At 10 years old, currently a sophomore, Matthew Jones, took on a new interest in finances. With a passion for learning, he began reading books, watching videos, and studying all things stocks. This new interest became a growing hobby for him, all the way to the present day when he, alongside sophomore Brayden Winnicki, created Morgan’s newest club, Finance Club which met for the first time February 9th.
“I was talking with Brayden Winnicki, and we both agreed that there wasn’t enough information about stocks, and I had multiple people a day coming up to me asking questions, and that’s when I decided it’d be a good idea to start the club.”
Both leaders have a background in stocks. Jones recalls buying his first stock, Night Food, saying it was affordable for his resources at the time and looked like it would do well in the future. He shared the failures and successes with the purchase. “Nightfood was a big success for me, not because I made a lot of money, but because I learned so much from it. It was my first investment and started my investing journey.”
His stock portfolio continues to grow today. Currently owning around 30 stocks. With years of experience, Jones has added diversity to his folder. Stating that diversity is a key message in finances.
Winnicki has not been involved in stocks as long, but hopes to use his experiences to the advantage of others. “I’ve been probably doing stocks for the past 2 to 3 years. I’ve read a book about stocks called A Random Walk Down Wall Street, and that kind of sparked my interest, and ever since I’ve been reading about stocks, and I’ve been doing paper traders to test different strategies,” said Winnicki.
Winnicki took the first step by talking to Mrs. Hagness, asking if there is a similar club. Winnicki recalls her sharing how students have tried to create a club like this, but failed. The club did not gain enough interest at the time, and it was hard to put the wheels in motion. Hagness then sent him to Morgan’s finance teacher, Mr. Richetelli, hoping to bring this idea to life. “We’ve tried to implement this before. So, when Matt wanted to take the lead on it, and I’d just be a silent partner, and sponsor, or endorse this, I’m like, yeah, whatever. We’ll give it a shot.” Richetelli jumped on the idea, and the three of them quickly began the process.
Jones and Winnicki went around asking for signatures, needing enough signatures to show interest in the club. After receiving the necessary interest, they set their first meeting date, February 9. Having weekly meetings every Friday after school in Mr. Richetelli’s room.
Meetings started off slow, with Jones remembering around 4 kids at the first meeting. The google classroom now has 21 members, with meetings recently having around 15 kids. They have had 5 meetings since starting.
Sophomore Zhen Wu, a member of the club, shared his perspective on the club. “As I get a little older, I’m looking forward to the future of how I’m gonna use my money. And I think this club really enlightens me about my possibilities in the future and how I can use that money.”
Jones and Winnicki are currently teaching members how to maintain a successful stock portfolio. Using a program called MarketWatch, students are given 10,000 digital dollars and have until the end of the school year to increase their money with their investments. Members participate in this program inside and outside of the club’s hours. All members are currently having a positive experience with it. Jones and Winnicki chose this program because of its realistic replication of the market. Following all the trends of the actual market.
Sophomore Kenneth Cameron-Antonucci is currently in the lead. Cameron-Antonucci has expanded his money into over 11,000 dollars.
During club meetings, Jones and Winnicki teach students how the market works and what to look for when purchasing stocks. They also have weekly slideshows giving their members background information on necessary financial skills for their future. Skills such as financial independence and being able to hold money without the urge to spend.
“I want to teach about how to find stocks, what to look for in stocks, and how news and other aspects can affect stock prices. I also want to teach how to just set yourself up for the future with Roth IRAs and other types of investing like that,” shared Jones.
Co-founder Winnicki believes skills like this are essential for students to learn, which is a main factor why he wishes for the expansion of the club. “This is a club that helps students create financial independence and financial literacy in a time where a lot of people don’t have those necessary skills.”
“I don’t have time, and I’m not interested in that.” shared sophomore, Annabelle Jennings. The biggest hurdle being getting their club out and advertising it to a target audience. Not all students are interested and are not aware of the club’s existence.
Both leaders wish for the growth of the club, as attendance is primarily underclassmen males. Both are hoping to use their advanced knowledge to help others with their financial futures. Currently the leaders have been advertising the club by attending Morgan’s 8th grade night, as they hoped for interest from incoming students. They received a few signatures.
As Jones has been in this field for a long time, he hopes to use this club as a segway to continue his financial journey. He spoke to Chris Thompson, a financial advisor from Cromwell. ¨I’d love to be a financial advisor. I met with one [financial advisor] a couple months ago talking about what to look for and like what a financial advisor does. There’s a possible internship, probably next year or senior year, which I’m looking forward to,¨ closed Jones.
