Alternative Asset Management Center
EnCap & LCM Group Alternative Asset Center
Professor William Maxwell is the Academic Director of the EnCap Investments & LCM Group Alternative Asset Management Center (AAMC) at the Cox School of Business at 51°µÍø. The AAMC is at the forefront of training students for careers in finance. A selection committee selects finance undergraduates in either their sophomore or junior year for this highly selective BBA honors program. Admission is based on academic performance [the median GPA of the 2024 incoming class was 3.93], strength of courses, demonstrated work ethic, and interviews. The Center seeks to identify smart, ethical, and highly motivated students who are interested in pursuing a rigorous, application-oriented program with motivated peers.
The training begins in the spring semester of the junior year with a case-based class, which provides the basic skills necessary for private equity/investment banking. Students complete a summer internship after their junior year typically at an investment bank, consulting firm, hedge fund, or money management firm. In their senior year, the students can take a second Master’s level class dealing with hedge funds or an energy related class. A distinguishing feature of the Alts program is the active involvement of accomplished speakers from the finance industry on topics covered in the program. Finally, in the spring semester of the student’s senior year, the Finance Department funds a voluntary CFA review course (the course meets for three hours on Fridays for 14 weeks) for students sitting for the CFA Level 1 exam upon graduation.
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Madelyn Brennan
Madelyn Brennan is Vice President at DigitalBridge Investment Management in New York. Previously, she was a Vice President at Brookfield Asset Management, focused on infrastructure, and an Investment Manager at Ardian, on their secondaries and primaries platform. She began her career at J.P. Morgan in the Energy Investment Banking Group.
Peyton Hall
Peyton Hall, Principal at Centerbridge Partners in New York, focused on investing in real estate assets, companies and loans & securities. He joined after roles at The Carlyle Group and Goldman Sachs.
Katie Kiersey
Katie Kiersey is with Bain & Company’s Private Equity, Advanced Manufacturing & Services, and Energy & Natural Resources practices. She has led over 100 commercial due diligences across various industries, focusing on energy and industrials. She works closely with PE firms and management teams, particularly in energy, engineering, environmental services, and construction sectors.
Madeline Langley
Madeline is an Analyst in Goldman Sachs' Private Credit Group, focusing on middle-market credit investment opportunities, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments, and managing portfolio companies. Before joining, she worked at Ernst & Young and Crestline Investors, Inc.
Stephen Meek
Stephen is a Managing Partner at Galley Investment Group, an independent firm focusing on acquiring and managing upstream oil and gas assets. Before founding Galley Investment Group, he started two other companies: Galley Investments, which provides oil and gas advisory and consulting, and Galley NM Assets, which focuses on mineral and royalty acquisitions. Stephen started his career with Citigroup's Energy team in Houston, and later with EnCap Investments in Dallas.
Santiago Núñez
Santiago Núñez is a Partner at GreyLion, a private equity firm focusing on high-growth businesses across various sectors in North America's lower middle market. Before GreyLion, he was at TPG Capital, a global private equity firm and Lazard Frères in mergers and acquisitions. Santiago holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Matt Turney
Matt Turney, Vice President at Southpaw Capital Partners and Chief Financial Officer of Dundon Capital Partners, a Dallas-based private investment firm founded by Tom Dundon. Matt has also served as the Chief Strategy Officer of the Carolina Hurricanes, a team in the National Hockey League. Prior to joining Dundon Capital Partners, Matt worked at Citi, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions in the aerospace and defense and automotive sectors.
Practicum in Portfolio Management
The finance department runs two Portfolio Management Practicum classes, one for undergraduates, and one for graduate students. The Practicum combines hands-on money management of equity and fixed-income investments, and the survey and application of the asset allocation and portfolio management process. The course is a blend of active investment management, student investment presentations, case studies, discussions of current investment topics, the study and applied analysis of different asset classes, and the management of multi-asset portfolios. Each spring, a selection committee selects approximately 30 undergraduates and 30 graduate students to participate in the program for the following year.
The Ann Rife Cox (undergraduate) and Nancy Chambers Underwood (graduate) currently have combined funds have assets of approximately $9 million, representing one of the largest and oldest student-managed portfolios in the United States.
Goals of the Program
The Practicum’s goal is to give students hands-on money management experience that culminates at the end of the year in an annual report describing the entire management process as applied to the Cox Endowment Fund. It also provides an in-depth examination and analysis of portfolio asset selection, allocation, risk management, and performance measurement. The courses are held in the Kitt Investing and Trading Center, which is a state-of-the-art instructional and research facility at the Cox School of Business. The Center is designed to integrate finance curriculum, enhance innovative faculty research, and teach students practical finance and investment applications.