Exeter Investment Association

The terms portfolio, bear market, technical analysis and dividend: you used to hear them every day on your parents’ TV, but what do they mean and how are they applicable? Exeter Investment Association (EIA) seeks to broaden students’ understanding of the often intimidating investment world in a friendly and supportive environment. EIA allows students to explore the world of stocks and bonds and teaches them how to use the stock market to their advantage.Led by seniors Jay Lee and Alex Cantave and uppers Hiro Kuwana and Spencer Burleigh, the club meets once a week during Faculty Meetings. The meetings are open to anyone interested no matter their skill or previous knowledge and prospective members are encouraged to join.Lower Timur Luke explained how easy EIA makes it to immerse yourself in the world of economics. “Anyone of any skill level can come. We discuss what it means to invest, general financial terms and what you need to know to better educate yourself in the financial marketplace. Not only does that give us a better understanding of investing, but a better understanding of news and the world. We have a few very skilled participants; we have an advisor who works in the financial office of the school who answers our questions.”During these meetings, the co-heads, members and speakers explain investment concepts and evaluate companies. They also review current and trending economic events and evaluate how they affect the stock market. As Kuwana explained, “We talk about the general concepts. We draw charts on the board to make some of the more abstract ideas easier to understand, and we all share our ideas. It’s like a large Harkness discussion.”EIA not only serves to educate, but also to provide practical investment experience for its members. “Our club is working on engaging our club members in more real world contexts,” Burleigh said. “Our advisor is speaking about the school's endowment and how it's managed. We're also currently running a stock market game that members can test their strategies in the real world.”In combination with their discussions, EIA also works with an investment simulator on www.investopedia.com. This simulator records stock market statistics in real time and applies it to their investments. In their “long term investment game” club members are given $1,000,000 in the game and are only allowed a limited number of trades in order to encourage “safe buys.”Upper Pranay Vemulamada, a two-year club member, said, “The simulator, and being able to invest money without consequences betters my understanding of the stock market. ”Senior Luis Verdi agreed. "The investment game has helped to further spark my interest in the club. I felt like it was an extremely valuable experience overall."The co-heads are looking to bring in speakers to further expose the club members to the nuances and intricacies of investing stock.Kuwana shared some of the club’s long term goals. “Some big plans we have are a long game competition, where we invest in stocks and see who can win the most money in a year. Also, some notable things we have done in the past is to get people, like alumni, or any financial connection to come  and speak with us. One person was Magnus Böcker, the CEO of the Singaporean stock exchange, David Goel, a hedge fund manager and we are thinking of getting other people too in the coming future.”He went on to explain how he believes the club can benefit anyone considering a future in investment, “It is important to have a grasp of the stock market at any age, and to be able to have a better shot finding companies that seem too good to be true. Also, the mentality of the stock market is very important to understand.”