On September 24, 2025, the Stevens Undergraduate Student Life office hosted a short seminar on the basics of investing: What it is, why someone should take interest in it, some basic terminology associated with investing, and why investing may be a better option for some people to reach certain financial goals.
The speaker, Professor Sven Esche, grew up in Germany and came to the United States, building himself from the ground up. While he may not be abundantly rich, he is financially free, which he defines as having enough passive income to cover most living expenses. Essentially, this translates to not having to rely on a traditional 9 to 5 to sustain yourself. According to him, this should be a lot of people’s goals, because when you’re financially free, making money stops being a constant stressor in life. You may have more opportunities to work less, pursue work that is more fulfilling, or even simply have more time for family, friends, and hobbies. He argued that investing is one of the best methods to reach this state of financial freedom. The goal through investing is not to become filthy rich, but to become financially comfortable by having enough passive income to live on.
Investing, he defined, is the systematic deployment of capital in value, which creates economic activities. In simpler terms, this means putting money into something with the expectation of getting more money back in the future. There are several common investments, like stocks, index funds, and real estate. The goal of putting money into any of these things would most likely, over the course of 10-20 years, accrue significantly more value than what you originally invested.
Now, there is always the risk of losing that invested money, but the maximum you can lose is just what you originally invested, but without knowing the amount you could make. Historically, the average stock market yearly return rate is roughly 10%, which is far higher than any savings account. So, while savings accounts may be safer, it definitely pays in the long run to have an investment account. And, by diversifying your investments (having many different types of investments in different company stocks and index funds), you decrease the chance of your money plummeting.
So, how does one start investing?
The first step is to open an investment account. This may seem really intimidating due to the number of providers and account types. However, for the most part, any provider you choose to get a brokerage/self-directed investment account with will likely work out. Some widely used platforms include Fidelity, E*TRADE, Robinhood, and SoFi. With any of these providers, you may want to start with a Roth IRA, a retirement-focused investment account that allows you to invest after-tax dollars and withdraw your contributions (and earnings, under certain conditions) tax-free. This is great for long-term wealth building and beginners in investing. Another option is opening a simple self-directed brokerage account, which gives you the freedom to invest however you’d like and withdraw money at any time. Just be aware that any profits (capital gains) are taxable, and the IRS keeps a close eye on all earnings. From there, you can search for reliable stocks/index funds and buy shares of whatever you’d like. Just remember to choose stocks and index funds that are not reliant on one another, so if one drops, both don’t drop. For beginners, index funds like the QQQ are often considered safer because they track large segments of the market, like all major tech companies, so even if one company performs poorly, your investment is balanced by others that do better.
The main takeaway from this seminar is that investing can be suitable for anyone who wants to build a better financial future. While there may be risks involved, the long-term benefits of investing have the potential to far outweigh the risks. Achieving financial freedom won’t happen overnight, but with some patience and just starting, investing can be a great method of reaching it.
