And then there are shipping containers.

Americans are aging and many are downsizing. Online shopping has exploded, leading to a crushing demand for containers used to bring goods to the U.S. from overseas. Turns out, shipping containers are a great investment. And they’re not the only unusual investment out there.

“The world’s a changing place. There are a lot of changes in where people live, how they work, how they consume their entertainment, how they store their goods, and what they think is collectible,” said Kevin Mirabile, D.P.S., a clinical associate professor of finance and business economics at the Gabelli School of Business

“If you dig into this, there’s a lot of opportunity for investors.”

Mirabile examined all manner of quirky, offbeat investment opportunities in Exotic Alternative Investments: Standalone Characteristics, Unique Risks and Portfolio Effects (Anthem Press, 2021). The book delves into asset classes such as life insurance settlements, litigation funding, farmlands, royalties, weather derivatives, and collectibles. It follows Mirable’s first book, Hedge Fund Investing: Understanding Investor Motivation, Manager Profits and Fund Performance (BookBaby, 2020), which he updated for a third time last year.

As the head of the Gabelli School’s alternative investment concentration, Mirabile has been leading students through the finer points of real estate, hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital investments.

“If you look over the last five or 10 years, a lot of alternative asset classes no longer produce the kinds of returns that live up to investor expectation,” he said.

“I really had a desire to search for new asset classes that fulfill the promise of what alternative investments were supposed to bring. These are investments that diversify a portfolio.”

Baseball Cards, Esports, Cannabis, and Bitcoin

Mirabile established three parameters to distinguish something as an “exotic investment.” An investor needs to be able to readily trade the asset, there needs to be a publicly available index to compare its value to similar assets, and there needs to be an instrument that allows them to purchase a share in the asset, rather than just buying the underlying object. Beanie Babies don’t make the cut, but art, baseball cards, life insurance, tax liens, e-sports teams, cannabis farms, Bitcoin, and shipping containers do.

All of them tend to trade on smaller markets, generate high returns, and importantly, their value is unrelated to the drivers of traditional stocks and bonds.

“GDP growth doesn’t really affect the price of artwork. The growth of the economy doesn’t really affect esports or vintage sneakers. These things are divorced from the normal drivers of stocks and bonds,” Mirabile said.

Although most exotic assets are only to be available to high net-worth individuals, there are exceptions. If you want to buy farmland, Mirabile notes you can buy a fractional interest in an almond farm in California, and you might own one-hundredth of the property. Not into land? You can do the same for an Andy Warhol painting as well.

“There are many credible platforms that will break up a Picasso into fractural ownerships, or that will break up a baseball card, like a 1952 Mickey Mantle that just traded at $5.2 million,” he said.

A Market for Vintage Sneakers

Neither second-hand designed wedding dresses nor American Girl dolls—both of which retain or go up in value—met his parameters, but that the vintage sneakers like Air Jordans did.

“There are actually exchanges where you can go and get a quote if you want to resell those sneakers, and there are indices that Nike and Adidas put out that track the trading of those sneakers after their retail offering. I was surprised at how big that market was, and how much infrastructure has developed around it.”

The cache attached to sneakers is fragile, of course. Mirabile noted that they’re not just items to wrap around your feet; they’re culture totems associated with an artist, which creates value. Other alternative investments may derive value from a current trend.

“Some of the downside risks are if those tastes and preferences are a fad, they collapse. There are many people today who have garages full of Cabbage Patch dolls,” he said.

Some exotic investments also bring with them ethical minefields. You could profit off mortality if you invested in life insurance contracts because your returns go up if people die sooner than expected. You could also invest in a fund that’s trying to monopolize the market on usable water in San Palo Brazil—a legal, if ethically dubious proposition.

Fortunately, there are plenty of investments that are on solid ethical ground, making them attractive to investors who see interest rates at near-zero and stocks at an all-time high, Mirabile said.

“A lot of people are interested in understanding these other investment categories because they don’t have a place to put their money,” he said.

On March 2 at noon, Mirabile will talk about Exoctic Alternative Investments as part of the Gabelli School’s Centennial Speaker Series. The event is open to the public.

“It goes without saying that Elliott’s family and loved ones will be in our prayers this week,” said Joseph M. McShane, SJ, president of Fordham. “They have sustained a terrible loss, and our hearts are broken for them, and for Elliott. I ask that you be especially kind to one another, and to yourselves, this week, as we come together as a community to mourn our losses.”

A memorial service in Copeland’s honor will be held at Our Lady’s Chapel (University Church lower level) on the Rose Hill campus on June 23 at 6:30 p.m.

