$1 Million Gift Endows Chair in Investment Strategy

April 6, 1998

U of T alumnus Peter Mitchelson and Sit Investment Associates Foundation have together donated $1 million to establish a chair in investment strategy at U of T's Joseph L. Rotman School of Management. The university will match the gift to endow the chair in perpetuity.

With increasing numbers of baby boomers investing money in mutual funds for their retirement, there is a greater demand for professionals trained specifically to manage investment funds. The chair will focus on research and teaching activities in this area, helping to educate and train the next generation of fund managers. It will focus the concepts, tools and mechanics associated with the two pillars of investment management: investment policy (strategic asset allocation, dynamic asset allocation and tactical asset allocation) and investment strategy (security selection and market timing).

Net contributions to RRSP mutual funds in Canada increased from $30.1 million in 1996 to $39 million in 1997, an increase of almost 30 per cent. In 1997, gross sales of long-term mutual funds totalled $80.5 billion.

"Canadians are entrusting their financial futures to money managers," explains Professor Paul Halpern, interim dean of the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management. "It is our responsibility as finance educators to ensure that future professional fund managers receive the conceptual and analytic background and training to carry out this critical responsibility. This incredible gift will not only enhance our ability to generate new perspectives and knowledge in this important and growing field, but will also help the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management ensure our graduates have the knowledge and skills they need to compete in the expanding area of investment management."

Mitchelson is president and chief investment strategist at Sit Investment Associates in Minnesota. He received a bachelor of commerce degree from U of T in 1964 and an MBA from Harvard.

The Campaign for the University of Toronto, Canadas largest university fundraising effort, has set a five-year goal of $400 million in private support. The Campaign priorities were set following two years of academic planning by all colleges, faculties and divisions.