Over the past almost thirty years, Boston College’s Investment Club has managed to amass $270,000 through their investments in the stock market. How exactly has this group of students accomplished such success? An interview with James Cullen, CSOM senior and vice president of the club, and Kevin Kelly, A&S sophomore, provided me with more financial advice than I have ever received in my life, despite my father’s best attempts.

Founded back in the early 1980s, the Investment Club started with fifteen thousand dollars, donated by a student’s father. The club began trading in the fall of 1983, using Merrill Lynch as a broker, from the club’s history on their website. In the almost thirty years since the club’s conception, the group has expanded their portfolio to $270,000.

Today, the Investment Club meets once a week and hears presentations. One group member illustrates the pros of either buying or selling a certain stock, and then the entire group votes the stock in or out. For this reason, it is very difficult for the club to make many decisions in a short amount of time. Usually, there are three or four stocks voted on per meeting.

Obviously, times have changed since the 1980s, and with it, the perspective from which people view the stock market. The Investment Club has kept up with these changes. Comparing the differences from just five years ago, Cullen says “In 2004, you didn’t have to be as focused on the big picture.” Now, when focusing on the big picture is the only way to stay afloat in the current economy, the Investment Club has adjusted their strategies.

The club has moved to a “top down” approach. They now look to broad ideas, considering the big picture before looking at any specific stock. The club holds stock in several banks, knowing that banks tend to do well as long as the stock market is fairly stable. Such safety measures give the club constancy, allowing them to avoid the losses of any one specific company.

In the aftermath of the economic crisis that headlined newspapers for months in 2008, the club did suffer some losses. However, in 2008, they lost less than the market overall, and in 2009, they beat the market by 3.5 percent.

These numbers were mostly due to the club’s financially savvy decisions; still, as Kelly points out, “We owned good companies, but it was a bad time to own them. You could own the best company in the world, but if they’re selling bricks to contractors in Arizona, it’s not going to matter.” For this reason, the club has benefited from veering away from a “bottom up” strategy, which decides to purchase shares in an individual company based on its merits.

Not only does the Investment Club provide invaluable experience for anyone who wishes to distinguish themselves in the financial world, but it benefits members in public speaking and the making of presentations.

Because of its existence, hundreds of Boston College students have left campus with real experience in the stock market, and a depth of knowledge about the workings of the economy. Cullen summed up the club very well, “We’ve done well [financially], and we’ve taught people about the market as well.”

When it comes time for job hunting, the Investment Club provides an essential leg-up in the financial world: real life experience and proof of true interest in the economy.

The Investment Club shows potential employers that the perspective applicant not only has a real interest in the stock market, but has an understanding of the principals of the economy which can only be obtained through experience.

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