By Aidan Regan
Puget Sound’s Investment Club has been gaining interest, and not just financially.
This year, membership in the Investment Club has increased. The club presents students with a unique opportunity to gain hands-on investing experience, making finance less daunting.
“It’s such a broad topic,” said the club president, Christopher Bueno. “[the club] offers people a foot in the door.”
Investment club teaches students about stocks and how the market works in several ways. “We…get everyone on the same level. It’s starting from the ground up,” said Bueno.
Members meet to discuss world events and how they will reflect on the market. They also take full advantage of the internet as a resource. Members learn new terms with the website “Investopedia” and use online stock simulations.
The simulations let members track stocks in real time without putting their money on the line. It gives members real experience with none of the risk.
But the investment club does the real thing as well. In fact, they just received a $100,000 donation to invest, beginning the year with half of it. They will receive the other two $25,000 increments over the next two fall semesters.
The investment club’s portfolio invests money from the university’s endowment. The money they make through those investments goes back to students in the form of financial aid. Club members get real experience while simultaneously helping their peers and the university itself.
To take part in the real investment decisions, club members go through a rite of passage. Each one earns the right to vote on those decisions by presenting on a stock they want the club to invest in. Presentations generally include pros and cons of the stock as well as its history.
The presentations help the club explore specific stocks in depth before buying. “There are things that sometimes the markets won’t reflect,” said Bueno. “using these presentations offer that extra perspective.”
He recalled a petroleum transfer company that looked good on paper until a presentation revealed its environmentally destructive business practices.
The club has no guidelines for which investments are off limits. However, Bueno is confident that member participation will reflect the values of the campus community.
If a presentation convinces the club’s investment board, faculty advisors approve the stock. They then buy it through the investment firm Perella Weinberg Partners.
Last year, the club liquidated all investments. This means the club’s portfolio is a blank slate, ready for members to diversify it. In the past these have included companies like Home Depot and Johnson and Johnson.
Bueno is excited that the club has more student interest this year. “That helps generate a better environment for learning, especially with finance not being the most colorful topic,” he said.
“I think it’ll continue to grow,” he continued.
“As the club progresses, people have a higher level of understanding and the club will benefit from that.” As members learn, the club grows, in turn providing even more learning opportunities. In this way, members’ experience accrues interest as well. It’s a mutually-beneficial feedback loop.
The club meets every Tuesday at 8:00pm in McIntyre 107.