Over 50 Finance
Students Enjoyed the Field Trip to Chicago
Dr. David Krause, Applied Investment Management program director, led a group of over 55 Marquette finance students to Chicago on Friday, April 19th. The event, which was a joint effort of the Financial Management Association and the AIM program, was a success. Krause said, "thanks to the efforts of Marquette's alumni and staff in the Chicago area, the students had a wonderful experience. This was a highlight of the spring semester."
Following a 6:30 a.m. bus ride to Chicago during a late April snowstorm, the students first had an opportunity to visit Goldman Sachs. Thanks to the efforts of Ted Neely (MU Bus Adm ‘83), Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs, the students had the chance to learn more about the firm’s operations in Chicago. They also heard from several equity and fixed income analysts who had recently joined Goldman’s Chicago team.
The group then trekked through the Loop to the Chicago Board of Trade / Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Our host was Lou Morgan, a member of the CME/CBOT and past CEO of SLS Securities. John Hogan (MU Bus Adm ‘83) of Cedar Creek Securities helped arrange the visit and accompanied the students during the tour. Another MU Business Administration alumnus, Joe Cusick, Sr. VP of Education at OptionsExpress, greeted the students and explained the inner working of the trading floor to the students. Because of the inclement weather, the planned meeting with CNBC’s Rick Santelli was postponed to a future visit. Mike Gurka (MU Bus Adm ’87) also joined the students in the CME visitor’s center to talk about the history of the commodities and financial futures exchanges in Chicago. He is a Managing Director of Spectrum Asset Management in Chicago.
The group then split up into two groups – with one set of students heading to BMO Harris and the other setting sights for the Marquette Building to pitch stocks before a group of Marquette alumni. The first group had an opportunity to tour the impressive trading floor at BMO Capital Markets. The host of the visit was Marquette alumnus, Steven McManaman, Managing Director, Financial Products, BMO Capital Markets. The students enjoyed viewing one of the largest and busiest trading floors in Chicago.
The other group of students attended a luncheon with group of Marquette alumni and associates who work in the Loop. The guests included Jim Bristol (SM Capital), David Kucera (Capital One Bank), Kevin Rice (Moloney Securities Asset Management), Mark Ziehr (Frontier Partners), Joe Cusick (Options Express), Raullo Eanes (WinTrust), and others. Five AIM students pitched stocks before the group and then answered questions about their recommendations. The student presentations were well received by the alumni and about 30 minutes of networking following the student stock pitches. A copy of the students' write-ups can be found at: Marquette/AIM.
The
final event of the field trip was a visit to Northern Trust, an international financial
services company headquartered in Chicago. Several Northern Trust alumni were
present and the networking event provided an opportunity for the students to
learn more about the firm as a potential employer. The host of the gathering
was David McHugh (MU Bus Adm ’78), CFA, Chief Investment Operating Officer of
Northern Trust. Several AIM students made their stock pitches before the
assembled group and answered questions from the audience. A 30 minutes
networking session followed and by 3:15 p.m. the students were back on the bus
and headed to campus.
Dr. Krause concluded, 'The entire day was a success and we would like to thank all of the Marquette alumni and staff in the Chicago-area for providing these opportunities to the students. It was a high-point of the spring semester and the students are appreciative of these opportunities."
