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1930-39 | 1940-49 | 1950-59 | 1960-69 | 1970-79 | 1980-89 | 1990-93 | 1994-96 | 1997-99 | XP-IXP
IT ALL STARTED with the idea of making a little money. “Well,
we thought we’d make a lot of money,” confessed William Moore,
XP-10 (’54), who helped launch Executive Associates, an investment
partnership formed by Chicago alumni in 1954. The businessmen,
fresh from the Executive Program, decided to follow the path of
other XP cohorts and form an investment club. Each member contributed
$10 a month –increasing to $250 a year over the decades–toward
joint stock purchases.
The club met every two months in the Chicago area to celebrate
its successes–purchases of Intel stock proved to be “a fine highlight”
in recent years–and to shrug off its losses.
“We started with the idea of pooling our knowledge and sometimes
ended up pooling our ignorance instead,” Moore said, laughing.
One memorable loss occurred thirty years ago, when the group bought
one hundred shares of Leadville uranium mining company at $3 a
share. The club proceeded to buy another hundred when the price
dropped a dollar, and another hundred when the price fell to $1
a share. When the members submitted their portfolio to the head
of the stock exchange for a review, he told them their portfolio
appeared sound with one caveat, Moore said: “We had too much Leadville
in our assets.” The club sold their Leadville stock at 75 cents
a share; the stock briefly bounced back up to $1.50 per share
before the company folded.
While the group never made a killing in the market, it was a profitable
venture, particularly on the personal side–the club fostered friendships
that for some members have lasted more than four decades. In addition
to attending bimonthly meetings, members and their wives gathered
annually for a symposium, “a drinking party at which philosophical
discussion takes place,” Moore explained. “Although as time went
on, there was less drinking and less philosophy and more friendship.”
At its peak Executive Associates comprised forty members. By October
1998, when the partnership disbanded, membership had dwindled
to five active resident members–those who lived in the Chicago
area and attended meetings–ranging in age from 70 to 94: Robert
Blizzard, XP-7 (’51); August Gonia, XP-10 (’54); Tony Jablonsky,
XP-10 (’54); George Moran, the group’s only nonGSB alumnus; and
Moore. The club also included nonresident members Schiller Colberg,
XP-10 (’54); John Harper, XP-10 (’54); Eugene Koehler, XP-13 (’57);
and nonactive member Elmer Kozak, XP-10 (’54). Attending the last
symposium were widows of two recently deceased members, George
Benyek, XP-10 (’54), and George Coffin, XP-13 (’57).
“We had a lot of fun,” Moore said. “We had some good rides.”
And, in the end, they did make a little money after all. Each
member received over $55,000 in stock, one-ninth of the club’s
assets, when it dissolved.
Although the club has folded, the friendship will continue, Moore
said. The group plans to have a reunion dinner each fall. –C.N.
XP graduates made money and built valuable relationships with an investment club begun in 1954. Visiting with longtime member John Harper, XP-10 (’54), in 1997 are fellow members (standing, left to right) William Moore, XP-10 (’54); Elmer Kozak, XP-10 (’54); August Gonia, XP-10 (’54); Tony Jablonsky, XP-10 (’54); and Robert Blizzard, XP-7 (’51).
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