“We will support Elliott’s family as best we can in their we can in their grief, and will likewise do everything in our power to help his friends and loved ones at Fordham cope with his loss,” Father McShane said.

A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Copeland was a 2013 graduate of Ravenscroft School. At Fordham he was majoring in business administration with a concentration in finance. He was active in several organizations on campus, including the Fordham Finance Society and Alternative Investments Club.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic event. Every Gabelli School student is truly one of our own—a member of our school family,” said Donna Rapaccioli, PhD, dean of the business school. “Elliott, his family members, and his friends, at Fordham and elsewhere, are in our thoughts and prayers.”

Copeland was an avid rugby player and was a captain for Fordham’s rugby football club. In an outpouring of grief on social media, his teammates described his “pure joy for life” and his generous presence to friends and acquaintances.

“He was always so, so genuinely nice to me whenever our paths crossed,” said Kyle Morton, a rising junior at Fordham College at Rose Hill and a fellow Raleigh native. “It’s abundantly clear tonight how many lives he touched both in Raleigh and at Fordham.”

Copeland aspired to work in the financial industry, possibly in corporate finance. He was an intern at Tapad, a New York-based marketing technology firm, and held previous internships at deVere Group, Campbell Alliance, and Empire Wealth Strategies.

In addition to achieving much both in the classroom and on the rugby field, Copeland volunteered regularly. He spent four years as a volunteer with the Special Olympics, and for three consecutive years he joined Reach Mission Trips, a nonprofit organization that ran annual, weeklong service trips to low-income communities around the United States.

“We were simply devastated to hear the news this weekend, and have joined Elliott’s coaches and teammates on the rugby team in mourning his passing,” said Christopher Rodgers, dean of students at Rose Hill.

“He was clearly much loved by the men on the squad, and our staff will be reaching out to them and others who knew Elliott to offer support and our prayers.”

His funeral service will be held Friday, June 24, at 2 p.m.  
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, 1520 Canterbury Road, Raleigh, NC 27608.
A reception will follow at North Ridge Country Club in Raleigh.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Ravenscroft Scholarship Funds or the Susan G. Komen fund. 

Staff from Counseling and Psychological Services, Campus Ministry, and the Dean of Students Office will be standing by this week to help all who are grappling with Copeland’s loss.

The Counseling Center can be reached directly at:

Lincoln Center: (212) 636-6225
Rose Hill: (718) 817-3725 

Campus Ministry can be reached at:

Lincoln Center: (212) 636-6267
Rose Hill: (718) 817-4500

Students may also contact a resident assistant or resident director at any time to request assistance or to talk.

To the women of the Gabelli School, though, it’s business as usual.

“The environment is open here,” said Rosa Romeo, a clinical assistant professor of accounting and taxation, who is the faculty moderator of Fordham’s chapter of Smart Woman Securities (SWS).

“There’s a tone at the top that as long as you do the work and you get the grades, you can accomplish what you want. There is no ‘you can’t do this because you’re a girl’ sentiment. You want this role—go for it. You want this internship—go for it.”

One needn’t look further than SWS to see this attitude in play, Romeo said. A nonprofit organization with chapters on 21 campuses around the country, SWS focuses on investment education for undergraduate women. The Gabelli School’s chapter is among the oldest—Fordham and Yale, which launched in January 2009, were the third and fourth colleges to form chapters following Harvard, where SWS originated, and Columbia.

“SWS is definitely shaping my experience at Fordham,” said Lauren Kelly, a sophomore finance major who joined SWS during her freshman year. “It’s about mentorship, building networks, and educating others. Basically, it’s an environment of women helping women.”

With more than 50 active members, SWS is one of the largest clubs on campus. Each new recruit is paired with an upperclassman member, who serves as a mentor in anything from club activities to classes to internships to interviewing.

“We encourage people to go for coffee with their mentors, to not be afraid to ask questions,” said Erika Schwartz, a junior accounting major and the chief operating officer of Fordham SWS. “The business world is competitive, so we emphasize supportiveness and being there for one another.”

Throughout the year, the group offers numerous educational seminars for its attendees, covering themes from résumé building to investment minutiae. Their cornerstone activity is an investment project, in which the students learn to research and analyze stocks and present their recommendations to a panel of judges.

In December, a group that included Elizabeth Fonger, a junior at Fordham College Rose Hill, Lorem Basile, a sophomore at the Gabelli School, and Kelly took their stock skills to Boston for the national SWS stock pitching competition. The group pitched Lululemon, and came in second place, behind Harvard.

