Student Hedge Fund Managers Set High Bar
The student began setting up the company in 2014.
A group of Purdue University Krannert School of Management students has detailed ambitious goals for a private investment fund startup. Gold Sail Capital LLC, which is run by five students, is looking to raise $25 million by the end of the semester.
Matt Garafalo, a senior involved in the venture, says the group is poised to raise at least $10 million in the coming months. "Similar private investment funds have developed out of Wharton and Harvard, and this is something we are more than ready to develop as students in Krannert. We spent the past two years planning every detail of this venture and have talked and worked with numerous industry experts and investors."
The rest of the Gold Sail team included:
- Paul Griggs – Senior, economics and finance and a former Purdue football team kicker
- Connor Knowlton – Sophomore, finance and has Series 7, 63 and 65 financial exams
- Stephen Toyra – Graduate Student, former Purdue basketball team guard, owns a real estate firm
- Matthew Garatoni – Sophomore, management and entrepreneurship
The group is already dedicating a full work week to the startup. Krannert Associate Professor Huseyin Gulen, an adviser to Gold Sail, says "while not common for college students to create a hedge fund, it also is not unheard of and I believe that this group of bright students have the right skills and connections to establish Gold Sail Capital. I am pleased to provide guidance for them, but ultimately it will be their venture and their success."
Griggs says the company will continue after graduation and the long-term investment targets include people, philanthropy and new technologies.