Martin Sass '63 Provides Gift to Establish Investment Academy at Brooklyn College
November 18, 2014
Martin Sass '63
Martin D. Sass '63, founder, chairman and CEO of M.D. Sass, a leading name in investment management for 42 years, has endowed the M.D. Sass Investment Academy for the Brooklyn College School of Business. Launching in Fall of 2015, the M.D. Sass Investment Academy will include an undergraduate, student-run hedge fund.
The hedge fund will allow Brooklyn College students to obtain real-world experience by allowing them to learn from expert investment managers and security analysts, and help manage and invest actual securities under the supervision of seasoned successful investors. Student participants will also be eligible for performance-based rewards that will be paid out of profits of the Fund.
"Brooklyn College has opened doors to highly successful careers for many students who, like me, came from humble backgrounds," said Sass. "My hope is that the Academy will help keep those doors open for tomorrow's students by providing them the chance to learn, grow and succeed in a business environment, through hands-on financial and investment experiences, invaluable mentoring and Wall Street connections."
Sass, who grew up in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, took a job with the Wall Street brokerage firm Ira Haupt & Co. after graduating from Brooklyn College with a B.S. degree in accounting in 1963. By 1972, he founded M.D. Sass, which today is a leading name in investment management, with more than $6 billion in assets under management for corporations, state and local governments, multi-employer funds and individual investors.
"Because of Marty Sass's extraordinary vision, our students will obtain a unique career‐building opportunity in the business and financial world," said Brooklyn College Vice President for Institutional Advancement Andrew Sillen. "The academy will help to implement the School of Business strategic plan to capitalize on our location in New York City, by providing opportunities for students to prepare for careers in equity investing and funds management."
Sass, chairman of the Investment Committee and vice chairman of Brooklyn College Foundation's Board of Trustees, has been, along with his wife Barbara '63, a longtime supporter of Brooklyn College. The couple also founded the SASS Foundation for Medical Research, which they launched in 1986.
The Brooklyn College School of Business, which is seeking accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, hopes to complete the process by 2017, making it the only accredited school of business in Brooklyn. The M.D. Sass Investment Academy will play a key role in expanding the school's academic offerings to include practical financial and investment experience and exposure to mentors in the field.
