The next time you're on a computer in the library, glance over at the screen next to you. Chances are, your neighbor is day trading. The fast paced industry of Datek and Etrade has infiltrated YU to the extent that there are numerous people checking the market, researching hot stocks, or executing lightning fast trades on YU public computers at any given time of the business day.
Day traders seldom hold on to stocks for very long, seeking rather to make money on hourly or daily fluctuations in stock prices. "People don't realize how many highly active traders there are in Yeshiva," says Alan Friedman, president of YC and Stern's Max Investment Club, "the get-rich-quick mentality of the modern investor has taken hold in this University, as it has everywhere else." Friedman is careful to distinguish actual day traders, who buy and sell stock on the same day, from "very active traders," who tend to hold positions for longer periods of time. Both types of investors seek a quick profit instead of a conservative, long-term strategy.
Ilya Rogol, a Sy Syms Junior provides an example of the former. "I trade every day," says Rogol, who achieved a 440 percent return on his investments in a recent mock investment contest. "I do hold positions as well, but I certainly day trade, both in the Belfer computer room and in the library." Rogol estimates that there are three or four other real day traders in YU, while more than 50 students actively trade.
The inherent risk in day trading often garners it unflattering comparisons to gambling. "I would never day trade," says one YC sophomore. "It's too easy to lose a lot of money. I prefer to put my money in for the long haul, since it's much safer."
Even students more partial to active trading suggest extreme caution. "To successfully day trade," opines Friedman, "one needs to have an understanding in so many other investment vehicles, that when you do understand them, you tend to not want to day trade. On that note, I occasionally day trade."
Naftali Nadel, a Sy Syms senior, laughs at the idea of day trading in YU. "To truly day trade," says Nadel, "you need special expensive software to fully take advantage of the price fluctuations. The only place you find this is in a day trading firm, but certainly not on a college campus." Nadel reveals that he plans on working for one such firm after graduation. "My personal involvement in the market is a half-hour of trading and researching per day," continues Nadel. "I'm somewhat of an active trader, but my time is limited due to school, which is why I want to day trade full time." Nadel places the number of active traders in YU at about forty, and says that he used to trade on the 11th floor of Belfer, but has since switched to his room.
Dvir Weinberg, Sy Syms senior, contests Nadel's exclusionary view of day trading. "I consider myself very active," admits Weinberg, who often trades in the library and in Belfer, "and I know it's possible to day trade through a program called Datek Streamer, which gives real time quotes." Weinberg lowers the estimate of active traders in YU to fifteen, with another three bona fide day traders.
So does all of this market watching affect school performance? "Absolutely not," says Weinberg, "I'd never flunk a test or cut a class to trade." What it does do," he continues, "is affect your mindset. If you're making money, you're happy and relaxed, but when you have a bad day, it hurts. You're not in great position to work at full efficiency."
Other students are less exemplary at separating school from trading. "In the morning," says Rogol, who is in JSS, "checking stocks interferes with shiur. In the afternoon, you sometimes need to cut classes. They say YU students have a dual curriculum, and that they have to balance their time, so traders just have a third thing to balance as well." Rogol admits that he occasionally focuses more energy and time on trading than on his studies. "Yes, school is important," he says, "but the market goes on no matter what."