A power lunch with Warren Buffett recently sold for $620,100 in an eBay auction to benefit charity. Three students from the University of Colorado at Boulder聮s Leeds School of Business are among a group of 40 students who will meet with the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chairman and chief executive officer this month for a much lower cost: free.
Leeds School students Jon Brachle, Lauren Carter and Charles Robertson will meet with Buffett on July 28 as members of Global Platinum Securities, a student-run investment club dedicated to teaching the principles of investing and fundamental analysis, as well as other aspects of the business world.
聯We know that this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and we are grateful for the opportunity,聰 Brachle said of the meeting, and all three were impressed at the approachability of the man known as the Oracle of Omaha for his investing prowess.
Two members of GPS from other universities wrote to Buffett asking for a meeting. A response came a week later offering one of a very few openings in Buffett聮s schedule.
Members of GPS will attend with some flying in from as far as Belgium and China for the meeting. The students will approach the meeting armed with the investing experience the investment fund provides.
聯GPS teaches students how to effectively search for companies and evaluate them,聰 Carter explained. 聯We learn to use methods, such as stock screeners, to locate companies of interest.聰
Added Robertson, 聯It聮s similar to job experience. GPS gives us a major boost. We get exposure to all different (investment) sectors.聰
Brachle is a senior majoring in finance, Carter is a junior majoring in finance and Robertson is a junior majoring in finance and history.
GPS has groups of six or seven students that analyze the various sectors represented in the Standard and Poors 500 index. The $200,000 managed by GPS comes from investments by the students and mentors who have close ties to a member of GPS.
A two-year-old organization that is rapidly growing, GPS聮s diverse body includes students from Harvard, MIT, New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown University, Stanford University, the University of California at Santa Barbara and the London School of Economics as well as the CU-Boulder Leeds School.
Find more information on the Leeds School of Business and GPS at leeds.colorado.edu and .