UAA College of Business and Public Policy

Business Leaders Donate $1m to Establish a Student Investment Fund at CBPP

June 23, 2021

Business leaders Gary and Jane Cuddy Klopfer have donated $1 million to the College of Business and Public Policy to establish a student investment fund. This generous gift will give UAA students the real-world experience of analyzing and selecting stocks and bonds and managing a portfolio using professional industry tools.

John Nofsinger, interim dean of CBPP, said the gift will be directed immediately to several index funds to get it invested in the stock and bond markets. Students in CBPP’s Finance & Investing Club will start making investment decisions this fall.

Ongoing management of the UAA Student Investment Fund will be directed by students through two CBPP courses:

• Security Analysis and Selection
  Each fall semester, students in the course will organize by selecting a portfolio manager, sector analysts and fixed income analysts. The analysts will make purchase recommendations and get feedback from the portfolio manager. The class will vote on all purchase and sale recommendations.

• Portfolio Management
  Each spring semester, students in the course will gain experience and education in portfolio management, including institutional investor details. They will learn how securities fit together to optimize the risk and expected return characteristics of the portfolio. Buy and sell recommendations will be made to enhance these portfolio characteristics.

“We are very grateful to the Klopfers for this gift,” Nofsinger said. “It will provide tremendous financial experience and learning opportunities for UAA students, who will learn the practice of investing from an institutional investor perspective. Buy, sell, or hold–students will be making important real world decisions. Getting this experience will benefit Alaska in that these students will be ready for a high demand and rewarding industry. In addition, a growing portfolio will provide a growing number of scholarships for accounting and finance students.”

About Gary and Jane Cuddy Klopfer

Gary and Jane Cuddy Klopfer are business owners and entrepreneurs, well known to community members for founding Anchorage’s popular Snow Goose Restaurant and Sleeping Lady Brewing Company in 1996, which they sold in 2015. They remain active in the hospitality and brewing industry in Alaska as entrepreneurs and investors. Gary is a 1981 graduate of CBPP’s accounting program, and he established the Accounting Club during his years here. Jane is a celebrated Alaska investment leader whose family has supported many areas of the university, particularly UAA’s culinary arts and hospitality programs housed in Lucy Cuddy Hall, which is named in honor of Jane’s grandmother.

Their gift is the largest, individual gift an alumnus has given to UAA during his lifetime.