Investing $100,000 in the stock market is now a possibility with the Canes Investing Association (CIA).
CIA is a student organization that provides all students, regardless of year or major, a knowledge of investing. The club conducted a fantasy portfolio competition last year in which members were given $100,000 in fake money to invest in a stock market that mirrored Wall Street.
Jaime Segovia-Perdiguero, a member of CIA, is positive that the club plans to enter the competition again after its first meeting held Tuesday. The competition can be found at WallStreetSurvivor.com.
“[Last year’s competition] increased my interest and personal involvement [in investing],” he said. “And since then, I’ve found myself taking more time to read news articles and attend speaker events so that I could maximize my virtual portfolio.”
From Tuesday until the end of the fall semester, students will be able to buy and sell stocks with their fantasy money. By the end of the semester, the three club members with the highest valued portfolios win gift card prizes.
Segovia-Perdiguero also joined CIA because of its connection to industry professionals and the opportunities to prepare club-initiated projects.
“It is definitely one of my favorite clubs on campus … not only did I get the chance to hear new perspectives from my peers, but I also discovered a new hands-on way to participate in the financial world,” he said.
Last year, the club hosted speakers such as Patrick Manning, a former managing director at JP Morgan, who shared his stories about working on Wall Street and Justin Latorre, vice president of wealth management for RCM Asset Management, who presented a series on options trading.
“These speakers inspired us to start a project in which we will find a corporation to invest in as a team and individually,” said Guangxi Bai, president and chief operating officer (CEO) of CIA.
CIA members are also involved in reaching out to professors, local business leaders and managers at their own workplaces to come and speak to the group. Zachary Kirisits, communications chair for CIA, said there are plenty of chances to network.
“These professionals are more than excited to come speak to students,” he said. “Speakers will take many questions throughout their presentations and will even talk personally with students at the conclusion of meetings. We have been nothing but satisfied with the guest speakers that have attended our club meetings.”
More than 250 students expressed interest at CanesFest and the Business Student Organization Fair held at the School of Business during Orientation in August.
Board members emphasize that the club is open to all students and not just finance majors. The only prerequisite is that interested members have a genuine interest in investing or learning about the stock market.
“We told students at CanesFest that if you plan on making money one day, you ought to know the basics of investing … if you don’t care about investing now, you will in the future, so why not begin educating yourself today,” Kirisits said. “Investing in the markets benefit people of all professions. So we suppose that most students should be interested in investing for a variety of reasons, but they generally are not.”
Kirisits claimed that a poll conducted on American high school seniors 15 years ago found that about two-thirds of students did not know that the stock market brings people who want to buy stocks together with those who want to sell them.
“It is critical that our generation begins to learn at a young age how to best invest their money so that we can better avoid financial troubles down the road,” he said.
Segovia-Perdiguero finds that CIA should continue to spread awareness about the practical importance of finance.
“I think this club does a really good job at spreading awareness and interest in the importance and fun in investing,” he said. “Instead of learning through routine classroom lectures, CIA is a way we can learn about the financial industry in an entertaining and self-motivated way.”
For more information on CIA, email canesinvesting@yahoo.com, visit facebook.com/UMCanesInvestingAssociation or the club’s LinkedIn page linkd.in/1b1FiHe.