Minutes

Defender Capital Management Meeting Minutes

April 22, 2008

 

Present: Kristen Brands, Nick De Jong, Cory De Wit, Grant Dykstra, Brian Geels, Jake Holtrop, James Kats, Rachel Kootstra, Chris Kuiper, Claire McWilliams, Corey Moss, Andrew Sybesma, Andrew Tacoma, Prof. John Visser, David Vos, Jamie Wiersma

 

08-49         Announcements:  Professor Visser asked if people would be willing to come next Tuesday for presentation if necessary.

08-50         Jamie read the minutes from the previous meeting. The minutes were approved.

08-51         Portfolio manager was unable to attend, so James presented information on the portfolio: IWB down 2.5%, IWB down .5%, BAC down 26.7%, GRMN down 48.2%, and TEX up 24.5%.

08-52         Chris presented the economic report.  The Dow broke above ceiling with late rallies, and NASDAQ has been less volatile recently.  The release of Fed minutes declared its first priority to be fighting the recession, but the Fed expects to see recovery in the second half of 2008.  Consumer sentiment has gone steadily down.

08-53         David presented further ideas on mission statement.  The club decided on the following statement: Defender Capital Management shall seek to achieve capital appreciation through a hands-on education environment that fosters Christian ethics and principles of stewardship.

08-54         Updates were received from Mary Van Essen on a possible logo.  Members of DCM expressed concerns about how logos will print.  The club decided on the circular, gold logo with the following modifications: replace “class 2008” with “est. 2007” and place separate-lettered “DCM” behind the logo with a black line underneath.

08-55         Andrew Sybesma and Andrew Tacoma presented on Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ), the largest producer of PCs.  The company appears to be well-diversified with 50% of its business overseas and was included in the 2007 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations.  Stronger growth has occurred since Mark Hurd became CEO and President.  Questions arose about the statistics on Hewlett Packard compared to its industry and major competitors.  The club will wait to decide whether or not to buy the presented stock until next fall.

 

08-56         James Kats and Nick De Jong presented on Raytheon Company (RTN).  Raytheon is currently the world’s fifth largest defense contractor with 80 different governments buying from them around the world.  The company has a history of paying out sizable dividends.  The question was asked on whether or not ethical concerns exist.  James and Nick believe that Raytheon focus primarily on defense which may reduce such concerns.  James suggested that the club hold off on buying stock in Raytheon because of the upcoming elections and how defense companies tend to not do well in a Democratic environment. 

 

08-57         The club discussed possible Senior Analysts for next year.  No final decisions were made.  However, the club recognized the possible need to relax rules originally laid out for who can become an analyst.

                 

08-58         Possible goals for next year were briefly discussed and include the following:

Chris proposed that the club draw up a draft of policy manual.  A form for stock analysis should be written to lay out presentation guidelines.

Meetings should not exceed a maximum amount of time.

More stock presentations should be given.

The forums should be used more actively. 

Jake also suggested that the club should consider opening the forum to grads.  Professor Visser suggested that we research how other clubs use alumni and make a decision about their role in DCM, specifically.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Claire McWilliams

DCM Secretary-in-Training