education program

Investment education is the core mission of SWS, and all of our members achieve this by undergoing our comprehensive, semester-long Education Program. As probationary members (or “probies”), potential SWS members spend a full semester learning the the basic framework of investing through two core components: a seminar series followed by an investment project and presentation.

• The ten-week seminar series provides a comprehensive overview of major topics in investing, including personal finance, financial statement analysis, and identifying companies to invest in. Taught by industry professionals and McIntire faculty, probies will attend weekly seminars to gain the skills necessary to research companies and make investment decisions.

• The program culminates in an investment project and presentation, in which small groups of probies apply these concepts to select a company to invest in, compose an investment memo, and pitch a stock to our Executive and Investment Boards. Promising pitches may contribute to our portfolio upon further research by our Research Team and Investment Board.

The Education Program is run in the fall and the spring of every academic year, with roughly 50 to 100 probies participating each semester. Those who successfully complete the program can then become full SWS members by applying to serve as an analyst on our Research Team. The SWS “learning-by-doing” model continues as members conduct in-depth research within in an industry. Through this model, we prepare future women investors by providing a multitude of opportunities to contribute to an active, real-money investment portfolio.

To learn more about getting involved in our Education Program, please see here.