The Investment Club, formed in the spring 2012 semester,  was recognized by the University as an official club this semester. 

Unlike other clubs, the Investment Club allows its members to compete against one another and invest “money” to see who can make the most out of their investments. 

“The whole idea is the competition. Everyone gets $100,000 to invest,” said Vice President Mark Nassen. 

The money that they use in the club is not real. With few opportunities on campus to be involved in investment-type areas, Nassen said the club is a great way to learn more and do some self-study. Members can use the free service and there is no real money at risk. 

The club adviser, Zhiguang Wang described the club as “growing.” He said that since SDSU does not have a finance program for students, the club is a good idea. It covers all student interest in investment and finance in general. 

Wang said President Chicoine has helped with the club and continues to seek donations and potential donors for the club. Wang said one of the goals down the road is to get real money to use. 

The club meets every other Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in their “trading room,” which is located on the first floor of Scobey Hall, room 126. 

This room in Scobey is just phase one. Blake Foster, president of the Investment Club, said the club is “up and coming” and hopes that in a year or two they can have a full-fledged trading room. 

“It’s awesome. I’ve learned how to invest. It’s interesting seeing what other people do and how they do it,” said Matt Wittrock, junior economics major. 

The club is mostly made up of economics majors, but is open to all majors. The club’s size started around 30 people said Foster. After a few meetings, the numbers began to dwindle. 

“We had a lot of people initially, but the numbers declined … some people lose a lot of money and they leave the club,” Foster said.

After a few months, they reward the top three members who earned the most from investments with cash prizes. First place gets $100, second place $50 and third place receives $25. 

Aside from the investing competition, the club will also bring in speakers to talk to the students about investments and other related subjects. Recently, on Feb. 27, the club had Mary Ryan, a speaker from TD Ameritrade talk to the club. 

TD Ameritrade works as an online broker for long-term investors. The company provides investing and trading services for around six million clients. 

Ryan discussed with the club the principles of investing, how to pick stocks, when a good time to pick stocks would be, and much more. She quoted Peter Lynch, American businessman and stock investor, “Invest in what you know.” 

Club dues are $10 for the year or $5 per semester.