The idea of meeting at 7am every week on Wednesdays at the Tower does attract quizzical looks from students, reflecting a fusion of exasperation and wonderment. The Global Investment Group (GIG) in Thunderbird led by Dr. F. John Mathis, Professor of Global Economics & Finance is perhaps the only club on campus to come up with the ridiculous concept of meeting at 7am! After all, isn’t one of the benefits of being in business school as a full time student the privilege of being able to sleep in? Do we suspect favoritism towards the morning birds and not the night owls? Is it true that the brain works better in the morning or is this only a myth?
Hold your horses…let’s not get too carried away here. The truth is, the only reason these investors meet so early is simply because the chances of anyone else scheduling a meeting at 7am on campus is almost zero! The early morning slot works best for Dr. Mathis. The organizing committee does not need to go through a hundred emails and spend endless hours finding that free hour in everyone’s schedules. Typical finance people and their obsession with minimizing risk! Now that the secret is revealed, GIG might need to anticipate competition in securing the Tower for their weekly meetings.
The mystery of the 7am meetings has finally been resolved and we can move on to more important matters. The meetings usually kick off with doughnuts and coffee, sugar rush and caffeine boost is an amazing combination in getting everyone excited about the equity market which on its own has not been particularly enticing in recent times. The group discusses recent global economic issues benefiting immensely from Dr. Mathis steering students to think about industries advancing from a recovering economy. The group’s equity portfolio is up on the screen for the team to view where investors critic, provide inputs and actively discuss decisions pertaining to buy, hold or sell stocks. Investors present potential investments by thoroughly analyzing companies from various angles including financial performance, ownership and management, market trends and economic conditions. Democracy prevails where all decisions are made based on votes by all present during the meeting.
Though the name Global Investment Group sounds pretty serious, the meetings are fun with energized investors, lame finance humor and most of all an opportunity to get real life experience in evaluating stocks. So next time you happen to be awake at 7am and have no idea what to do (I would be slightly concerned if you were), swing by the Tower for some doughnuts, coffee and learn about our success story in selling Apple at over $700!