The Financial Management Association of Loyola University Maryland is aimed at spreading information about the finance world and connecting students with professionals in the business. The club hosts many events that provide useful information and allow students to interact with leaders in the industry. On Oct. 30, twenty students from the Financial Management Association travelled to New York City to tour KCG, Morgan Stanley and the New York Stock Exchange.
KCG, previously known as the Knight Capital Group, is located in Jersey City, N.J., and is an American global financial services firm. At KCG, students met with Erica Attonito, a Loyola University Maryland graduate. She is currently the Managing Director of the Electronic Trading Group, and provided valuable insight about her industry. Erica Attonito currently oversees MatchIt, KCG’s recently updated equity trading venue. MatchIt provides more complete data in order for investors to make better trading decisions.
Located in New York City, Morgan Stanley is a leading investment firm specializing in investment banking, wealth management and sales and trading.The students of FMA met with key members of the company, notably Kalli Dircks, Katie Murphy, Edward Molloy, and Matt Goldner, all of whom are Loyola University Maryland graduates. Their presentation gave helpful information on Global Capital Markets, interview tips, and advice on how to begin a career in the industry.
Global Capital Markets includes Equity Capital Markets, Fixed Income Capital Markets, Leveraged Finance, and Global Structured Solutions. Two Loyola graduates, Kalli Dircks and Katie Murphy, currently work in Equity Capital Markets. They discussed duties of their jobs such as advising corporate clients on equity related activities as well as providing information before and after deal execution. Some helpful tips they provided for interviews include staying up to date on current events by reading the Wall Street Journal, Barrons, and the Financial Times, as well as networking in order to find out more about details of the company. The presentation especially stressed the importance of “treating every interaction as an “interview”.
The New York Stock Exchange, considered to be the world’s largest stock exchange, was the final stop of the trip. The students received a tour and walked through the floor of the trading room. Party City had its initial public offering (IPO) the day of the trip. Party City priced its IPO at $17, and after going public, its shares rose 21%. The students of FMA were able to see Party City ring the closing bell. Educational tours of the New York Stock Exchange have been conducted over the past few years; after 2015, however, no tours of the trading floor will be permitted for security reasons. The members of FMA are appreciative to be one of the final groups able to tour the New York Stock Exchange.
FMA club moderator Dr. Tuugi Chulun and the executive board members John Turner, Connor Pietrak, Jillian Harper, Kathrine Podlovits, and Derek Anderson provided time and effort in order to make this trip a success and make FMA stand out as a club on campus.
Photo courtesy of Scott Beale / Laughing Squid (scottbeale.org and laughingsquid.com.)
