“The IMP is a great opportunity that may only come around once. It is such a crucial experience being able to invest and operate a $500,000 portfolio,” said Ryan Wolfe.
Shippensburg University’s John L. Grove College of Business celebrated its annual Investment Management Program (IMP) Dinner. In 2024, the student-managed portfolio achieved an impressive 36 percent return, outperforming the S&P 500 Index by 16 percentage points.
The IMP allows students to manage a real portfolio worth nearly $500,000. Students learn about investment analysis, risk management and gain valuable insights into market trends under the guidance of faculty.
Ryan Wolfe, a junior double majoring in accounting and finance, participated in the Spring 2025 IMP and also shared his experience managing the IMP. “Our approach overviews the economy and market as a whole, followed by close calculations and ratio evaluations, before making any decisions on which companies are the best to invest in.”
Wolfe said the experience taught him that investing can be a challenging experience. “Sometimes you will make the best decision possible, and other times not so much, but learning from mistakes and owning them is always the best way to go.”
He plans to pursue an MBA at Ship and volunteer as a coach for the cross-country team. He also expressed gratitude for the College of Business faculty. “They have been committed to helping me and other students achieve goals we have set for ourselves.” He also acknowledged Professor Jing Liu for “a fantastic semester in IMP and being a great leader in our class.”
Allie Abel, a finance major who graduated this spring, participated in both the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 IMP, credited strategic investments and risk analysis for the portfolio’s strong performance. “A large contributor was the class’s strategy of investing in the Magnificent 7 stocks (except for Tesla), she said. “The class also just overall put more money into sectors that we believed were going to outperform the S&P 500, which they did.”
Abel noted that managing a live portfolio strengthened her understanding of finance. “Lots of research and discussion happen within this class to help us make the best decisions that we can and to try to outperform our benchmark,” she said. “This aspect was something that truly opened my eyes, just the understanding that one single piece of news could send the market into a downward spiral.”
She also acknowledged that managing the IMP helped her gain strong research and presentation skills, which will benefit her as she begins a finance professional development program at Armstrong Industries.
The Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 IMP also included the following students:
Kade Arnold, Caleb Elder, Lauren Mantz, Caleb Owens, Tyler Sanders, Christopher Shank, Alexander Sprague, Josh Summers, Joshua Waite, Macen Wilt, Devon Yocum, Sean Baer, Caleb Elder, Bradin Peart, and Ryan Wolfe.
As shown through Abel and Wolfe’s experiences in the Investment Management program, the IMP provides future finance leaders with real-world investing experience that they can carry with them into their careers.
