Berry College: Berry Investment Group

Club Constitution

Introduction

Membership is open to any undergraduate student regardless of student classification or major. While it is expected that the core of the club's membership will be students majoring or minoring in business and economics, its not required.

The club recognizes the benefit of involvement of students from a broad cross-section of disciplines and will recruit members accordingly. Allowing freshmen through seniors to participate in the activities will increase the continuity of the group's activities.

Membership fees are $8.00 , but the first two meetings are freebees. The cash is more than made up for with food and knowledge.

Article 1: Name

A very generous Berry College benefactor gave $100,000 in initial funding available for students to invest as a learning experience. With that goal in mind, we, the students of Berry College, established the Berry Investment Group for Students (BIG).

Article 2: Purpose

The purpose of the Berry Investment Group for students shall be to:

Article III: General Guidelines

Section I: Membership

Membership is open to any undergraduate student regardless of the student's classification or major. While it is expected that the core of the club's membership will be students majoring or minoring in business and economics, the club recognizes the benefit of involvement of students from a broad cross-section of disciplines and will recruit members accordingly. Allowing freshmen through seniors to participate in the activities will increase continuity of the group's activities.

Section II: Dues

Dues will be collected each semester and will be recorded by the treasure. Dues will be established by the officers at the beginning of each fall term.

Section III: Meetings

Regular meetings shall be held weekly during the regular academic year unless changed by the officers. Robert's Rules of Order will be observed. In the case of less than 6 members be in attendance, there can be declared by the presiding officer a quorum of no less than 4 students.

Section IV: Elections

Elections of officers shall be held annually at the last meeting before meeting before April 1, and shall be elected by a plurality vote of those members attending. Incoming officers shall be inaugurated at the last regular meeting of each spring semester. Special elections shall be held to fill any vacancy or replace any position in the offices of the group. These elections may be called by the President or Vice-President. A special election may also be called at a regular meeting by a two-thirds vote of the members present.

Section V: Compensation

No member or officer shall be compensated for services rendered to the club. Any properly authorized out-of-pocket expenses on behalf of the Group shall be reimbursed upon presentation of a valid receipt. These payments shall come from the group's student activities account.

Section VI: Amendments

Amendments to the constitution shall be proposed at a regular meeting, to be voted upon the following meeting. The proposition must come from a quorum consisting of no less than 3 students or 2 students and a faculty advisor. Amendments shall be ratified by a two-thirsd majority of attendant members and shall be submitted to Student Life Council. Investment guidelines may only be changed with approval of faculty advisor(s) and the chief financial officer of Berry College.

Article IV: Officers

Section I: President

The president of the Berry Investment Group for Students shall:

Serve a one-year term.

Have a cumulative 2.5 GPA (or higher).

The president's duties shall be to:

Preside over meetings

Serve as an intermediary for the Group when necessary.

Co-sign and authorize expenditures.

Attend (or appoint a liaison to do so) SGA meetings on a regular basis.

Serve as an ex-officio member of any committees.

Plan programs for meetings or appoint a committee to handle this responsibility.

Section II: Vice President

The vice president of the Berry Investment Group for Students shall:

Serve a one-year term.

Have a 2.5 GPA (or higher).

The vice president's duties shall be to:

Preside over meetings in the event that the president is absent.

Assume the office of the president should that officer vacate the position for any reason.

Attend SGA meetings on a regular basis.

Serve as an ex-officio member of any committees.

Section III: Treasurer

The treasurer of the Berry Investment Group for Students shall:

Serve a one-year term.

Have a 2.5 GPA (or higher).

The treasurer's duties shall be to:

Collect dues each semester.

Keep all accounting records in good order.

Update the Group on the status of the Investment Accounts at each meeting.

Research and prepare expenditures to be authorized by the president.

Section IV: Secretary

The secretary of the Berry Investment Group for Students shall:

Serve a one-year term.

Have a 2.5 GPA (or higher).

The secretary's duties shall be to:

Keep accurate minutes of each meeting and distribute copies to each member.

Keep a chronological file of the minutes.

Be responsible for all club correspondence.

Publish and distribute information on the progress of each committee.

