Not all the risky ventures undertaken by Dartmouth students occur in fraternity basements. Some students, like Brian McMillan '08, are trying to use their financial savvy to profit from the stock market.
The Dartmouth Society of Investment and Economics plays host to a range of lectures and informational sessions that provide students with further insight into this popular activity. Some of its members already have stock portfolios.
McMillan started his portfolio this fall after becoming involved in the DSIE.
"[Trading is] something that I've always been interested in," McMillan said. "In the long run I hope to make some money off of it."
Student investors have become a hot topic in the media recently, as Jim Cramer, renowned host of the "MadMoney" television show and "RealMoney" radio show, spoke in his syndicate about using his student loans while he was in college to buy stocks, making great returns on his investments.
"I remember being a college student and law student right here [at Harvard] without any money," Cramer said on a broadcast from the Harvard University campus. "Instead of using my student loans to pay tuition, I put it into stocks to make bigger money."
While Cramer's investments paid off, assistant professor of economics Massimiliano De Santis warned students against investing in the stock market.
"[Trading] is a risky thing, so I disagree with Jim Cramer. I think he was lucky," De Santis said. "It's not easy if you're a full-time student."
Joe Prencipe '09, who invested heavily in the market during his high school years but decided to take a hiatus at the start of college, shared De Santis' caution.
"[Trading] is not something you should do when you're in a lot of stress from your classes," Prencipe said. "Making money takes a lot of time. If I don't put a lot of time on it, I waste money in tuition and lose money in the stock market,"
De Santis especially advised against using student loans to fund investment in the stock market.
"If you make money to pay your tuition, it's the wrong idea. If you have some money and you want to learn about the stock market, and if it's not money you have to count on then you can use it," De Santis said.
McMillan, who said that he has enjoyed his experience playing the market, also agreed that hedging student loans in the market could be too risky.
"Well it's a good idea as long as you're coming out on top and making money. I don't know if I would do it. If I would take that risk," McMillan said.
Prencipe said he knows firsthand of the potential downsides of the stock market.
"My first investment was a disaster mutual fund," he said. "Right before the 2001 bubble my parents and I went to a bank and got some mutual funds. And we lost a lot of money. That sort of got me thinking. What happened here?"
DSIE members seem to be investing in the stock market both for enjoyment and for profit.
"[Investing in the stock market] is something I have fun with but I guess I'm also doing it for a practical reason," McMillan said.
