Hermes Investment Group
HERMES Investment International
We are one of THE newest groups of B&R Beur; founded in 2010 by a few ambitious students we have already had 2 successful years as dispuut. In our first year as a group we were but 6 members and learned a lot about quantitative analysis. It wasn’t until last year that Sven Verheugd took on responsibility as Chairman of Hermes, that Hermes expanded and became an international dispuut. In 2011-2012 Hermes consisted of 18 members which meant we had more trading capital than any other group within B&R Beurs.
We have relatively low transaction costs, more diversification within the portfolio, and a higher chance of getting positive results. Hermes is international oriented; last year 50% of members were international and the language spoken in the dispuut is English. We do encourage Dutch students to join, not only to improve their business English, but also to come in contact with a diverse group of students.mbitious students we have already had 2 successful years as dispuut. In our first year as a group we were but 6 members and learned a lot about quantitative analysis. It wasn’t until last year that Sven Verheugd took on responsibility as Chairman of Hermes, that Hermes expanded and became an international dispuut. In 2011-2012 Hermes consisted of 18 members which meant we had more trading capital than any other group within B&R Beurs. We have relative
One of the unique things about our group is that we have advisors. Our advisors are Edwin and Ralf, two ex-members of the dispuut, are active in the investment world as private investors. Edwin is currently also working as a professional investor. We stimulate all members to learn from the experience of our more experienced investors in order to create a better portfolio and for the personal development of members. Accordingly, it does not matter whether you have experience or knowledge about trading, because open-mindedness is key in Hermes. We have general meetings every two weeks where all the members come together to discuss the portfolio, movements in the market, and potential investment options. All members make investment proposals and these are discussed in the group.
One of the things we want to change for the upcoming year is the structure of our meetings. To become a true dispuut (in the Dutch meaning of the word, a close-knit group of friends), we are planning to meet every week. One Thursday there will be a general meeting where all members meet at the Erasmus University (usually the L-building), the next Thursday there will be a group meeting. The idea is as follows; at the beginning of the year, members will be assigned to a group of 4 students (each from a different study and background). This group will meet every other week to discuss proposals for the general meeting and will closely follow the stocks they have previously proposed. The group meeting will take place outside of school in an informal setting so that members will truly get to know one another. At Hermes we are not just students with similar interests, but a group of friends.
We are serious about trading, which is why we were 3rd in B&R Beurs’ investment competition last year. We may have made a loss (12.4%), but for all groups it was a tumultuous year due to the ever-persistent economic crisis. We had the lowest beta score of all disputen. The beta score compares the volatility of the portfolio with that of the S&P500 benchmark so us having a low score shows that we are diversified and have a lower exposure to market risk. Also, we had the lowest standard deviation of the competition with 1.8% which shows that we are making leveraged decisions while taking into account the riskiness of options. These are good results for a new group such as Hermes and this upcoming year we hope to greatly improve our results; this time we are aiming at making a profit of around 10-15%. This means that we will make more educated decisions, have more transactions, and closely watch the market to determine what is the best time to buy and/or sell.
At Hermes we also like to organize social events; last year we had dispuut dinners (VIP, Pierre, etc.) and borrels (Sus&Co but also at various pubs with the dispuut only). We also encourage members to partake in B&R Beurs activities such as trips to Amsterdam Beursplein, the Symposium, and paintball.
Hermes Investment International has two high standing values which are: “Serious about having fun & having fun while seriously investing”.
This year’s Board consists of
Chairman: Kim van Adrichem
Study: MSc Maritime Economics and Logistics
Treasurer: Jos de Best
Study: BSc Business Administration
Secretary: Madina Ismailova
Study: MSc Economics of Markets and Organizations
A word from this year’s Chairman, Kim van Adrichem:
“I have been with Hermes for two years now and one of the things I enjoy the most about being a member of this dispuut is the diversity. Members are international-minded, have a tendency to debate, and care about the well being of Hermes and other members. I like that there are Dutch people, but also international members who were Thai, Chinese, Kazach, and Brazilian. At social drinks and at meetings I learn from other students’ experiences and see how inter-connected the world is. I feel proud of being a part of Hermes, of being part of a great group of people who stimulate me to continuously learn about investing. Last year I made a proposal for going long in Amazon stock and we purchased at 182. At first the stock price fell, but we kept it and after about two months the price suddenly rose to 220. At that point we sold our position and made a good profit; I became a more confident investor and I hope that others will experience the same feeling this year. Because we have much capital, we can buy more stocks and create a diversified portfolio that has both long and short positions. I hope that new members at B&R Beurs find the dispuut that is right for them and if Hermes is the dispuut for you, then I am sure I will meet you soon! Kind regards, Kim van Adrichem.”
Edwin Hauwert, one of our trusted analytical advisors and co-founders, says about Hermes:
“I hope that you will all gain new insights and wisdom during this year. Wisdom is the key to a positive return. ‘When markets look tempting, every trader sees the beauty of making plans for a good buy or sale’, that’s why the markets keep you alert and allow you to celebrate victories. Accept the challenge and duel with the most excellent students and discover what other activities can contribute to your future career and fun time at university. Put yourself out there and expose yourself to risk, but do it wisely. Then you can overcome and manage your risk and gain a profit. Have faith in yourself and your capabilities, discover yourself in a whole other adventure! Take on the challenge, to challenge yourself! Thanks in advance for all the effort from members to keep Hermes professional and running. Greetings, Edwin Hauwert.”
Sven Verheugd, last year’s Chairman and co-founder of Hermes, says about Hermes:
“I would like to share with you why I find that B&R Beurs such a unique contribution to your study, friends and chances on a nice job. First of all is B&R Beurs easy to combine with your study because it works both ways. What you learn about analyzing companies can contribute to your assignments and understanding lectures with practical examples from the market. On the other hand do the lectures contribute to the knowledge about companies what can be used for better decision-making and better analysis when discussing trading propositions. Second the members of B&R Beurs are a lot of fun to hang out with. When you visit one of our drinks at Sus&Co you can’t miss that fact. You can also learn a lot from each other during the drinks. The third and last thing that I would like to share with you is that skills you will develop during your time at Hermes Investment Group and your membership at B&R Beurs will show that you look beyond your borders and are willing to cross them to learn and discover more about yourself and the way the world works. Also analytical skills and critical mind set will be developed, this makes you stand out! To sum this up: B&R Beurs is a indispensible fun part of your development and looks good on your resume! Kind regards, Sven Verheugd.”
E-mail: hermes@bnrbeurs.nl
