SEBA Students Launch Responsible Investing Club

This October, Saint Mary’s students will get an opportunity to learn the ins and outs of responsible investing, from a distinctly Lasallian perspective. Using actual investment capital, members of Saint Mary’s new Investment Group, which is open to all SMC undergraduate and graduate students, will gain real-world experience in investing while focusing on responsible business practices.

While investment clubs can be found on college campuses across the nation, the Responsible Investment Fund at Saint Mary’s will utilize $125,000 of initial funds, donated by SEBA supporters, to teach students to be concerned with much more than monetary returns.

“The Responsible Investment Fund is established to enhance student’s financial literacy and investment capabilities while promoting social responsibility through investment,” said Zhan Li, Dean of School of Economics and Business Administration. “It will positively impact student’s learning experience at Saint Mary’s.”

“We’ll be looking at a number of factors before we decide to invest,” said Simon Tryzna, one of the main actors in launching the club. “Criteria like corporate governance, environmental impact, and a company’s ethical treatment of employees will all be factors that we’ll consider before making an investment.”

Though the term “responsible investing” provides a bit of a moving target for the students—what companies are worthy? Which ones fall just short?—the students will not be without guidance. Accompanying the October launch of the Responsible Investment Fund will be a panel on responsible investing, organized by SMC’s Elfenworks Center for Responsible Business.

Professor Jim Hawley, who will be participating in the panel discussion, was enthusiastic about the aims of the Fund. “Not only will it give the students involved an opportunity to learn what they don’t already know about investing, but they will get to set their own standards and practices,” said Hawley. “The direction that this club goes in is entirely up the students.”

Student participation is going to be vital to the success of the club. Under the initial guidelines, students are expected to do independent research on a potential investment and then present their research to the rest of the Investment Group. Students will then vote on which companies they will invest in, as well as how much they want to invest, and how long to maintain the investment.

“We’re the ones who will be doing the homework,” said Tryzna. “We have to research and evaluate each company ourselves.”

To complement the insights gained from the initial panel discussion, the investment club will sponsor lectures featuring Saint Mary’s alums on topics such as best business practices, environmental impact, and corporate social responsibility. Not only will this provide students with valuable insights from experts in the field, it also will allow them to network and make connections with fellow Gaels.

Tryzna emphasized that while this club is initiated at SEBA, membership is not limited to business students.

“This club is open to any undergraduate or graduate student that wants to be a part of it,” said Tryzna. “Investing is something that most students will participate in eventually, regardless of what they got their degree in. This club will help make students from across campus be more investment literate.”