2008 Woodie Awards
Blue Hen investors have stocks soaring
Andrew Marchetta
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: News
The Blue Hen Investment Club, a student organization which manages part of the university's endowment fund on the stock market, and its success are testaments to the ability of students to make sound financial decisions.
Sophomore Alvaro Perez, a member of the club, said he joined the organization as a freshman and participates in many of the club's activities. He said club members use funds from the endowment and invest it in the stock market.
Perez said when the club was first organized, it managed $500,000 of the endowment, but now it manages more than $1.3 million in assets. All decisions concerning the stocks are made entirely by the students, with faculty and staff taking only a secondary role in the process.
"You can learn a lot in the classroom," he said. "But until you get out there - that's when you really master what you're doing."
Jim O'Neill, economics professor and faculty adviser of the club, said the organization began in the mid-90s under the management of Dr. Don Tuglisi, a former professor at the university, who now owns a local business.
The club is divided into several sectors, each of which manages a certain type of business, O'Neill said. No one sector's holdings may encompass more than 20 percent of the total portfolio.
Perez said he is in charge of the Bank of America stock, which is worth slightly less than $10,000.
He said each sector of the club presents an assessment of its stock portfolio twice per semester, with a description of how well each company has been performing in addition to how the sector has been doing. The sector may also propose to invest in companies not represented in the portfolio.
After the presentation, Perez said the club members vote on whether to invest more in the stock or sell some of it. Each sector requires at least two-thirds of the club's vote in order to carry out the proposal.
Senior Pat McManus, the president of the organization, oversees the operations of the club and provides help to the organization's members.
Sophomore Alvaro Perez, a member of the club, said he joined the organization as a freshman and participates in many of the club's activities. He said club members use funds from the endowment and invest it in the stock market.
Perez said when the club was first organized, it managed $500,000 of the endowment, but now it manages more than $1.3 million in assets. All decisions concerning the stocks are made entirely by the students, with faculty and staff taking only a secondary role in the process.
"You can learn a lot in the classroom," he said. "But until you get out there - that's when you really master what you're doing."
Jim O'Neill, economics professor and faculty adviser of the club, said the organization began in the mid-90s under the management of Dr. Don Tuglisi, a former professor at the university, who now owns a local business.
The club is divided into several sectors, each of which manages a certain type of business, O'Neill said. No one sector's holdings may encompass more than 20 percent of the total portfolio.
Perez said he is in charge of the Bank of America stock, which is worth slightly less than $10,000.
He said each sector of the club presents an assessment of its stock portfolio twice per semester, with a description of how well each company has been performing in addition to how the sector has been doing. The sector may also propose to invest in companies not represented in the portfolio.
After the presentation, Perez said the club members vote on whether to invest more in the stock or sell some of it. Each sector requires at least two-thirds of the club's vote in order to carry out the proposal.
Senior Pat McManus, the president of the organization, oversees the operations of the club and provides help to the organization's members.
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