significant cash reserve (roughly 76%), the students provided the fund with meaningful downside protection during a broader market selloff, resulting in a modest portfolio decline of only 1.3% compared to steeper market losses.
The ultimate goal is to grow the Scarlet Student Fund to $5 million. Once that milestone is reached, a portion of the fund will be used to provide scholarships and support student networking events to help Rutgers graduates land competitive roles in finance.
“Many of our students will be enriched by the opportunity to experience what it’s like to work on a real investment management team,” Lei Lei, dean of Rutgers Business School said. “This is a great example of generosity, innovation, and collaboration.”
For Davidowitz, a New Jersey native who grew up in Marlboro, the gift was about recognizing the return on investment Rutgers provided his own career. As of July 2025, state funding accounts for only about 18% of the university’s budget, making alumni support more critical than ever.
