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"It’s about so much more than a financial contribution. I am looking forward to the intergenerational community we are building around WIS—all geared toward helping students and making their experience better." — Reed Deupree ’98, WIS co-founder
When Phil Barret ’98 and Reed Deupree ’98 formed the Williams Investment Society (WIS) in 1998, they thought their request for the Washington and Lee University Board of Trustees to invest $1 million into the startup student-led investment organization was a longshot. With inspiration from Dr. Evil in the recently released Austin Powers film, the seniors decided that the “go big or go home” approach was the best course of action.
“We thought it was an audacious ask at the time, but we threw a Hail Mary, and to our absolute surprise, we got the full $1 million,” Barret said.
And it turned out to be a worthwhile investment that has helped hundreds of W&L students gain valuable investment experience. Today WIS is the sixth largest student-run investment fund in the nation, managing more than $25.5 million of the university’s endowment in equity securities.
After the two WIS founders connected last spring at an industry conference, they decided to leverage a challenge to re-engage WIS alumni while supporting Leading Lives of Consequence: The Campaign for Washington and Lee. Their challenge gift is split equally between renovating the flagship Williams School building — Huntley Hall — and establishing the WIS Challenge Student Opportunities Endowment to support activities related to WIS, such as its members attending the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder meeting and purchasing Bloomberg Terminals for live market data analysis, offering benefits to the entire W&L community.
“Reed and I are symbolically returning the board’s initial investment in appreciation of all those who have come after us to advance WIS,” Barret said. “We see a real opportunity to engage a talented and accomplished group of alumni who have so much to offer current students as mentors.”
This second partnership 27 years later inspired Barret and Deupree to form a committee of alumni who were involved in WIS to help raise $5 million split between renovating Huntley and funding the new student opportunities endowment. “It’s about so much more than a financial contribution,” Deupree said. “I am looking forward to the intergenerational community we are building around WIS—all geared toward helping students and making their experience better.”
More than 500 alumni have benefited from the program, with many using it as a launching pad for successful careers in finance. A WIS reunion is on the horizon, and both founders hope more alumni will connect with current WIS students as mentors.
Barret first got the idea for WIS during Winter Term of his junior year while studying abroad at the London School of Economics. He soon realized that his peers from universities like Cornell, University of Pennsylvania and Boston College had a better grasp on financial markets, and while relaying his observations to Deupree, the two made a plan. Together they outlined the society’s mission, structure and a vision for how it could benefit the university well into the future. They recruited 34 fellow students and made a thorough presentation to the board in fall 1998. Before they graduated, WIS had invested in 13 companies at 45% of its capital and earned roughly $58,000 in returns. “In the class year ahead of us, I knew of four people who went from W&L to Wall Street, and I think 16 went from our class year—13 of them from WIS,” Deupree said.
By 2013, WIS had essentially doubled W&L’s money. The Board of Trustees approved an additional allocation of $3 million in 2014, citing the program’s strong financial track record and how it enriches the educational experience. A year later, the board approved another $4.5 million infusion, with WIS managing more than $10 million. Except for a $1 million transfer to the Real Estate Society in 2017, WIS has been growing from investment gains.
The student-run group invests in public stocks divided into 10 groups representing different sectors. The WIS portfolio includes investments in firms with a market capitalization of at least $500 million and a $5 minimum share price. The group does not short-sell or trade on margin and does not invest more than 5% of the total portfolio in a single stock. A majority vote is required to purchase or sell. According to Lawrence Term Professor of Finance and WIS faculty adviser Aliaa Bassiouny, the society benchmarks to the S&P 500, and over time, the group has met or outperformed the benchmark.
“At times, they have also managed the downside risk better.” Bassiouny said. “Personally, working with WIS members is an extremely rewarding experience as a professor and faculty adviser, and I always learn something new from my students in the process.”
Membership is capped at 46 students and admission is competitive, with few first-years accepted. Operating on the calendar year, WIS welcomes new members in January, with new directors and group heads taking the reins. The past directors and group heads still attend meetings and mentor their successors. Bassiouny has served as faculty adviser for over six years and has witnessed how the choices students have made in the past have benefited the group over time, pointing out that in 2019, WIS invested in AI hardware pioneer NVIDIA, a stock that has performed well.
“The mentorship is incredible,” she said. “The fruition of it now, how that performance has played out—the group who made the choice isn’t here to see it, but the trust is placed in the next group to manage it and maintain a successful portfolio.”
It isn’t a responsibility WIS leaders take lightly. Preston Childress ’26 is the current executive director and industrials group head. The Atlanta native is an accounting major and philosophy minor who joined WIS during his first year.
“I think I actually mentioned it in my W&L application,” he mused. “I knew that this was something I wanted to be a part of, and it has instilled in me a deep pride in my work. WIS Is not graded, yet we all work very hard to deliver a really good product. Trying to beat the stock market is hard, and our members are extraordinarily dedicated to doing a good job.”
Previous director Tanner Hurless ’25 attended every stock pitch after Childress took on the role in January, serving as a mentor. Developing a taste for investing at the age of 16, Hurless chose W&L largely because of WIS after he was invited to attend a pitch while still in high school. He was one of three admitted first-years when he joined WIS.
“Whether it was helping group members with their slide decks, working on a complex financial model or solving logistical issues related to running the organization, WIS has always challenged me and propelled me to be a better leader and mentor,” Hurless said. “WIS has been the defining part of my W&L experience, and the skills that I have learned from my membership will undoubtedly serve me well beyond W&L.”
Hurless, an accounting and German double-major accepted a position at Lincoln International as a portfolio valuations analyst prior to graduating in May.
On the flip side, Sophie Huber ’25, former associate director and financials group head, did not have a background in finance but loved her Accounting 100 class and wanted to learn more about WIS. She joined the WIS Shadow Program and learned that she relished the research, valuation and presentation process. Campbell DeNatale ’20 launched the Shadow Program to encourage more people from underrepresented groups to explore finance, especially women, and some go on to become WIS members. Huber joined WIS her sophomore year.
“Being a part of WIS means that you are learning with some of the brightest students three days a week,” she said. “Iron sharpens iron, and getting that consistent exposure to successful and motivated students made me want to continue and build off their momentum.” Huber graduated in May with a degree in accounting and is an investment banking analyst focused on real estate, gaming, leisure and lodging for Deutsche Bank.
Hurless and Childress both laud the WIS alumni network as one of the program’s greatest strengths. “Since WIS was founded in 1998, it has helped students break into finance careers straight out of college,” Hurless said. “As a result, there is a vast network of alumni who share a common experience with students, creating connections and opportunities.”
Childress, who will be completing a summer internship as an analyst for Link Logistics, expressed his gratitude to Barret and Deupree for founding WIS. “The support our alumni provide is extraordinary,” he said. “I think it would be tough to conceive of a student organization that is more impactful than WIS.”
While WIS has grown and evolved, its mission, and even its essential mentorship structure, has remained constant. And many of the predicted outcomes Barret and Deupree pitched to the board nearly 30 years ago have come to pass. “Today, WIS is something that is highlighted during student tours,” Barret said. “Students who have gone through WIS have developed as investors and have a special skill set to share during interviews. It’s been a launching pad for many careers, and our alumni still engage with the club.”
“The return on investment is huge in so many different ways,” Deupree said. “We are proud that we were able to build something sustainable.”