It’s not just about growing your money; it’s also about growing your knowledge about the world of investing. The Investment Club shares insight with individuals who are willing to risk their money and gain knowledge about real-economic experiences. It’s a great opportunity to discuss market trends, investment strategies, and financial goals. Most importantly, members can collaborate with others to make the learning process more engaging and enjoyable
The club is run by Personal Finance teacher Paula Fontaine and led by seniors Joe Horgan and Ryan Lania who are eager to led this years meetings and introduce the world of investing to newcomers. “ [I] wait for two students, or a student, to run with the ball [to lead the club],” said Fontaine
The club does an exceptional job at teaching all students, regardless of grade, how to invest and handle their money,as “[The club is a] learning opportunity for everyone involved mostly because everyone is still, we’re all pretty young and we haven’t really invested our own money, Horgan said. So we’re just using it as a chance to learn from everybody’s mistakes.” Mrs. Fontaine believes the club teaches students real life scenarios, like “How money can grow, other than sticking it in the bank account.”
After school on the first Thursday of each month in room 2321 you can find the club taking place. A student does not necessarily need to be a member of the club, one can just show up and participate.
Here, members can learn what works, and doesn’t in the world of investments. “[Members learn] what stocks work well. Which ones don’t. Why [they chose] certain stocks. What companies [they should] be researching,” said Fontaine.
The 2024-2025 school year will mark the fourth year the club has been running. Horgan mentions how here at WHS we have a selection of well-taught business classes. Such as Accounting, Marketing, Entrepreneurship, and Personal finance.
“There’s not one class that targets investments. So this is giving students a good opportunity to learn about the stock market before they potentially end up as an investment banker or any jobs like that in the future.” said Horgan
A typical meeting of the Investment Club has its members playing a simulation stock market game, which will leave members educated on IRA’s, 401K’s, patience and financial literacy.
Students can find out more about the Investment Club through their Instagram – @walpole_investmentclub. Here, students can receive updates on upcoming meetings and learn about the top investor of the week or month. Students can also receive and give out advice regarding investing like how they can improve and what should be done. Ultimately, it’s a community where everyone can be a part of. “Other people who aren’t in the club can sort of feel like they can participate and learn something,” said Fontaine