“I think I’ve gotten a lot opportunities [from SWS]and have been the beneficiary of good mentorship. And I’ve been able to then pass that on to younger members,” Kelly said.

As chief development officer for SWS, Kelly recruits speakers for the group’s annual Women in Leadership Conference, which takes place this year on April 8. In past years, the group has hosted speakers such as Barbara Desoer, CEO of Citibank, N.A., and Andrea Jung, former CEO of Avon Products, as well as Fordham alumnae MaryAnne Gilmartin, FCRH ’86, president and CEO of Forest City Ratner, and Patricia David, GABELLI ’81, global head of diversity for J.P. Morgan Chase.

Their talks—which draw both male and female students—are reliably empowering, Kelly said. Last year, Liz Ann Sonders, GABELLI ’90, the senior vice president and chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, spoke about her business education at Fordham and the successful career that followed.

“Someone asked her why she wanted to go into finance, and she said to us, ‘I just thought it was the coolest thing ever to be a woman on Wall Street.’ We all loved that!” Kelly said.

“[SWS] isn’t only about education and building a network. It’s about smashing the perception that there aren’t women in senior-level positions in the business world.”

“Business is, in many ways, still a man’s world. So, if you’re a woman, it is more important to project knowledge, to be curious and confident,” said Donna Rapaccioli, PhD, dean of the Gabelli School. “To this end, there are opportunities around every corner at the Gabelli School for women to learn and to take on leadership roles.”

The business world has come a long way in working toward gender equality, Rapaccioli said. Still, in many areas there remains a “subtle bias” both about women’s ability to fulfill high-level roles and their interest in pursuing such roles in these male-dominated, high-intensity environments.

“What will finally eliminate this bias is a critical mass of extraordinarily talented women surprising the field—planting a stake in the ground in areas where people expect to see men,” Rapaccioli said.

“Our female students are these women. They are making me extraordinarily proud now, and I cannot wait to see what they are accomplishing when they are 25, 35, or 50.”

But Tognino Hall on April 29 was filled with students strictly in business attire. Suits, ties, and dresses. It lent additional professionalism to the proceedings, which saw awards given, investment recommendations presented, and alumni honored.

But the gravitas would come as no surprise to those who know the focused students who comprise the AI Club membership and who are completing the academic concentration developed by Kevin Mirabile, DPS.

What distinguishes the Gabelli School of Business AI students—who earn their academic stripes by completing three courses in niche areas of finance such as hedge funds, private equity, real-estate investing, and venture capital—can be summed up in one word, said the club’s incoming president (pictured above), and rising senior Jeremy Fague:

Commitment.

In just four years, that commitment has led the AI Club from being a tiny subset of the Finance Society to a 150-student-strong juggernaut that thrives on alumni support, networking, and sheer determination.

“That’s what stands out about Fordham students,” said Fague. “Commitment, drive, knowing what you want and trying to do your best to get there.”

Relatively new, alternative investments has become a Fordham University success story, in numbers and results. Both the academic concentration and the extracurricular organization focus on the practical understanding and practice of investing in areas outside of traditional assets such as bonds, stocks, and cash. Many alternatives, such as hedge funds and real estate, are complex in nature and appeal to institutions or high-worth individual investors.

The alternative investments concentration is riding the wind of change in the industry. Not too long ago, it was something of a mysterious stranger in the finance world. Hedge funds, which are often small shops with relatively few employees, have received a generous amount of negative press over the past few years despite their relative success in the market.

But alternatives have become mainstream. As the industry has grown, Mirabile said, from $6 trillion to $10 trillion in four years, the infrastructure around it has grown as well.

Driving Business Internships

“Firms are getting larger, trying to achieve scale, and they all want to have institutional-quality programs with more internally generated staff, better support, and infrastructure roles,” Mirabile, a clinical assistant professor of finance, told the audience at the AI Club’s event. “This means an opportunity for our students now and in the future.”

Choosing this academic discipline is paying off. Seven Gabelli School AI students have internships with Goldman Sachs this summer, working on everything from securities to global investment research. So far, 16 of the 19 seniors in the concentration’s résumé book either have job offers or are going to graduate school, Mirabile said.

In addition, Fordham is one of only 32 universities that have joined with the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association(CAIA) to provide more educational opportunities for students interested in alternatives. Students who obtain CAIA recognition by passing one or more of its certification exams—which are analogs of the chartered financial analyst tests for the alternatives field—will have a leg up when it comes to employment.

AI at Fordham is unique in that the student club plays a principal role in academic life.

