Investment Club

Meredith Bicknese

The Investment Club began in 2003 with a donation of $100,000 from a generous benefactor. The main goals and objectives of the club are as follows:

To provide a “hands on” laboratory experience for students from all majors and academic disciplines.
To create an income stream (a percentage of each year’s investment income) from which to provide funding for student organizations.

The club, which meets weekly during the fall and spring semesters, is led by students with oversight from a faculty advisor. The portfolio is invested entirely in U.S. and large international stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. The stocks are selected based on financial and non-financial criteria. The critical non-financial constraint is that the firm is deemed socially responsible in its operations. Financial performance is based on the quality of the firm’s financial statements, growth in earnings and cash flows and analysts’ assessments of the firm’s future prospects. The risk of the portfolio is kept in check by purchasing stock in several different industries and limiting the initial investment in any security to less than $10,000. The portfolio is continually being rebalanced by selling the laggards and purchasing more promising stocks.

There are ample opportunities for students to sharpen existing investment skills and strategies while learning new ones. There is an on-going stock trading game simulation where students are encouraged to experiment with different strategies. In addition, guest speakers from on and off campus make presentations on various investment topics.