You may know them by their red polos at the Pryz info desk, or as roommates at “The Containers” but what you may not know is that they also run The CUA Investment Club, which began earlier this year and has been doing some big things on campus.
This week’s Campus Celebrities are none other than seniors Eric Robustelli, Matt Conte, Brendan Canning, and Brian Gentoso.
HC: Thanks for meeting with me boys, first off what are all of your majors?
Eric: I am a Finance major.
Matt: Finance
Brendan: Finance
Brian: Marketing
HC: What has been your favorite memory from your four years here at CUA?
Eric: I can’t really say I have one favorite memory at CUA. I have made some great friends over the years and we have had some really good times.
Matt: The 1st annual, and the only, St. Pattys day Opus crawl
Brendan: Yeah I’m with Matt on that one, definitely Opus crawl
Brian: I have too many good memories to just pick one during my time here at CUA. All of the friends I have made here made it possible for each great memory to happen.
HC: So what made you decide to start an Investment Club on campus?
IC: Our friend group just had a general interest in investing. My friends and I really felt that since we have this great new business school, we should have some relevant on-campus organizations. Most established business schools across the country all have an investment club, so we should have one too. We all want to work in investment banking, so we wanted to create a club where we could talk about all the different aspects of the industry.
HC: Tell us a little bit about the club, what exactly do you guys do?
IC: The club meets weekly and we hold group discussions regarding different industries and companies, and the stocks that are relevant to the discussion. We have had presentations from one of our awesome finance professors about how to research and analyze different stocks. Besides talking about investment banking, we try and present different networking techniques and workshops so that members can get ahead in their careers.
HC: With less than a month left here at CUA, what are your hopes for the club after you graduate?
IC: I have high hopes for the Investment Club after we graduate. I would like to see the club receive money to actually start investing in the stock market, but as of right now we’re taking small steps. I would like to see the Investment Club become the most prominent organization on campus, we have set up a solid foundation for growth with our younger members.
HC: You guys have been able to pull in some pretty impressive guest speakers in the past, any upcoming events we should know about?
IC: Actually yes, on April 14th and April 28th we have some awesome guest speakers. I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say who they are, but if you want to see some really great presentations come to Pryz 321 on April 14th and Hannan 108 on April 28th. We are working on bringing in speakers from some pretty big companies.
HC: Wow that sounds exciting! Any advice for newcomers or people like me who have no knowledge about the stock market?
Eric: Well stop by the Investment Club meetings Mondays at 7pm in Pryz 351 to enhance your knowledge.
Matt: Begin while you’re young, this is really important stuff for life.
Brendan: Come to the meetings and start networking.
Brian: When the stock market first sparked my interest six years ago, I had no clue what to look for. I had numerous questions to ask, but no one to ask them to. This is the main reason the Investment Club exists. We exist to answer those questions that a person with no knowledge of the stock market asks. At our weekly meetings, we take time to answer these questions. My advice then would be to come to our meetings and to not be afraid to ask a question. Everyone has to start somewhere.
HC: Great advice! Thanks so much guys and best of luck next year! Everyone be sure to make it out to some of their events this year, and be ready to network!