Mike Weiss, '09
Preparing for Wall Street at helm of student investment fund
November 2, 2009
Handing over $300 to a group of student investors might sound like a good way to lose your money — especially if you're one of the students in charge of the money, and you know nothing about finance. As a University of Richmond freshman, Mike Weiss, '09, found himself in exactly that position.
During his search for activities to fill his plate, three friends invited Weiss to join the Portfolio Management Group (PMG) an organization for students with an interest in investing. Members use their own money to build and manage a real portfolio.
Weiss admits that at first, he had no idea what was going on. But as he explains, "If I hear something that I don't understand, it intrigues me, regardless of what it is." Weiss hung in there, Googling the terms he didn't understand and participating when he could.
Six months after joining the PMG, Weiss committed to a major in finance, and under the guidance of his professors at the Robins School, he developed a deep understanding of the relationship between finance and the economy.
Three years later, Weiss is general manager of the University's Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF). Instead of his own $300, he — along with 14 other students — is responsible for managing nearly $300,000 of the University's endowment. After graduation, he'll join the sales and trading team at Barclays.
But finance alone didn't land Weiss a job on Wall Street. His interests in math and economics — he has a minor in math in addition to his finance and economics majors — have given him a deeper understanding of market behavior. Working closely with his economics mentor Dean Croushore, Weiss formed a "bigger macro view," which is essential in the financial sector and helps him to answer key interview questions like "What do you think of the economy right now?"
Weiss, a New Jersey native, draws on this knowledge in his work with SMIF. "Our analysis for the most part will start with a big economic view on where we think the market is," he said, "and then you work down to what industries or sectors you think will do well." With a sector in mind, Weiss and the other fund managers — all seniors and finance majors — identify strong companies.
SMIF recently put this thinking into action when Weiss suggested buying McDonald's stock. "If you're looking at a recession, where companies that have cheaper goods will do well, maybe you look at the fast food industry," he said, because people are not eating out at fancier restaurants. Comparing all the fast food options, "McDonalds is the largest, and they also have international reaches so they get revenue from everywhere." The fund managers decided to purchase McDonald's stock, which so far has held strong.
This ability to synthesize economics, finance, and mathematics will assist Weiss in his upcoming position at Barclays, in which he will be working with emerging markets in central Europe and Latin America. Though the emerging markets division sales desk technically had no openings, they saw valuable potential in Weiss, and offered him a position after his internship last summer.
Before training at Barclays starts in June, Weiss will hand off SMIF responsibilities to the incoming group of managers, and use his newfound free time to help rising juniors and seniors find internships in the financial sector.
Article ID: 20
