By Anagha Kumar

Bryn Mawr’s Owl Investment Group is no ordinary student-run group. It was originally founded in the 1970’s by an anonymous alumna who wanted to see a student-run investment group, one that would teach its members about the world of finance by investing in the stock market. The initial seed-money of $100,000 has been invested and re-invested in different stocks each year—and quite successfully, at that, until recently. Following the stock-market meltdown, OIG has lost $25,000. So how are they going to deal with it?

“Investing during rough market conditions is exciting, nerve-wracking, and a great learning experience all at the same time,” said Fatma Barkus, current OIG president. “Last semester, after selling our financial stocks, there was little other activity in our portfolio. We chose not to invest in new stocks because the market as a whole was and continues to be performing poorly.”

In the beginning of the semester OIG opted to staying put because the stocks were (and still are) more volatile than usual due to the uncertain economy. However after witnessing historical circumstances such as the transformation of remaining investment banks into commercial banks and negatively accelerating financial stock prices, OIG decided it was time to sell the financial stocks they owned, including Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. It proved to be a smart move. When OIG sold these stocks on September 18, 2008 (four days before investment banks turned into traditional ones) the Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan stocks sold at around $108 and $40 dollars respectively. Their trading prices today are at roughly $80 and $19.5.

Though Barkus emphasized caution, the club’s portfolio manager Rochi Khemka was quick to add that the new market does not mean OIG will hold their activities back. “Since our goal is to learn and apply investing skills in a pressure-free atmosphere, this semester we have decided to become more risky and to invest money regularly, regardless of market conditions.”

In the past few weeks, OIG has been discussing how it can diversify the investments in its portfolio. They have been focusing on the performance of different industry groups,voting on which stocks they should buy and determining if and which of their current stocks they should sell. Their strategy so far has been to buy stock in companies that are growing faster than most of their peers. Other “recession-proof” industries have also come under consideration, such as low-end consumer goods. In fact, most of the last meeting was spent comparing Walmart and Target.

Yet just like everyone else, OIG has been forced to make the proverbial “budget cuts”. OIG usually gives back the profit it makes on investments to the Bryn Mawr College community through club donations. This year, however, they have had to be a lot more measured in what money they can give.

To help OIG become more efficient and able to weather a financial crisis like this one, the club has held five guest speakers last semester, speaking on such varied topics as the fundamentals of investing, hedge funds, and the recruiting/application process for investment banks and financial services.

OIG also facilitated a field trip to Pershing Square Capital Management in New York City to participate in a Women in Hedge Funds luncheon with Bryn Mawr alumnae Alexandra Kaufmann and her colleagues, and organized last semester’s Women in Finance Career Panel.

“Investment clubs, such as OIG, are a great way to learn about investing while having the confidence of knowing that you do not have to go at it alone,” said Barkus. “Teamwork is key in how OIG functions.” She explained that members are encouraged to participate as much as they can in suggesting new stocks or presenting investment-related information they encounter, for instance, something they might see in the newspaper, with the group.

Despite the looming economic threats, Khemka agreed with optimism. “Our goal is to come together to learn about investing, and become successful investors through our experience investing using the OIG portfolio,” she said.

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