The Finance Club, an innovative group of lunchtime investors, appeared on the Naples High campus in the 2024-2025 school year. Co-founders junior Ethan Katz and junior Vanden Sigmond created the club to teach their fellow classmates about the propers ways to handle their money now and into the future.
“I started the finance club with a friend to help students learn how to manage their money properly,” Sigmond said. “We have seen a lot of people who don’t know how to use their money to set up their lives, like college, emergency and eventually retirement funds.”
Various finance related topics are discussed during Finance Club meetings. These topics are crucial in giving members a sufficient foundation to apply their knowledge in years to come.
“We have discussed credit and how banks give, take and loan money,” Katz said. “We have also talked about how that can go wrong and the possible consequences.”
The Finance Club gave the co-founders major insight into the obstacles that may occur when managing a student organization. However, experiencing these issues earlier into the year gave the students leaders an opportunity to flawlessly navigate them.
“I have learned the difficulties involved with managing and running a club, especially trying to communicate plans and changes to schedule with everyone,” Sigmond said.
The co-founders share one common purpose in the creation of the Finance Club. These initiatives pave the way for the bimonthly meetings that Katz and Sigmond thoroughly plan.
“Our main goal [in] starting this club was to give students an outlet to be able to learn about how money works, the best way to use it and general information about certain patterns in markets,” Katz said.
The Finance Club meets the first and third Friday of every month in Room 4-111. Members will have an amazing opportunity to practice financial skills in a creative learning environment.
“At the finance club, we work on skills that are crucial to everyday life from now [to] throughout your life,” Sigmond said. “It is not of a hobby or sport and more for laying a sturdy path for you to follow, with some exercises.”
