Immersion Round Up #2: Capital Markets and Asset Management

For today, Sean Meakim talks about the Capital Markets and Asset Management Immersion.


“We can’t afford to subsidize your education. Go to business school.” After hearing this advice enough times from investment managers from whom I had sought employment, I acted on it and began the b-school application process. At the time, I was a Wealth Management Advisor, advising individuals and small businesses on how to achieve their financial goals as well as invest their savings. Though I loved the relationships I had developed with my clients, I had the bug for equity research. I was working my way through the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) curriculum and felt that if I was going to take on the expenses of business school (and forego two years of income), I needed to get more than just theory. I needed an ‘experiential’ learning program, one where I could spend two years doing real equity research, learning and acquiring the skills of a research analyst. Based upon this criterion, the Johnson School became the obvious choice, and it has not disappointed.

This fall, my classmates and I were immediately thrown into the fire, whether pitching stocks to the Investment Management Club, taking job Treks to New York and Boston or debating investment ideas in the Parker Center. But honestly, the Cayuga Fund (the only MBA-run, market-neutral hedge fund) has been has been the most influential experience for me here at Cornell. I was fortunate enough to be one of seven first-years selected (after a rigorous interview process) to be a Sector Analyst and I am assisting a second-year Portfolio Manager covering the Telecom sector.

In the Capital Markets & Asset Management Immersion or CMAM (pronounced “see-ma’am”) this spring, I am surrounded by smart and driven people passionate about the markets and investing, whether they are pursuing careers in research, investment management, sales & trading or private wealth. CMAM is kicked off in January with our Week on Wall Street, where we got to spend several days meeting with hedge fund managers, buy side PMs, sell-side analysts, traders, etc., gleaning advice from Johnson alumni on both our careers and the markets. Now back in Ithaca, CMAM has allowed us some customization in our classes to fill in our specific knowledge gaps. While I am taking Intermediate Accounting (surprisingly a student favorite), many friends are taking Financial Statement Analysis or Financial Modeling. In addition, the CMAM Practicum is run by a practitioner turned academic, Bob Andolina, and the curriculum’s focus on real-world applications reflects this. Guest lecturers are coming in nearly weekly, and many sessions have turned into hour-long debates about whatever may be driving the market that day. It has been a tremendously rewarding experience for me thus far, and I look forward to sharing it with many of you next year!

Sean Meakim, CFA
Class of 2011

Immersion Round Up #1 - Strategic Marketing Immersion

To get us started, Alex Tsakeres, Class of 2011 gives us her insight into the Strategic Marketing Immersion ~

When I first started talking about applying to business school, people inevitably asked what I was going to “major” in. When I replied that I was planning to focus on marketing, I often got the response, “Do you really need an MBA for that?”

It’s an important question to consider, and one that felt especially important for me at the time. I had recently started a new role in marketing and felt as though my professional stars had finally aligned. Here was the function where I felt challenged creatively and strategically, where the overarching marketing decisions made would shape the direction of our business.

However, there was one tiny problem. I wasn’t making those overarching decisions. I wasn’t even in the room with the people who were making them. Furthermore, I didn’t have the critical thinking or analytical skills to figure out what we needed to do. Finally, I saw the direct impact these decisions were having on our organization. Some of them I agreed with, and some of them I didn’t. But the bottom line was that I didn’t have the hard skills to develop and evaluate those decisions myself. That was when I knew I needed an MBA.

Fast forward to this semester, and I am in the midst of the Strategic Brand Immersion here at the Johnson School. I knew I had made the right decision from day one, when Professor Thomas proclaimed, “Whoever thinks that marketing is a non-quantitative immersion, think again.” In the depths of market share, break-even analysis, Nielsen data, and pages and pages of marketing cases, I have finally started to see personal progress in analyzing data to make informed decisions. The Immersion focuses on critical thinking and problem solving primarily through case analysis and intense class discussion. While fast paced and highly quantitative, I can’t imagine a better way to build the skills I will need in both my summer internship and eventually my career. Looking back, the decision whether or not to pursue a MBA for a marketing career was a tough one. Given my experience in the Strategic Brand immersion, I can’t imagine it any other way.

-Alex Tsakeres
Class of 2011

The Immersion Round Up!

For the next week on the Destination Johnson Blog - The Immersion Round-Up!

Each day we'll we featuring perspectives from students inside each of the immersions - how they made the decision, things going on, and what's yet to come for the rest of the semester. We hope this will give you an inside look at what first-year life is really like. Enjoy!

~Vijay

Reflections

A note from Hannah Dupes, Class of 2011 and Student Council Chair she reflects on the past year.

Hi All!
My name is Hannah Dupes, and as Chair of our Student Council, I wanted to wish you all CONGRATULATIONS on your acceptance to Johnson!!! We can’t wait to meet you at Destination Johnson this spring. It’s an event that promises a chance to see all that Cornell and JGSM have to offer, but more importantly- it’s a chance for you to meet each other and begin the friendships that will last long after your two years in Ithaca!

It is hard to imagine that a year has gone by since I was in your shoes and trying to make a decision that at the time seemed incredibly complicated. I spent many nights discussing my options with family, co-workers and friends, all of whom had differing opinions. The best piece of advice that I received was this: Business School is as much about personal development as it is professional skills and regardless of where you decide to go, you will come out of these two years a different and better person. The choice needs to be made on what type of environment will best enable you to grow… and for me that choice was Cornell.

You’ll hear us talk a lot about community- and DJ is the beginning of that. I decided where I was going to live and who I was going to live with. I met a group of people that have remained some of my closest friends, and more importantly, I realized how amazing all of my peers were and how much I was going to learn from them in the coming years. I am proud of the fact that I know my entire class by name and most of the second years as well- but more than that, I know what they did before school and what they hope to do afterward. Because of these relationships, and our amazing alumni, I have my dream internship this summer. My classmates helped me prepare, the alumni helped me understand the corporate culture and what it took to succeed in the interview process, and I know that I will do the same for those students who need me down the road. That’s just how things work around here.

As I think back to the highlights of my experience here this far, DJ is the first in a long list of memorable things that have made me 100% confident in my decision to attend Johnson. I look forward to meeting each of you in the next few months, and am thrilled to have you as part of our community.

Congrats again,

Hannah

Destination Johnson 2010 - Ready, Set, Go!

Welcome to the Destination Johnson 2010 Blog!

Over the course of the next few months leading up to Destination Johnson Weekend (April 9-11), we'll be giving you an inside view of what life is like at the Johnson School. With posts from students, administrators, faculty, and alumni, this is our opportunity to share with you our lives at the Johnson School in a very personal way. Coming up in the next few weeks: a note from our class president, an Immersion "Round-up," and more! We encourage you to subscribe to the RSS feed with your favorite blog reader such as Google Reader or Bloglines.

Don't Forget:
Registration is now live!

We look forward to seeing you in April and remember to post and comment on the blog! Let us know if there are things you'd like to see on here by commenting or emailing DestinationJohnson@johnson.cornell.edu

Vijay Nathan
Class of 2011
Destination Johnson, Chair