Investing in Cougars

C. T. Bauer College of Business alumnus Jeffrey Detwiler (MS Finance ‘07) recently endowed the first-ever graduate fellowship for finance. Once fully funded, the fellowship will support Bauer students enrolled in the MS in Finance program, with a focus on students participating in the management of the Cougar Investment Fund. Detwiler, who serves on the college’s MS Finance Advisory Board, was inspired to establish the $50,000 endowment to honor his parents’ legacy.

"My father had a junior college degree. My mother just got to high school level, but they made a lot of sacrifices for me to make sure I could get to higher education and put me on the right path,” he recalled. “When I think about doing this fellowship and endowing it, it's really with their hard work and sacrifice.”

Detwiler has always been interested in investment analysis, beginning as a child monitoring the stats and values of his baseball cards. Fast-forward a few years, Detwiler was working for AIM in Houston and looking to invest in his education and future success.

“I wanted to continue my career in the investment industry, take another step forward, and what appealed to me about the University of Houston was the fact that they had a master's program that was dedicated to finance,” he said. "I was sold on the resources, the opportunity and the ability to work as a portfolio manager for the student-lead fund."

Jeff Detwiler (right) with Bauer Interim Dean Praveen Kumar (left) signing the endowment to honor his parents' legacy and support MS Finance students in the Cougar Investment Fund.

During his time at Bauer, Detwiler was one of three managers who represented the Cougar Investment Fund at the Texas Investment Portfolio Symposium (TIPS). The Bauer team was the only public school among the finalists and placed second in the national competition. Their success led to a then-record closing for the Cougar Investment Fund, bringing in $1.7 million in new investments.

“I had pride in what I was doing, pride in the university, and I wanted to go up against the best and show the quality of work that we were doing,” he said. “At the time, I didn't realize how big my impact was but now stepping back and seeing the growth of the program, the growth of the school, and the depth of talent that's being attracted to the fund, it's just fantastic.”

Since graduating, Detwiler became a partner and fixed-income portfolio manager at Garcia Hamilton & Associates, L.P. He credits his success to his education at Bauer.

“At my prior firm, I was a cog in a machine, you had one sort of job. Within the Cougar Fund, we talked about and learned all the different ins-and-outs of an investment company because we had to be hands-on in everything we did," Detwiler added. "The tools and the concepts that you learn within the finance program and the Cougar Fund really set me up for success in my career.”

Detwiler is never too far from campus. He is an integral part of the MS Finance Advisory Board, stays active in the Bauer College Alumni Association and encourages other alumni to get involved as well.

He added: “The University of Houston set me up for success, and I want to be part of setting someone else up for success. What I'm doing not only helps future generations who could potentially receive that fellowship, but I also hope that I'm inspiring some of my fellow alums that they'll follow my footsteps as well.”