Learning to understand and participate in investing is a formidable skill to have in a tight job market. In addition to the existing finance courses offered at NJIT, a new opportunity has emerged in the School of Management: The NJIT Investment Research Team.

Spearheaded by NJIT undergraduate Gil Bento, The Investment Research Team seeks to not only help students participate in a comprehensive investment competition, but also convey specific knowledge in regards to investment analysis. This writer had the opportunity last Friday to speak with Gil about this new group.

Q: What is the purpose of this group?

A: The purpose is to take students who are interested in finance and investment and teach them financial analysis, and encourage them to participate in the New York Society of Security Analysts (N.Y.S.S.A.), which is a professional organization of financial analysts that teaches members about good practices in financial analysis.

They have a public competition held every year called the Investment Research Challenge. Here, students learn to write a financial report and make buy, sell, or hold recommendations on stocks. This coming Fall will be the first time an NJIT team will participate. I want to also further prepare students for financial careers and deepen their knowledge of the financial markets with this group.

As part of this mission, we will have featured speakers on occasion, starting in March. In March, we will have a speaker named Cale Smith, who is the manager of Islamorada Investment Management. He will talk about the concept of value investing, which is an approach pioneered by the late Benjamin Grahm.

Q: How did you initiate this group?

A: I was on the group’s website, and I noticed that NJIT was not on the list of competitors. So I wrote to Brian Stype, the student liaison for N.Y.S.S.A., and I invited him to come and talk about the competition and N.Y.S.S.A. student programs at NJIT. Right now, we are finalizing the details on how we will be participating in the competition, and we will go to the N.Y.S.S.A. HQ this spring to do so.

Q: Where and when does this group convene?

A: Right now, this group meets every Wednesday at 4:00 P.M. in the School of Management (Leir Conference Room). The group is open to both graduate and undergraduate students, regardless of major or field of study. Students should also be aware of new opportunities in the School of Management.

These include the IAC (The Innovation Acceleration Center), where students can learn more about the process of innovation within enterprises, as well as the general process of getting funding. Also, the Student Advisory Board helps find, report, and coordinate issues and problems within the School of Management. More information about all of these opportunities can be obtained by talking to Mary Kate Naatus, the undergraduate academic advisor for the School of Management (Mary.Romano@njit.edu).

Gil Bento can be reached at gpb5@njit.edu for further information.