When asked what their plans are for their future, most high school seniors have no idea what to respond. Senior Nicholas Mesa cannot be categorized as one of them. 

When asked what his biggest accomplishment has been thus far, Mesa is quick to respond.

“Starting a hedge fund.”

It has been a goal of his since he was introduced to the world of finance at the young age of 12. Despite this accomplishment, he is not satisfied. 

“I am not completely happy, but I do think I’m regarding where I am as things have happened faster than what I had anticipated. However, I still have a plethora of things that I must do to get to where I want to be,” he added.

He has a detailed plan of his future and what he hopes to achieve. 

“I intend to get to over a billion in assets under management in the next two years, then with sufficient capital get into activist investing with small and mid-cap companies,” he explained.

Mesa also wishes to get into philanthropy and run for senate at some point to improve U.S finances because he strongly believes problems loom in the distance.

“We are headed to deep troubles due to current fiscal policy, monetary policy, and many other issues that those in power are currently creating for us,” he cautioned.

He mentioned that some of his other goals include lobbying efforts on behalf of education. 

“I vehemently believe that we must have education reform in this country because the world is changing and  becoming more competitive. The current education system is not working,  as it can be reflected in the new data we are seeing regarding standard of living, personal finances such as disposable and discretionary income, the expeditiously increasing population, and declining job opportunities due to technical advancement such as automation and artificial intelligence,” he warned.

“By having a good track record regarding returns for clients, building up more relationships by the day, and just being persistent when it comes to reaching the point in which I can manage substantial sums of capital, and outperform the main indexes such as the S & P 500 through various different investment strategies, I will be able to fulfill my goals,” he said.

Mesa is grateful for what he has been able to learn at ILS.

“The school has definitely helped me. Mr. (Stanley) Wexler has been of colossal importance. I feel that if anyone could actually leverage him to the extent to which I have, they could possibly have the most life changing experience regarding mindset, skill, and knowledge. Mr. Wexler changed my life perpetually not only because I found someone who thinks and looks at things so similarly to how I do, but because he has taught me so much beyond just academics,” Mesa explained.