“It was part of a desire to build a program that included a high level of student engagement and external networking,” Mirabile said of the club’s beginnings.

The club also builds a “bench” for Fordham’s AI contingent: While the three-course academic concentration is open only to juniors and seniors, the club welcomes freshmen and sophomores as well, helping them get started on their interests early.

Funding Local Charities

It has an active student-written newsletter and a charitable arm, which raised thousands of dollars for charities such as Hedge Funds Care and A Leg to Stand On.

Mirabile said private equity, venture capitalists, and hedge fund leaders are traditionally very philanthropic, so the students’ involvement in charitable ventures fits into the goals of the club as well.

“Obviously, being part of a Jesuit school, it is really important to give back and to have that sense of commitment to your community,” said Jillian Stackman, GABELLI ’15, who captained the club’s charitable efforts this year.

Behind it all is Mirabile, a former hedge fund chief operating officer and author of Hedge Fund Investing: A Practical Guide to Investor Motivation, Manager Profits and Fund Performance (Wiley 2013).

While the students have done a tremendous amount of work in growing the club, they all pay homage to Mirabile, who they say takes a personal interest in their success.

Mirabile is proud of them and of the program’s growth. The concentration had eight graduates in 2013. In 2014, 18 completed it. That jumped to 38 in 2015, and 50 students are signed up for 2016.

Mirabile’s work was recognized on May 14, when he received the Gabelli School’s Faculty Magis Award for striving for excellence.

The future appears set for the club and the concentration, but, as one would expect from its leaders, no one is resting. Fague has an ambitious agenda for the coming year. And with an enthusiastic professor, passionate students, and a growing industry, more success awaits.

— John Schoonejongen

“Alternative Investments” and “Sports Business,” which are being headed by Kevin Mirabile, lecturer in finance and business economics, and Mark Conrad, associate professor of law and ethics, respectively, will launch in time for the spring 2013 semester.

Conrad, who teaches sports law, said sports-related businesses have matured a great deal in the last 20 years, and so the need for graduates who understand the basics of business is greater than ever. This gives the program a leg up over sports management programs that are often run by liberal arts or continuing education programs, and may have only a smattering of business courses.

“We are saying you have to come in with the basics of finance, marketing, accounting, management, and communications. And then we’re adding specific courses dealing with business issues in the field of sports,” Conrad said.

Students wishing to earn the sports business specialization must complete courses in sports marketing, business of sports media, and sports law, and a capstone summary experience. That final aspect of the degree can be a presentation at a sports-related academic conference, an internship, or a sports travel experience, analyzed in a final paper. Symposiums and appearances by experts in sports business will also be a part of the program.

Conrad said that New York City is home to a plethora of sports-related businesses, from high-profile teams like the Yankees and the Knicks to all the firms that specialize in marketing, advertising, law, and finance.

“The worst thing that sports organizers find in students is they come to interviews and they simply don’t know the business. They do it because they’re fans of the team. We dissuade that,” he said.

“We say this is a business. If you’re a Yankees fan but you get a job with the Red Sox, you take the job with the Red Sox.”

Likewise, alternative investments are of interest to business students in New York City. Mirabile, who teaches a class on hedge funds, said that the New York metropolitan area has the largest concentration of alternative asset managers in the world.

The field has been growing, too. In the last 20 years, more money has been allocated to hedge funds, private equity, and other investment vehicles that are not publicly listed on exchanges. Endowments and high-net-worth individuals in particular have been drawn to them.

And unlike in the past, the boutique firms that specialize in them are now giving undergraduates a look. Specialized courses like those in private equity and commodities, which will be rolled out as electives next fall, are rare at the undergraduate level, which Mirabile said makes the program unique.

“With the pressure in the markets for managing expenses and performance, a lot of private equity firms and hedge funds are looking for undergraduate students. In the past, they had no chance of getting jobs in these firms; they only looked at graduate students or people with five years’ experience,” he said.

The specialization will feature coursework that covers private equity, hard assets, venture capital, commodities, real estate investment management, and hedge fund investing.

Students wishing to earn the specialization will be required to likewise complete three courses covering hedge funds, venture capital, or real estate. A capstone course and project will cover advanced aspects of alternative investment strategies.

It too will be supported by a student organization called the Alternative Investments Club.
Mirabile said the club’s role is to invite speakers to the campus and sponsor skill set training, including Excel training and Bloomberg University training. There is additional training in soft skills like interviewing and resume development specialized for these managers.

It’s a certain alternative to “going to JP Morgan, where you might meet the owner of the firm or be asked to wait six hours because it’s a busy day in the markets,” he said.