While athletes are getting big numbers on the scoreboards, and others students are getting big scores on tests, there is a group of Upper Schoolers on campus, the members of the Investment Club, who are making big bucks. In the club, juniors Russell Heller and Rachel Einhorn, and sophomore Brian Schmitt, discuss the ropes of the stock market and then put their conversations to work. In the words of F. Scott Fitzgerald, they have voices full of money. They have great success stories, and they are sharing them in hopes that others will join the club and partake in the occasional “sweet” results of investing.

Russell Heller:

I started investing after my bar mitzvah with some of the money that I was given as gifts. I’m invested in a few companies including Ford, Verizon, Amazon, and eBay. I’m doing pretty well. I have returned about 40% since I started. Fortunately, I have not really had to worry about declines since there haven’t been any real big ones since I started. When some do occur, I just use them as an opportunity to buy more shares of companies that I like, but I’m not buying more now, because the market needs a correction. I get my information from Google Finance. Right now, I don’t really know what I’m going to do with my earnings, because I don’t plan on selling the majority of the stocks I own for another 20 years. In the Investment Club portfolio my best investments have been shorting Tesla Motors and buying 3D systems. While I’ve made some smart choices, I’ve still made regrettable ones as well. It’s a learning process.

Rachel Einhorn:

My interest in investing arose from friends and my dad. I think it’s important to understand what is going on in the world and how it impacts businesses. I’m invested in Nike, Amazon, Kraft and other big name brands that have a wide distribution audience. My investments are doing well, especially because of the holiday season. Of course, there are times of decline, which I handle by reassessing why I invested in the stock and what I think will happen next. I look at the graphs and trends of the market in that certain area and the events going on within that market, company and world. I enjoy being in the Investment Club, because the money is virtual and we run a competition for part of the year and the winner gets a prize (usually baked goods). It’s fun to see what happens when there is not real money being lost. My advice I for other students is to do plenty of research before investing and to have fun, but treat it seriously. It’s nice to talk to others and get their opinions as well.

Brian Schmitt:

After we were assigned a project in fifth grade, I asked my economist grandfather for stock tips and, I’ve stuck with it since. I have the most money in Pharmathene, which manufactures medical defenses against chemical weapons, and White Mountain Titanium, which owns one of the largest titanium mines in the world and is about to start production. My investments are slowly crawling back from a loss I sustained, when I held on to a small pharmaceutical company for too long. Besides fits of cursing, I deal with it by holding on, because I believe these are good companies and know they’ll pop in the future. Last time I sold because of a sharp decline, I missed out on a rebound that would’ve produced a 30% gain. In the end, whatever earnings I make will be reinvested and, hopefully, turned into greater profits. My advice is to not think about trying to time the market. It only works when you have valid, semi-insider information, and that rarely pays dividends. The best thing you can do is buy into a company you believe is good and hold until you see results.

All photos by Angela Mauri.