Meet the New Investment Team Board!

The Risk Investment Team of the University of Groningen was established in 2007 in order to help motivated students of the University of Groningen to further develop their knowledge and skills regarding investments in the financial markets. The team currently consists of two sub-teams which are team Alpha and team Beta. The Beta team is where you will start your investment career and learn the basics of fundamental and technical analysis. The Alpha team is where you will deepen your knowledge about the financial markets and analysis. The Alpha team also promotes more in-house days to give the members more exposure to what their future career may look like.

With a joint investment capital of more than €20.000 we are able to manage a diversified portfolio of equities, derivatives and other financial instruments. The primary goal of the Investment Team is to increase understanding of investing and financial instruments. Each meeting contains a macroeconomic update and an educative element to increase knowledge of our team members. The secondary goal is to maximize investment return by anticipating new market developments.

T’Jay - Chairman of the board 

Hi there! My name is T’Jay Farro and I am originally from the sunny island of Aruba. I’m currently the Chairman of team Alpha and also the Chairman of the Board. During my bachelor years studying Business Economics, I have always been very much interested in the financial markets. I was a member of the ISCUA investment club from the University of Aruba which had a joint investment capital of over $45k. Always chasing the best opportunities available I found myself doing a minor in International Finance in the financial center of Europe, Frankfurt. Next to that I also did my internship in the Finance department of Johnson & Johnson in Cape Town, South Africa. 

After completing my bachelor thesis which was in private equity I went to work in financial auditing and then management consultancy where I had the chance to practice and develop my knowledge that I acquired during university days. After working 2 years at one of the Big 5’s I decided it was time to deepen my knowledge and chase a Master’s degree in Finance. 

I definitely encourage anyone looking to find out more about us to please don’t hesitate and contact us, maybe we can grab a coffee somewhere and explain more about what we do. I am looking forward to the upcoming year as a board member of the Risk Investment Team and to exchange knowledge and experience with other highly motivated students interested in the financial markets.

Hessel - External relations

Hello everyone! My name is Hessel Holvast and I´m the chairman of the Beta team and the external relations of the investment team board. Even before starting with my studies, I had an interest in financial markets and investing, this led me to build a personal portfolio a couple of years ago. I am currently writing my Bachelor thesis about the impact of short selling on financial markets because the recent “short squeeze” of Gamestop has motivated me to read more into the concept of short selling. After finishing my bachelor, I am looking to pursue a Master’s degree in Finance and quite possibly take a CFA exam.

My goal for this year is to help motivated students in gaining knowledge and experience in the field of investing, while also enjoying each other's company. As a board, we hope to play a role in increasing the social interaction between fellow students, especially during this period.

Floris - Treasurer of the board

Hi everyone! My name is Floris van Rees Vellinga and I’m the treasurer of the Alpha team and the treasurer of the board. I am in the last phase of my BSc in Economics & Business Economics and when I finish I would like to pursue a Master’s degree in Finance. Finance and investment have always had my interest, before starting my studies I worked for an asset manager in Rotterdam for a number of years. I worked on Structuring their portfolio and establishing the link to the Bloomberg platform. As the treasurer of the board, I am looking forward to the upcoming year to meet fellow members of the FSG and motivating students to join as well as planning a big opening event when social gatherings are allowed again!

Jurjen - Internal relations

Hello everyone! My name is Jurjen Baas and I´m the treasurer of the Beta team and the internal relations of the investment team board. Currently, I am in the last phase of my BSc International Business, a programme that was very interesting but did not fulfil my interest in finance. Therefore, I did a minor in Finance, which I will follow up with an MSc in Finance in September. FSG is not unfamiliar to me as I have previously been the chairman of the London Banking Tour. At that time, I enjoyed the people and activities within this association and that has been one of the reasons to participate in the board of the Risk Investment Team. I look forward to meeting fellow members of FSG when physical activities and socials are allowed again!