Ideas with Impact
UNB Faculty of Management

In the late 1960s, two University of New Brunswick (UNB) business students, Charles “Chuck” Fraser and Duncan MacDonald, shared a ride home to Montreal for the Christmas holidays. Despite winter storm warnings, they pressed on, eager to start their break after finishing their last exam. The journey through the storm bonded their friendship forever, a friendship that began years earlier at Bishops College School in Lennoxville, Quebec, and was rekindled on their first day as business students at UNB.

This enduring friendship inspired one of the most unique learning experiences for students at UNB. In 2018, Fraser established the Fraser Student Venture Fund (FSVF) to provide business students with direct, hands-on experience in venture capital. MacDonald joined him in championing the idea and bringing the fund to fruition.

MacDonald also established a scholarship to recognize students working with the FSVF who demonstrate exceptional leadership and passion for the program.

After graduating from UNB in 1968, Fraser and MacDonald pursued successful careers in different parts of Canada but remained close friends through sporadic get togethers mainly on the Amherst Shore in Nova Scotia.

Fraser, who relocated to Calgary, Alberta, enjoyed a successful career in wealth management, while MacDonald returned to Montreal and later to Fredericton, completed his Chartered Accountant designation, and served a diverse client base. Despite the distance, their friendship remained strong, and their shared desire to give back to UNB led to the creation of the FSVF.

The FSVF was designed to give students in the faculty of management’s entrepreneurship concentration a real-world venture capital experience. Students learn every step of the venture capital process, from sourcing and screening deals to conducting due diligence, negotiating term sheets, and completing investments. The course, often taught by staff from the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation (NBIF), allows students to work alongside professional investment analysts.

Fraser’s vision for the FSVF had four main objectives: to provide students with direct business experience; to support and expand UNB’s faculty of management curriculum; to develop and support exciting and innovative new ventures in Atlantic Canada; and to ensure the fund’s self-sufficiency by reinvesting the returns from successful investments back into the fund.

Since it was established, Fraser has contributed $1 million to the FSVF and so far, the fund has supported ten startups in the region. MacDonald and his partner Margie Mallory have contributed $70,000 to endow the Duncan MacDonald Venture Analyst Award which supports at least $4,000 in awards annually. These investments not only enrich students’ education but also foster innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership in the region.

UNB’s faculty of management will honour Fraser and MacDonald with the Certificate of Achievement and Appreciation at the 35th Annual Business Awards Dinner on November 28. The FSVF stands as a testament to their friendship and their commitment to fostering the next generation of business leaders at UNB.

Photo: L-R Duncan MacDonald, Chuck Fraser and fellow UNB alumnus Dave Christie at UNB’s Alumni Meet and Greet in 2018.

Learn more about UNB’s Faculty of Management.

For more information, contact Liz Lemon-Mitchell.