In recent years, investing has become popular among young people, especially students. Younger generations have realized that it would be useful to learn about finance and investing.
The UTEP Finance and Investment Club (FIC) teaches students about how to invest and finance for their future. The club is a student-run investment fund that provides a practical application of investment principles by building and managing individual investment portfolios by engaging in simulations through MarketWatch or Investopedia.
“By joining FIC, you get to learn about investing, stocks, how the market works, and internship opportunities at hedge funds, banks, and wall street,” said Rodolfo De Las Casas, Vice President of FIC. “During meetings we do quick market updates, go over recent news and how it impacts the market, and provide technical analysis on stocks.”
FIC was founded in 2021 by finance majors Estefania Bustillos and Destiny Rodriguez to help students land positions in fields such as investment banking, asset management, sales, trading and other finance careers. The group’s goal is to increase Latinx representation in the financial field.
The executive board of FIC includes Co-Founder/Co-President Estefania Bustillos, Co-President Fernando Pacheco Jr., Vice-President Rodolfo De Las Casas and Treasurer Vidal Guzmán-González. All members of the executive board have extensive knowledge and experience in finance and investment and have had internships at large companies such as Fidelity Investments.
“I wanted students to be more prepared when they do their internships,” Bustillos said. “I want companies to see that we are just as prepared as Ivy league school kids and to give students the opportunity to participate and acquire experience in investing and financing in college.”
Some activities that FIC does include attending weekly training seminars and discussions on the differences between buy vs. sell side careers. They also support opportunities for networking and undergraduate experiences including internships and coaching programs.
In the past the group has met with major companies such as Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity Investments, Polen Capital, Brown Brothers Harriman and Bank of America.
“Ever since I was in high school, I have had an interest in investing,” said Fernando Pacheco Jr., co-president. “Students should join our group because they are going to have to know about financing and investing when they start their careers and have 401k’s. It’s important to know how your money is growing and to learn how to make it grow even more at a constant rate. I feel like joining our club will help them better understand the ins and outs of that.”
Finance and Investment Club meetings are held at 4:15 p.m. every Tuesday in Calc Lab #2 in the College of Business Administration. Everyone is welcome and you do not need to be a business or finance major to join or have previous experience in investing. For more information look up the Finance and Investment club on MineTracker.
Alyson Rodriguez is a staff reporter and may be reached at [email protected]; @alyson_rod1127 on Twitter.
