ATL Standard

Atlanta University Center institutions Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College, joned Morehouse College as academic partners in a $90 million, 10-year project to train students how to work in the alternative investment industry. 

The program, called AltFinance: Investing in Black Futures, is being launched by Global Management, Ares Management Corporation and Oaktree Capital Management, a Morehouse College press release said. Each company is providing $3 million per year to the initiative over the course of the program. 

“As our graduates who are now leaders in the industry have shown, those who control financing often have an outsized impact on societal and economic outcomes. As men of color intensify their roles as drivers of economic ingenuity and commercial innovation, it is imperative that they have intimate knowledge of the intricacies of complex, alternative investment strategies," David Thomas, Morehouse College president, said in the release.

Students at Morehouse College and other historically Black colleges and universities will have access to scholarships, mentor fellowships and virtual education in the field through the initiative, Morehouse said.

The AltFinance initiative is intended to boost diversity in the alternative investment industry by gaining students' interest, training them and providing career opportunities. It will launch the second half 2022, Morehouse said. 

Alternative investment and finances include assets different than stocks, bonds, and cash like that of "metals, real estate, commodities, private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, financial derivatives, and cryptocurrency," the release said.