Ocean City High School Students Reap Big Returns in Investment Club

By MADDY VITALE and DONALD WITTKOWSKI Kenneth Silver is confident that if he ever needs some financial advisors, he doesn’t have to look far. In fact, the interim assistant principal at Ocean City High School may have found them already. Silver was referring to seniors Luke Monichetti, 17, of Sea Isle City, and Aidan Fasy, 18, of Ocean City. “They are very nice gentlemen and brilliant at what they do. If they were of age, I would hire them to be my financial advisors. Honestly, I am so impressed with both of them,” Silver said, while chatting with Luke and Aidan outside the high school Wednesday. The teens are part of the Ocean City High School Investment Club. The club was started by fellow senior, Zack Mirsky, in the fall. The focus is to learn strategies and hone skills in the financial world in replicable ways. The goal is to show that you don’t need to be a Warren Buffett or an Elon Musk to shine in the financial world. Their investments, though, are imaginary. They don't use real money. The club members meet regularly with high school science teacher Aaron Wohlrab, the Investment Club advisor. “The Investment Club at Ocean City High School has the goal of teaching its members the skills associated with being able to invest in real markets,” Acting High School Principal Dr. Wendy O’Neal said in a statement. Luke and Aidan were friends prior to joining forces in the Investment Club. They were linemen on the Red Raiders football team. But it is their interest in the financial world that has made them even better friends, they said. Over the past month, Luke and Aidan and some of the other Investment Club members were in the spotlight through their involvement in the annual University of Pennsylvania Wharton Global High School Investment Competition. The competition is designed to empower people globally to participate in a free, online investment simulation for high school students and teachers, according to its description. Luke Monichetti, left, and Aidan Fasy work weekly on financial strategies for the Investment Club. Ocean City High School Investment Club members worked in teams for the global competition, guided by Worab. They sharpened their skills in teamwork, communication, risk, diversification, company and industry analysis, and many other important aspects of investing, according to school officials. The contest gave Luke and Aidan and others on the teams from the Investment Club an opportunity to go up against other top financial minds. “I found out about the competition from one of my friends, and told Aidan we should work together,” Luke said. They each bring something to the financial table. “I like to break down the analytics for a company," Luke said. Aidan’s specialty is watching the market and determining how global circumstances such as natural disasters and wars affect corporate stocks. “The goal is to find strategies that everyone can do,” Aidan said. “The strategies have to be replicable." The friends worked together once a week on their financial plans to present in the competition. Although the Investment Club members, including Luke and Aidan, did not progress past the semifinals on Friday, they said they were first in one of the preliminary global competitions with fellow club members Joey Pepe, Andrew Swam and Sawyer Lomax. The competition involved 500,000 students in nearly 50,000 teams around the world. And, more importantly, they were able to work together in a global competition to highlight their skills and financial knowledge, they said. There will be plenty more competitions in their future, they noted. The Investment Club is something new for students at Ocean City High School. For now, at least, they are preparing themselves for the leap to college. While Luke is not sure where he wants to go to college, he knows he wants to study finance. Aidan, who is looking at the University of Vermont or Colorado State as potential colleges, wants to study mechanical engineering. They both credit their parents for their business and financial acumen. Luke’s father is Mike Monichetti, owner of Mike’s Seafood & Dock Restaurant in Sea Isle City and Mike’s Seafood in Ocean City. “My dad has helped me so much. His help has been invaluable. He helped me so much with the competition on what to look for, what strategy to take,” Luke said, adding that his mother, Jeannie, has also been a huge supporter of his financial club. Aidan’s father, Drew Fasy, is a retired real estate broker who also serves as chairman of OCNJ CARE, a non-profit organization designed to help those less fortunate in the community. “My parents have helped me a lot,” said Aidan, whose mother is Kirsten Fasy. “My dad has given me a lot of business advice.” For information about Ocean City schools visit oceancityschools.org.