New finance group for women

SWS, or Smart Women in Securities, is coming to the University. From its start at Harvard in 2006, SWS quickly expanded into several other Ivy League schools. It seeks to accomplish a number of goals. First and foremost, SWS educates women about investing, as junior members assume the roles of analysts while senior members act as portfolio managers. Additionally, SWS provides networking opportunities to assist them in breaking into Wall Street, a realm traditionally dominated by men from white shoe backgrounds. Women from SWS at Harvard have had valuable opportunities such as meeting legendary investor Warren Buffett, and a number of SWS women have been featured on Jim Cramer’s popular television show Mad Money. The bottom line for the organization is to train a new generation of female investment professionals.

 Inspired by the Women in Investing panel this past fall, which featured women investment professionals in hedge funds, several accomplished students are bringing SWS to the University. Third-year Commerce students Sarah Andrekovich, Rachel Blank and Alexis He, second-year College students Xiaoxiao Lin and Chuhan Wang and third-year College student Solome Tuwafie all felt that there was a need for such a group on Grounds.

Wang explained that the University’s existing finance organizations were not sufficient. She said she “found out by talking to many female members at existing investment clubs on grounds that they were intimidated to voice their opinions during meetings.”

Wang learned about the group after speaking with founder Tracy Britt, who now works for Warren Buffet, and decided that SWS was just what the University needed.

“I confirmed that the model of SWS is exactly what I want, so I decided to introduce SWS to U.Va.,” she said.

Alexis He had similar reasons for wanting to establish an investing club that catered to women. She is currently involved with many investment clubs such as the McIntire Investment Institute and the McIntire Sales and Trading Group. “I found a significant lack of female presence in these clubs,” He said. “I personally never felt uncomfortable just because of my personality and interest, but sometimes that barrier deters people from developing an interest at all.”

Like its counterparts, SWS at the University will educate students about investing by hosting industry professionals. Its first session will be held March 16 at 6 p.m. and feature Rahul Gorawara from Rivanna Capital who will give an introduction to value investing. Later in the month, SWS will feature Michelle Kelner, a current partner of Prince Street Capital Management, March 24 at 7 p.m.. Finally In April, SWS and the McIntire Investment Institute will host a spring investing panel. Confirmed speakers include Bill Richards, a managing director from UBS and Daphne Bradshaw-Mack from Bessemer Trust. They hope to attract still more industry professionals.

Even though SWS founders would like to gain Commerce-Related Organization status, He explains that SWS is open to “the entire student body … even students who have never thought about finance before. The focus of the organization is on education, and our education program will bring different levels of materials that will cater to different levels of knowledge in finance, starting from zero.”

Wang said after introducing SWS to Grounds this spring, educational seminars will begin next fall, while plans for the following spring include establishing an investment fund, creating an executive board, planning a trip to meet with Warren Buffet and a JPMorgan stock pitch competition.

Looking forward, He said she hopes SWS will “reach [McIntire Investment Institute’s] prominence on Grounds and not only send many members to great financial institutions but also reach many more females who weren’t originally interested in finance.”

With dedicated management and an organization whose goals are to educate and network, it is no surprise that SWS so far has a growing following of perspective members.

Harrison’s column runs biweekly Wednesdays. He can be reached at h.freund@cavalierdaily.com.

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