Buy Low Sell High: New Club Teaches Students to Beat the Market

With more than 100 clubs, Charlotte Catholic has an afterschool activity for everyone. One of the new clubs this year is the Finance Club. Founded by sophomores Brody Hertzig and Jacob Amar, the club exposes students to various career paths within the finance industry. It is an excellent opportunity to learn about potential college majors and pre-professional opportunities that can help students successfully launch a career in finance.

The Finance Club meets after school on the first Thursday of every month in Mrs. Moricone’s room. Students participate in finance-related activities during the meeting, including presentations from finance professionals to educate students on specific career paths available to finance majors. 

This month, students had the opportunity to learn from Mr. Bryan Kern, owner and co-founder of KPM Financial, an interest rate swap advisory firm. Mr. Kern shared his experience in starting and running his own business. As a Charlotte Catholic parent and entrepreneur, Mr. Kern’s firsthand insights resonated deeply with students. Sophomore Brody Hertzig shared, “Mr. Kern did an excellent job of explaining finance principles, as well as his job responsibilities in simpler terms. Finance can be a complex subject, but after hearing about his experiences, I better understand what it takes to have a successful career in finance.”

Along with the monthly presentations, students in the Finance Club will participate in hands-on activities designed to increase their financial knowledge. For example, the club plans to participate in a Stock March Madness competition this upcoming Spring. For this activity, students will use a stock market simulator to invest in fake stocks, buying and selling them to accumulate the most points. Brody explains, “This activity will allow students to practice understanding stocks, without the risk of losing real money.”

As the club grows, they would like to consider participating in UPenn’s Wharton Global High School Investment Competition. This competition allows high school students to work in groups of four to seven, guided by their advisor, to practice investing on an online stock market simulator. 

Over the course of ten weeks, students work with a Wharton Graduate to develop a strategy to meet their business’s long term investment goals. The top ten semifinalists move on to the global finals at Wharton School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Brody is excited about the club’s growth in the first few months and hopes to increase Charlotte Catholic’s participation in events like these going forward. For students interested in pursuing finance as a career or learning to invest, the Finance Club is a great way to gain exposure to the field.