Students present investment plans to BU

More than 70 students proposed strategies to invest $3,000 into various industries in hopes of raising up to $500,000 that will eventually be reinvested in Boston University last night in the School of Management.

Members of the Finance & Investment Club, run through SMG, presented eight proposals detailing how to invest money in the industries of energy, healthcare, consumer, technology, materials, telecommunications, industrials and financial.

Each five- to 10-member group gave a six-minute PowerPoint presentation to BU officials who will choose the best corporate proposal. The groups plan to use money from the club's investment fund, Dyrect Investing, which was donated by BU community members and SMG alumni to invest in the company with the best student presentation.

"This is the first year that we're going to be investing real money," said Dyrect Investing Chairman Daniel Taylor.

The Finance Club has $3,000 to invest from alumni donations and fundraising, and it plans to invest this money and continue investing over time until the total reaches $500,000. After the goal is met, club members will begin to return the profits of the fund to the BU community, said Taylor, an SMG senior.

President Robert Brown, who spoke before the investment presentations, said the club promotes cooperation between students in different colleges -- it is not composed of solely SMG students.

"Boston University is a great entrepreneurial community," he said. "Students look for an edge in the city in liberal arts and professional degrees."

Fielding questions from the audience and a panel, each group recommended stock investment options for their respective companies.

The panelists, which included Finance Club faculty adviser Scott Stewart and former adviser Jeffrey Heisler, who currently works for Gottex Funds Management, a global investment management group, will choose the top two proposals and split the $3,000 between them.

"Each student analyst was given a ballot to rank each company," said Finance Club President Michael Tobitsch, an SMG senior.

Stewart, who works mostly with graduate students, said he enjoys working with undergraduates in the Finance Club because they are open-minded about changing majors and not pretentious when taking advice.

The Finance Club is completely student-run, and Steward only gives advice when needed, he said.

"I'm a true adviser," he said. "[The students] come up with ideas and proposals. I give them direction."

The student analysts, who have been meeting weekly since the beginning of this semester, planned their presentations by explaining how each company would perform in each industry.

Student analyst Yamen Al-Hajjar, an SMG senior, said he has gained valuable experience working with the Finance Club.

"There are quite a few things [learned in the Finance Club] not taught in typical SMG classes," Al-Hajjar said. "It really gives you added value walking into an interview."

"If I learned anything tonight, it's that I am part of the Baby Boomer generation, and you are trying to make lots of money off of me," said Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore in a speech after the presentations.