One group of students is bringing Wall Street to the District.
The GW Ramsey Student Investment Fund features a group of graduate students who make investments based on lessons from their finance classes. Nine years after the group launched, the original $1 million investment has more than doubled in size to $2.4 million, thanks to investments across five different industries.
The fund was started by a $1 million donation by then-Board of Trustees Chairman Russ Ramsey in 2005. On Friday, three students from the group presented their methods on how to boost the portfolio’s amount over the years, as part of an Alumni Weekend showcase.
The 14 students who took the investment course last year each had to offer a company that would improve the $2.4 million portfolio. After each student presents, they all vote on which companies they think would strengthen their investment.
Ramsey, who was not at the event, could not be reached for comment. At the event, three students presented their pitches from class.
Students also formed a student group centered around investing, and manage an about $200,000 portfolio. For now, the group is “paper trading,” because that initial investment is made up of committed donations that haven’t been collected yet.
Larry Wang, a student in the class, said he was interested in joining because he wanted to learn about investment management.
“Students get jobs, interviews or internships at Wall Street because of the great experience managing money at GW,” Wang said.
Each student also focuses on a certain industry. Wang, who attended Indiana University as an undergraduate and is now working on a master’s degree in international trade and investment policy at the Elliott School of International Affairs, made his recommendation in the health care industry and recommended that the class invest in the health insurance firm Aetna, a company that offers health insurance to students at GW.
“I didn’t really have too much exposure to [the] stock market before this class,” he said. “I force myself to apply the things I learn to a company analysis.”
David Sentongo, who graduated with a master’s of accountancy from the business school in May and will start working at the consulting and auditing firm Deloitte in the coming weeks, presented Quaker Chemical Corporation, a company that sells machinery cleaners and lubricants. He chose the company because of its strong financial growth.
But Sentongo said the class only invests in companies that the students can really understand. If the nuances of the industry or firm are too complex, they tend to stay away from investing in that company. There are between 30 and 32 companies invested within the portfolio and the contents of the portfolio have remained relatively steady.
“For me, it was fun because I’ve never done anything like it before,” Sentongo said.
Sentongo still participates in the student group that manages about $200,000 of funding and helps out with the executive board of the organization.
Rodney Lake, a finance professor and lecturer who teaches the class and also advises the student group, said since the beginning of the class, his goal has been to let students have the most influence on where the money goes.
“The first objective for this was, ‘Let’s not screw this up,’” he said. “So far, we’ve been able to do that and a little bit better by the way with all the hard work from the students.”
The Ramsey class is only for graduate students, but the University offers another class for undergraduate students to learn investment strategies, which manages about $1.4 million, according to a University website. The class trades its their stocks twice a year.
Linda Livingstone, the dean of the School of Business, said at the event that as her one-year anniversary at GW closes in, she’s identified three goals for the direction of the school – goals that the investment group helps to promote.
“We’re focusing on how we leverage our location here in Washington, D.C. as effectively as we can,” she said. “We are working on how we build and grow our global presence and our global reputation. Then, we’re working on how we build more interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary experiences and opportunities.”
Officials at the business school have announced several global initiatives over the past year, including partnerships with individuals in South Korea and a focus on recruiting students from countries in Latin America.
Jessica Jordano contributed reporting.
