A IDEA LEADS TO AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH IN FINANCIAL EDUCATION By Beth Lawing
High schools across the country offer stock market simulation games to give students insight into the world of financial investment. At Country Day, students have taken it up a notch with the Buccaneers Investment Group (BIG), which uses real money to make bona fide financial transactions in the stock market. he idea began in 2014 with co-founders Owen Engel ’17 and John Whitley ’17. “As a sophomore, I realized that I wanted to learn even more about money after taking Mr. Brad Touma’s economics class,” recalls John. After learning that Upper School clubs can’t directly solicit funding, John and Owen approached members of the school’s Advancement and Finance Offices for guidance. It was agreed that assets appropriated through the establishment 26
PERSPECTIVES
of a Country Day endowed fund could be a possible avenue. However, first Owen and John had to convince the Board of Trustees. “Owen and I worked hard to get approval for BIG,” remembers John. “At first, the Board was a little skeptical about high school kids running an investment club with actual money on the line. When they saw how prepared we were in thinking through how we would start BIG and perpetuate it, they realized that we had done our homework.” “Fundraising was challenging at first because we did not want to nickeland-dime everyone’s parents,” says John. “That’s about the time our ‘Angel Investor’ appeared.”
Alfred Brand, who sits on the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees, made a substantial gift to the school to help establish the BIG General Endowment Fund. “I wanted to help financially if the students really wanted to get serious about it,” remembers Alfred, an entrepreneur who is a parent to four Country Day graduates and five grandchildren. “It’s important to teach kids how to invest. Country Day is a financially sound institution because the school has received excellent advice in our financial city.” Additionally, four other community members contributed to the BIG General Endowment, allowing the club to get off the ground with $26,500 to invest. At press time, BIG’s portfolio was valued at $37,611, an increase of 42%. All 15 of BIG’s current stock picks have realized gains this year, and the club members appreciate that the timing of their investments has coincided with overall
