On paper, it’s just another student organization with countless professional speakers, trips to companies in the city and group projects. The list of perks—and challenges—offered by Smart Woman Securities (SWS) echoes any of its fellow business societies at first glance. But look a little harder, and you might find that this new Gabelli club has definitely brought sexy back to finance.
Though SWS suffered its fair share of setbacks to become an official club at Fordham, the proof for its relevance is in the numbers: ninety percent of all women will be the sole financial decision maker for their households at some point in their lives. And although men outnumber women in the financial industry, studies have shown that women are actually more interested in learning about investment strategies than men are . . . and women own more of the United States’ private wealth. Amidst this rapidly changing (and increasingly female-dominated) economy, Fordham’s Smart Woman Securities chapter has set out to teach women whatthey’ve always wanted to know about investing, the world of finance, and careers in business.
Even if all you need is to learn more about your credit card, balance your check book, or convince your dad that you can stick to a budget (at least for a little while…), Smart Woman Securities has upcoming seminars—free of investment banker jargon—that will do the trick.
And if investment bankers and market analysts are your cup of tea, then the club’s national partnership (and mentor opportunities) with J.P. Morgan will have you swooning. In fact, some of the club’s founders even got their jobs at J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs through their connections within the SWS network. The network currently includes Boston College and most of the Ivy Leagues. From pitching stocks to learning portfolio techniques, the past few months have been jam-packed ones for the women and men of SWS.
Though women are the club’s obvious focus, men are more than welcome to soak in the learning opportunities—and, let’s face it, the very favorable girl-guy ratio—that SWS events have to offer. And this semester should prove busy for the group: a personal finance seminar (co-sponsored by Fashion for Philanthropy), Women in Leadership Day, and Banking/Sales & Trade panel discussion are all in the works. For the latest info on this fast-growing movement on campus, an official SWS info session will be held this Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 5 pm in Keating 312.