Did today’s investment wizards develop and fine-tune their knowledge and skills as members of their collegiate Investment Club? Quite possibly. Many Colleges & Universities provide this excellent opportunity. At some institutions, the Investment Club actually manages part of the University endowment. Twice a year, there’s even a national competition to select and recognize the best stock pickers in the nation.
The MII Undergraduate Investment Conference
Sponsored by the Michigan Interactive Investment Club, this bi-annual conference features a stock competition between clubs from across the country, presentations by industry leaders, and numerous networking opportunities.
Amherst College Investment Club
The Club manages an investment portfolio with the goal of learning about business and finance. Although the Club invests only in domestically-traded equity securities, the Club seeks to teach members how to approach all investment decisions using a fundamental, value-oriented approach. The Club also discusses career opportunities and job-search skills relevant to jobs in various business and financial industries.
Boston College Investment Club
The mission of the Investment Club is to improve members’ understanding of investment management; to help members develop in-depth market knowledge and to create superior access to career opportunities in the investment industry.
Students research stocks and bring recommendations to the meetings of the club, at which point students vote either to buy or sell. The club is divided into analyst teams covering different industries so as to systematically review the portfolio and come up with new ideas.
During general meetings of the Investment Club (BCIC), officers update members of the club on the status of our portfolio, which consists of a piece of Boston College’s endowment specifically allocated to the use by students to learn investment techniques and money management. We compare our performance to our benchmark, the S&P 500.
The officers also provide a weekly update on the state of the markets, more recently under the structure of the “Weekly Three” or three important events happening in the general macro economy at the moment that help members better understand the circumstances our portfolio is operating in.
Officers and members of the club then present stock pitches, asking the members whether to buy, sell, or hold a certain stock on the market. By providing detailed information on the company’s operations, financials, market, and future potential for business, we conclude whether the stock is a good fit for our portfolio.
We also on occasion hold educational presentations on more complicated financial trading instruments, such as options and derivatives. These are generally given by professionals brought in by BCIC from financial firms, or one of our finance or economics professors.
The Blue Chips, The University of Chicago
The Blue Chips is an officially recognized student organization of The University of Chicago. We aim to provide our members with a forum for expanding finance, investing, and business knowledge. We create such opportunities through a structured curriculum, portfolio management, lively debate, unique interaction with professionals, and informal discussion. We further seek to promote financial and markets literacy through campus-wide events and collaboration with other RSOs.
The Peggotty Investment Club, Connecticut College
The Peggotty Investment Club manages a portion of the Connecticut College endowment through a student-run investment portfolio. Essentially the club members act as investment managers using a portion of the Connecticut College endowment as their capital. The club is entirely student run, and its members come from diverse backgrounds and various fields of study. Peggotty’s purpose is to provide students with a forum to develop their interest in investments and financial analysis by giving them the opportunity to actively manage real capital. Peggotty also seeks to broaden awareness of investments within the Connecticut College community by sponsoring presentations by investment professionals to further enhance the educational experience of managing investments.
In addition the Peggotty Investment Club spends approximately 5% of the total assets in the Peggotty Investment Club portfolio on financial aid each year. The members consider the contribution to the college a unique feature of the Peggotty Investment Club, and we are proud to take an active role in providing many students with the opportunity to attend one of New England’s finest Liberal Arts Colleges.
The University of Florida Student Investment Club
“The Student Investment Club (SIC) exists to further its members’ knowledge of the various investment methods and strategies in a diverse and conducive club environment. It seeks to engage members in intellectual discourse via presentations, panel discussions, guest speakers, and other mediums while fostering a positive social environment for networking and fun.”
The Student Investment Club at the University of Florida serves as a great way for those new to investing to learn more. Some people are intimidated when taking their first steps into the world of investing. The SIC helps to make investing easier to understand, as novices and experts alike can participate and learn from one another.
Dues are $10. This qualifies you to be a competitor in the investment challenge, places you on the official member roster AND covers a new SIC T-shirt!!
Harvard Business School Investment Club
The mission of the Investment Club is to improve members’ understanding of investment management; to help members develop practical investment skills and test them in the markets; and to create superior access to career opportunities in the investment industry.
The Investment Club brings in a number of speakers throughout the year to discuss their investing experience. This includes analysts & portfolio managers from large mutual fund and hedge fund firms, who discuss everything from valuation to specific stock situations.
The Investment Club runs an annual Investment Club Conference, in which well-known speakers come in to talk alongside panel discussions. This is a great forum for learning about different investment perspectives, and networking with professionals.
The Investment Club runs treks to visit firms both in and out of the Boston area. Previous trips have included treks to Boston, New York, and London. These are a great opportunity to visit fund managers in their own offices.
At Investment Club meetings you will begin to see familiar faces – these are the people who share your interest and passion in investing. We coordinate regular mixers to help in getting to know one another. Eventually, you’ll notice that many of these faces will become friendships, which we aspire to have you carry on with you post your time at HBS.
The Investment Club regularly brings in speakers from well-known firms to get students up to speed on how to get a top job in investment management. The Club also helps pair incoming students with experienced students and EC’s who worked over the summer in investment management. The Investment Club works proactively with HBS Career Services to help bring in firms for both on-campus recruiting and to connect students with advice & assistance for their own networked job searches. We regularly send out emails with opportunities that are not otherwise advertised on the HBS campus. These career-related activities in coordination with one another give Investment Club members a definite advantage in the investment management career search.
The Investment Club runs an annual ‘prestigious’ mock stock portfolio competition. This competition allows students to run a portfolio in a low-risk environment, while also receiving recognition for any outsized gains that they may have. The Investment Club tries to set up winners of this competition will have an honorary meeting with a senior member of a local hedge fund. Information about this competition is sent out during the first semester.
The Alpha Fund is an active stock portfolio run by a large group of students. Meetings usually consist of two or three in-depth stock pitches, during which the group of meeting attendees give input on whether they like the stock or not. A set group of 16 students (8 EC’s, 8 RC’s) which makes up the Investment Committee then takes feedback from the meeting participants to make portfolio allocation decisions. The Alpha Fund has in-depth stock pitches get made on a weekly basis.
Tuck Investment Club, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth
The Tuck Investment Club is an active, student-managed organization that is dedicated to the pursuit of three primary goals:
- Provide a forum for the Tuck community to discuss and learn about investing with the goal of generating increased interest in the industry
- Manage the assets of the Tuck Investment Fund
- Facilitate investment management related career searches
- Our underlying principle is an emphasis on developing independent, creative, and differentiated approaches to investing.
The Club sponsors include Tuck’s faculty, administration, and alumni. Activities include hosting distinguished guest speakers, visiting investors around the U.S., and conducting regular portfolio meetings. The Club also provides considerable recruiting support for students interested in entering the investment business. With significant representation at the top investment management firms, Tuck alumni also provide an invaluable resource for current Tuck students.
