Co-Presidents Nick Sant Foster ’22 and Jack Evans ’22 gave a brief overview of the club’s history and how the club is run today. The Lafayette College Investment club offers students a great opportunity to learn the fundamentals of investing. Since the club’s founding in 1946, our portfolio has grown from $3,000 to over $1,000,000. Whether you have no investment experience but want to learn more or you manage your own portfolio, this club is ideal for anyone interested in finance or business.
The club was founded in 1946 by John H. Tarbell, an assistant professor of economics at Lafayette. It was originally named the Lafayette Student Research Investment Foundation, and the club purchased its first security (stock) in September 1946. By the time Tarbell had retired in 1966, the portfolio had grown to $90,000. Professor Donald Chambers took over in 1992 to help revitalize the club. The club has survived the dot-com bubble, the shock of Sept. 11, 2001, the real estate bubble burst and resulting 2008 Great Recession, and now the COVID-19 pandemic. We now manage a portfolio of over $1,000,000 dollars and continue to educate Lafayette students every Friday.
The club today strives to educate members on the investing process by creating presentations on helpful concepts and investing in real assets. The club organizes trips to Wall Street, brings in informative speakers, and supports various activities to encourage student development. Some of our top performers include Apple, UnitedHealth, Amazon, and Home Depot. We also have recently purchased FedEx, Nvidia, Peloton, and Domino’s
Vice President Ian Lee ’22 and Industrials Analyst Alex Hunter ’24 walked the club through an overview of the stock market. They covered why companies issue stock, the IPO process, and the purpose of stock exchanges. Alex and Ian also described each of the major stock market indices the S&P 500, the DOW, and the NASDAQ.
Finally, Treasurer Nick Tufano ’23, Consumer Spending Analyst Rich Magnus ’22, and Jack Griebel ’22 provided the club with its first market update of the year.