Columbia Freshman Looking for Advice - Best Clubs?
Hi All,
I'm a Columbia freshman (CC, not SEAS) and I'm looking for some advice on which finance/econ related clubs are worthwhile to join. I know that usually there is a big club fair when school starts but unfortunately that isn't happening this year. It seems like a lot of the clubs' applications are due by late September so I want to make sure that I have a good grasp on the differences between them so that I can prioritize my applications.
So far I've heard of the following clubs:
- CFIG - Columbia Financial Investment Group
- Columbia Econ Society
- Lionfund
- 116th and Partners
- Praetorian Capital Management
- Columbia Undergraduate Consulting Club
- CORE - Columbia Organization of Rising entrepreneurs
- CIBD - Columbia Investment Banking Division
- CUFE - Columbia University Financial Engineering
- CFAC - Columbia Financial Analysts Club
I'm primarily looking to join a club that offers the following:
- Good learning environment
- Strong Alumni Base
- History of sending people to good firms/upperclassmen who care enough to help with recruitment
- Fun Events/people (need to make friends somehow)
Would greatly appreciate it if someone could lay out the differences between these groups and highlight anything I've missed! Thanks!
Do lion fund. their students are top notch and recent alumni going to MFPE programs or HF
Oh boy Columbia is turning into Wharton as we speak.
On a more serious note, I want to echo what Intern in HF said - clubs aren't necessary to be successful at Columbia, so don't think that your finance aspirations are over if you don't get accepted to any of the "elite" ones. People on WSO tend to overstate the importance of rankings and understate the power of grit, determination and ambition. That being said, the combination of motivated peers + seniors willing to help can give you a significant leg up. There's a reason why Lionfund sent 2 kids to Blackstone PE last year. So here's the lay of the land as I see it:
CFIG
Very strong club, probably the oldest Columbia finance club (but wait for one of their members to confirm this.) Generally speaking, they (along with CU Econ Society) arrange all of the banking info sessions. Their leadership tends to go on to pretty strong firms - someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think they have good relations with MS. If you don't get one of the club executive positions, you can still sign up for their mailing list and attend their events. Historically has had a very good relationship with Lionfund and usually there are one or two kids a grade who are on both the CFIG and Lionfund eboard.
CU Econ
Don't know too much about this group, but from my understanding they are pretty similar to CFIG in that they arrange a bunch of events/info sessions with banks. Usually their leadership goes on to strong places; I know that some people that were in both 116th and Partners and CU Econ. Definitely a good group to be a part of. Probably a little more bookish than the CFIG kids so if you are more introverted/academic this might be a better fit for you than CU Econ. I want to say that you can't be in both CU Econ and CFIG but you should check in to confirm that that is still the case.
Lionfund
Probably the strongest finance related club at Columbia, but also one of the harder ones to get into. First rounds tend to focus on the difference between a good company and a good investment, and get a better understanding of how you think about companies. Questions don't really require any understanding of complex "technicals" - just be able to explain your thought process thoroughly. Final round (at least my year) was a case study where they gave us a company to look at and then pitch as a short or a long after a week's preparation. Alumni base is ridiculous. They've had a Schwarzman scholar, several Blackstone PE analysts, and then a bunch of kids who go on to top IBs like GS, MS, and Evercore.
116th and Partners
Pretty strong investment club, a little bit newer than Lionfund. Really fun group of people and a decently close relationship with CU Econ if I remember. I think my year there was a GS ER and an Evercore. Club has had really strong returns lately. I'd also note that they don't really have a "generalist" program - instead after a while you specialize in one of their sector teams (TMT, RE, Healthcare, and C&R). Definitely a work hard, play hard vibe.
I don't really know too much about the other clubs. CORE tends to focus more on people who want to be entrepreneurs, CIBD is ok. Praetorian is brand new so don't know anything about that group. In general, I'd probably advise you to check out each groups FB page and listen in on their info sessions to get an idea of what each is like.
Depends on what you want to do.
Of the clubs you mentioned though, just want to point out that CFAC and CIBD are barely active. They are most likely resume padder clubs. Also, want to mention that Praetorian is a sham. It’s run by a rich Chinese international student who wanted to created a club for her resume and use Columbia students to manage her private weath lol. They flaunt the fact that they have “$1mm AUM”, but it’s pretty meaningless considering the fact that that $1mm came straight from the girl who started the club. Also, heard from a friend that they required members to put 10k in the fund when they joined?!?!?
In terms of the respected and well-recognized clubs:
CIBD, CUFE, & CREG have recently merged under the Columbia Alpha Partners umbrella. We’re trying to offer a more structured approach to programming in diversified fields in finance across banking, markets, and real estate.
This goal is reflected in the output of our recent alumni and current members who have gone into a wide range of places including, but not limited to: Apollo, AQR, Ares, Barclays, BofA, BlackRock, Citi, CS, EVR, GS, GH, Jane St, JPM, MS, PJT, P72.
Currently a junior at Columbia, I think historically CFIG was pretty big but I've been hearing that Alpha Partners has more or less surpassed it in terms of campus presence and placement. I've heard good things about Lion Fund, also.