Diverse perspectives of Jenny Investment Club members help boost portfolio to new heights

Investments of the Jenny Investment Club at The College of Wooster recently reached more than $12 million and ranked in the top 20 college investment clubs in the nation. The club’s successful strategies also earned its members fourth place in an international poster presentation competition at the Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium in Chicago.

The club, one of the oldest in the U.S., was established as a faculty advised student organization at the College in 1955 by Hans H. Jenny and other members of the Economics Department and later named for the professor to honor his work with the organization. During its almost 70-year existence, the club has grown the portfolio from the initial $800 investment to a current value of $12.3 million. “We placed fourth in the poster presentation; however, our portfolio had the best performance compared to all other investment clubs at the conference,” said Jenny Investment Club President RM Shahriar Hoque ’25. “Earning the honorable mention was a great achievement for our club.”

The poster presentation included the club’s history, membership distribution, and performance from the last few years. A graphical representation of the club’s Sharpe Ratio, which compares the return of an investment with its risk, showcased the club’s consistency in outperforming the benchmarks.

Jenny Investment Club, represented by Club President RM Shahriar Hoque ’25 Hoque (second from right), and fellow officers, Rayan Dos Passos ’25, Alan Musabeyezu, ’25, and Ben Van Horssen ’25, received fourth place and an honorable mention in an international poster presentation competition at the Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium in Chicago.

Attending the conference provided important networking opportunities for the students from career prospects to learning about different investment strategies used in portfolio management. “The conference also provided an opportunity to represent The College of Wooster and the Hans H. Jenny Investment Club on a national level with other universities,” Hoque said. “I think ours is one of the most unique student-managed investment funds in the country.”

The club is proud that its successful investments also benefit Wooster students. Each year a percentage of the investment earnings are allocated for international student scholarships. Over the last four years, the fund has provided $165,750 for scholarships, said Huiting Tian, assistant professor of economics and the club’s faculty advisor.

Each week, students gather to discuss the latest market performance and global issues. They also deliver presentations on market analysis and propose buying or selling strategies for stocks of interest, Tian explained. Student officers often make a performance presentation in the spring to the investment committee of the Wooster Board of Trustees.

Don Kohn ’64, former vice-chair of the Federal Reserve and Wooster emeritus trustee who serves on the resource committee of the Board of Trustees, said the Jenny Investment Club has performed well over the years. “The Wooster Endowment Fund has allocated money to approximately 30 firms to invest in various markets. I think the Jenny Investment Club has beat all of the professionals almost every year,” Kohn said, suggesting it may be the membership of the club that helps them to invest strategically. “You don’t have to be an economics major to be in the club. Maybe it’s this diversity of views found in the liberal arts students at Wooster. They offer more perspective on, ‘Is this company going to thrive? What are the issues facing the industry that it’s operating in?’” Tian, too, noted that the club welcomes any student, regardless of their major, nationality, gender, and other personal identities, to join at any time.

The diversity is apparent in the current slate of officers. Club President Hoque, from Bangladesh, is a computer science major with a concentration in the entrepreneurship pathway. Other officers include Rayan Dos Passos ’25, a global and international studies major from Brazil; Alan Musabeyezu, ’25, from the Republic of Rwanda, an economics major; and Ben Van Horssen ’25, from the United States, a data science and English major.

“During my tenure as President of JIC, we managed to increase membership and engagement in the club and diversify our members across various backgrounds and majors. Our portfolio increased by almost 30.5% over the last year, beating our benchmark with our portfolio returns,” Hoque said.

“This supportive environment of the club meetings fosters collaboration, idea exchange, and the academic and personal development of its members,” Tian said. “During the weekly meetings, achievements such as securing internships or job offers are celebrated collectively as well.”

Jenny Investment Club President RM Shahriar Hoque ’25 Hoque (center), and fellow officers, Alan Musabeyezu ’25 (left) and Rayan Dos Passos ’25 (right) attended the Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium in Chicago.

Posted in News on April 23, 2024.