Columbia Finance Clubs
What are the best finance clubs in campus to join for incoming class of 2026? Thanks in advance.
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Absolutely aim to join one of the student investment funds. They have the highest barrier of entry and are probably the hardest clubs to get into at Columbia. Reason is that you learn to be an investor using real money, provide exceptional training, and really teach you how to think about companies (this acumen is incredibly useful when you're going through IB/PE/HF/VC recruiting). They also keep a relatively low headcount so that upperclassmen can genuinely mentor the underclassmen during recruiting cycles (through mock interviews, general guidance or what not). It's literally harder to get into these funds than to get into the school itself, which is pretty common like other top targets.
Lion Fund: Probably regarded as the best finance club on campus and most established of the student-run funds. Strongest placement per capita in terms of quality because of their alumni network. Around a 2% acceptance rate last I heard. Strong pipeline to PJT RSSG and BX PE.
116th and Partners: A bit newer but still has an exceptional track record in terms of where their alumni go. Lots of Goldman Representation.
Mongo Fund: Was only established recently but they did exceptionally well this past recruiting cycle. Took a look at their 2022-2023 internship offers/placements on their Instagram and was honestly blown away. Placed lights out for Elite Boutiques and the top hedge funds that recruit out of undergrad. Some GS, MS and Citi. Very impressive for its small size. Have heard a lot of good things about their leadership team and newly established training program. This was a much-needed addition on campus because Lion Fund and 116th take like 12 people a year between the two of them — so having more people involved at student-run funds will help a lot.
Larger finance organizations. They don't really provide you with the learning opportunities that student-run funds do but are great for mentorship and the network. They mainly source the info sessions and on-campus recruitment opportunities at Columbia, so be on their email list either way.
Columbia Financial Investment Group
Columbia Alpha Partners
Columbia Econ Society
Other organizations that I've heard of, but aren't too familiar with:
TAMID. Believe they work with some Israeli companies.
Smart Women Securities and Blackgen Capital are great, but presumably, I think you need to be a women or African America/Latino lol.
There's also Alpha Kappa Psi, the business frat and CORE, which is the entrepreneurship club.
I just transferred to the university and will start studying there in the fall. How would I get intros to these clubs? Are resume drops formal or does acceptance depend on individual networking with current members?
Follow their Instagram and/or Facebook pages to be up to date on fall recruiting. They usually do coffee chats as well, so that’s the “networking aspect” of it
bruh was this written by someone at mongo fund
As a columbia student, can confirm 1 and 2, with the addition of CFIG which is much broader and just info-based.
barely even know that third one, but definitely not something that’s been rooted at columbia/confirmed in terms of presence or alumni
Bud you’re putting words in my mouth.
Where did I say they were deeply rooted in the community or through alumni? I literally wrote that they only started recently started and placed lights out this past SA cycle. Both can be true.
As a current student at Columbia, this is pretty accurate.
Have came across Mongo Fund on LinkedIn but seems like they are a really small team as of now. Not much information has been published aside from their offer placements so I am not sure if they should be compared in the same bucket as Lion Fund and 116th. Still, really impressive placements for a new club though.
For non-investment funds, I think CFIG and CAP does really well in terms of placements too. (Just look at their board members) I would say they have comparable placements to the student investment funds on campus but the downside would be slightly less hands on action and learning opportunities.
Best advice coming from a rising senior, is to apply for as many of these clubs as you can. Ideally try to get into one of the funds and bag a board position at the other “networking heavy” clubs.
Yep, Mongo is just so new and don’t have a track record yet. But as of right now, I think they're the only 3 student round funds at Columbia. Plenty of smart kids end up getting rejected by lion fund and 116th so it's honestly refreshing to see another alternative.
Has Mongo already started their process?
I don't believe that these student-run funds are going to start their process until the club fair. Look them up on IG tho.
Being a board member or taking up leadership positions at clubs like CFIG can be extremely beneficial as well in terms of networking opportunities.
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