The Williston Investment Club has started up again for its second year on campus helping students get their finances in check. The group is on track to produce future billionaires with the returns it saw in last year’s stock market competition.
The club’s goal is to teach as many Williston students how to invest in the stock market successfully. Seventy-five people signed up for the club at the Club Fair on Sept. 22.
Through simulated trading platforms and contests, the club hopes to get members excited about business and investing. No experience is necessary; the club will host information sessions on the basics of investing and portfolio management. The club believes investing is a key skill that everyone should have in life, as it can help build wealth and allow for future prosperity.
Starting in the year of Covid, the Investment Club held all meetings online. During meetings, the club discussed market trends, investment theses, and our simulated investing competition. In the club’s first year we held a year long competition to see who could produce the largest gain.
[Editor’s Note: Austin Conroy, the author of this article, is the President of the Investment Club; Vice-President is Adam Shatz ’23.]
The ’20-’21 winner was Shirley Shi, a sophomore at the time, who boasted a 100+ percent gain on $100,000.00. Coming in second was freshman Joe Zhou, with an impressive 99 percent return.
This year the club plans to hold monthly competitions. Students with the largest gains at the end of the month will win gift cards to Dunkin’ and Amazon.
Zach Pincus ’24, an Investment Club member, has gained a lot from the club’s discussions and community of passionate students.
“I have learned to be a better decision maker by having to evaluate a company with a very analytical view to decide on it, this also has grown my financial literacy,” Zach said. “These skills will definitely help me in college and beyond.”
It’s important that the members grasp the financial lessons the club teaches them, because “research has shown that [a] finance education … at the high school level do[es] correlate with improved credit scores, reduced delinquency rates, reduced payday borrowing, and reduced non-student debt,” according to Complex.
Most of our club members find the most value in the simulated trading competitions the club holds. Members are able to trade real stocks with $100,000.00 in paper money. No actual currency is exchanged in the club.
Eighth grader Luke Green thought the competition was the perfect way for students of all experience levels to learn more about investing.
“The competition last year was extremely well done. [The $100,000] allowed us to diversify and create an ideal portfolio which we may not have been able to do with less money or a small amount of real money for that matter,” Luke said.
“The competition last year was also [very competitive] throughout the year, making it exciting for all the members of the Williston investment club,” Luke added.
The main driver of student’s interest in investing and the competitions is the competitiveness. “I like investing because it’s … a game. Choosing to buy or sell a stock requires you to do research and really get to know the company, and it’s a lot of fun,” Zach said.