Article V: Investment Guidelines

Section I: Stockbroker Agreement

The Group (with approval of the faculty advisors) may select a stockbroker to handle the purchase and/or sale of securities. No securities shall be purchased on margin. All assets are the property of Berry College.

Section II: Investment Portfolio and Diversification

At the first meeting of the fall semester the Group may decide how the diversification of the investment will be handled throughout the year. This will serve as a guideline for investments throughout the spring semester. However, the Group is not restricted to the decisions at the first meeting.

The Group will attempt to keep the funds fully invested in stock at all times, keeping no more than 15% of the funds in corporate or government bonds. Of course, this 15% is only a guideline, and waivers from this guideline will occur, especially in times of an extreme market downturn.

The Group will not be permitted to buy options or futures, and short selling will also not be allowed.

At the end of each spring semester, any balance above the guidelines given in Article VI shall be available to benefit Berry College.

Section III: Investment Selection and Sponsorship

Each potential investment should have a sponsor who has thoroughly researched the opportunity. The sponsor should present the potential investment to the full Group, which will then discuss the investment's merits prior to any vote to include it in the portfolio.

Prior to bringing any potential investment to a vote, a Group member must also agree to be a co-sponsor on the security.

Purchase/sale decisions on stock and bonds are made by a majority of the Group members present.

If the Group membership increases to the point that investment decisions become cumbersome, the President (after consulting the advisors)) can at her/his discretion split the membership up for votes on the portions of the portfolio. A separate subset of students would vote on different investment decisions.

The sponsor and the co-sponsor agree to monitor the investment while it is included in the Group's portfolio and update the Group of any important news. Should a sponsor or co-sponsor step down at some time, the President shall solicit a volunteer or appoint a replacement.

To assure a broad level of participation by members and to keep work loads at a reasonable level, no single member can sponsor more than two holdings at any given time. Government securities and money market mutual funds will not count in this limit. (If a student is sponsoring two securities and one is sold, she/he is free to sponsor another security).

No single member can co-sponsor more than two holdings at any given time. Government securities and money market mutual funds will not count in this limit. (If a student is co-sponsoring two securities and one is sold, she/he is free to co-sponsor another security.) BIG Faculty Advisor(s) maintain veto power, but this would only be used in extreme circumstances.

Section IV: Investment Education

The Group will periodically schedule speakers or presentations relating to investments or business. One resource that may be utilized by the Group is presentations by students enrolled in classes such as Fundamentals of Investments.

Section V: Role of Faculty Advisors

The faculty advisors will serve as resources for students in the operation of the Group. The faculty advisors will not vote on investment options. The faculty advisors will generally not offer opinions on investment alternatives.

Article VI: Spending Investment Gains

Any balance at the end of each period that exceeds its initial balance (balance at the beginning of the period, but no less than $100,000 plus any compound inflation after October 1, 1997) shall be deemed profit. Annual inflation will be calculated using the most recent information availible from the U.S government.

BIG members will vote on how these profits should be used to benefit Berry College. Appropriation of the funds must be approved by the faculty advisor(s) and Berry College administration. The Group members may at their discretion choose to let the balance of the portfolio grow rather than spend the proceeds in the current period.

Ammendment 1 - New Officer Positions

The position of Vice President is to be removed and divided into two Vice President Positions:

Vice President of Education

The Vice President of Education of the Berry Investment Group for Students shall:

Serve a one-year term.

Have a 2.5 GPA (or higher).

The Vice President of Education duties shall be to:

Preside over meetings if the president is absent.

Assume the office of the president should that officer vacate the position for any reason.

Initiate and continue educational programs throughout the year.

Lead bringing speakers from the investment community on Campus.

Serve as an ex-officio member of any committees.

Vice President of Public Relations
The Vice President of Education of the Berry Investment Group for Students shall:

Serve a one-year term.

Have a 2.5 GPA (or higher).
The Vice President of Public Relations duties shall be to:

Work to promote the clubs activities on campus and gain new membership.

Organize community service projects for each semester.

Help foster investment knowledge on campus through programs geared towards fostering a general knowledge of investing.

Attend SGA meetings or appoint a liaison.

The secretary shall have the added duties of:

Coordinate efforts for on-campus recruitment drives.

Record attendance and maintain club’s attendance through weekly emails and by following up with members who have missed consecutive meetings.