Young Investors Club Invests In Stocks With Real Money, Lessons Learned

As a teacher, I've had the opportunity to be part of The Stock Market Game, a stock market investing simulation pitting same grade level teams against each other for ultimate bragging rights.  Each team gets the same amount of virtual money at the start, and they decide which stocks to buy and sell throughout the duration of the tournament.  The team with the most realized gains at the end, wins.  It's an exciting and great way to learn, with no true risks involved.

I never imagined finding a group of teenagers investing real money in the market and conducting themselves like an active fund, but that I did just recently.  And I have them here for you today! Enjoy!

Hi!  My name is Warren Weissbluth, and I am the current President of Young Investors Club (YGN).  Young Investors Club is an investment club where each participant invests real money in the stock market, and democratically decides how to go about investing.  The club's mission statement is, "To educate young adults about investing in the stock market."  We want to give our participants the tools to make informed investing decisions on stocks as well as to increase the financial literacy of our members.

YGN's History

Back in 2016, Jack Rosenthal founded YGN, noticing a lack of opportunities for teens to learn about investing, and get hands-on experience.  In order to develop something of value, Jack persuaded both Gersteinfisher and Young Presidents Organization (YPO) to sponsor an investing club for teens.  Jack focused on growing and promoting the club in order to increase the size of the portfolio and number of members.  Less than two years later, the club had expanded across the nation, gaining more than 40+ new members.  Today, the club has more than 90 members across the U.S.

I joined in 2017, and worked closely with Jack to develop a more interactive and educational agenda at the club.  By my sophomore year of high school, I was promoted to Chief Operating Officer.  Mid-way through my junior year, Jack resigned (he went off to college), and I became the club's President.

As President, I focused on the club's stability.  Between a myriad of issues, including accounting and legal accountability, as well as a lack of education and engagement, the club had lots of room for improvement.  At the start of 2020, a YPO parent, Yaniv Blumfeld, and I worked hard to restructure the club and help fulfill the club's mission.

For several weeks, we worked together to create a governance document, stating clearly in writing the inner workings of the club.  To improve transparency, we also wrote down how the club manages its portfolio of over $100 thousand dollars.  We created a management system, found a more experienced Board of Directors, and outlined everyone's responsibilities.  Finally, we developed an election process, and determined term limits on all club positions.

With more organized tasks such as club emails, calendars, websites, and holding reports, things could be effectively executed through the delegation process.  This transition breathed new life into the club, and sparked engagement.  Our regular communications now include Google Meets voice chats, full record of all decisions posted on the website, voting forms for all participants (even if they can't make the call), and thoughtful research reports on our investments.  The club has never been more engaging and exciting to be a part of!

Why Teens Need Financial Education

The skills one learns from financial education can help teens avoid blunders later in life.  Whether it be credit card debt, one's credit score, retirement, savings, and investing, there are many facets to adult life that are not inherent to young people.  While YGN only intends to educate on a portion of these goals, we hope that an early introduction into the world of finance will kick-start an interest in money management.  Similarly, being exposed to the marketplace as a young person can give valuable insight toward the way things are valued, and the nature of investments.

As President, I hope all members will be able to walk away from the club knowing that they have learned something useful to take forward as they head to college.

Joining or Replicating

YPO continues its sponsorship of the Young Investors Club.  As a result, the club is limited to YPO members and their children.  If you are part of YPO, please check out our website or reach out to younginvestorsclubllc@gmail.com for more information.  If you are not a YPO member, here is the link to join. 

Additionally, if you would like to learn more about starting your own local club, I am happy to provide guidance and insight!  It would be my pleasure to help anyone aspiring to build their own investing club.  Reach out to me if you have any questions!

Sincerely,

Warren Weissbluth