Nov 3, 2016 | Uncategorized
Girls from one of the Metro Nashville Public High Schools, Hillsboro, visited UBS Business Solutions in downtown Nashville.
UBS used to be an acronym for Union Bank of Switzerland. The bank began in Switzerland and has grown to have a global footprint with over 60,000 employees. Over the years, UBS has merged with or acquired other banks to enable its growth. Their entry into the U.S. began in 2001. The company symbol of three keys stands for pillars, principles and behaviors.
The girls learned that the first day the markets traded more than 100 million shares was in 1982 on the New York Stock Exchange. The average daily volume of shares traded on the NYSE is now just over 2 billion.
Sam Kalchuk and Sarah Looney first spoke with the girls about the history of UBS. Sam gave them a tour of the UBS offices. The Nashville Solutions Center location has over 1,300 employees!
The Nashville location partners with other UBS Solution Centers around the globe, so work is done around the clock.
The agenda provided ample time for the girls to ask questions about financial instruments, college paths and what it takes to have a career in finance.
Wanda Lyle, General Manager of UBS Business Solutions in Nashville, spoke with the girls over lunch. She explained how her daughter at a young age used to ask her why there are so few women in executive roles in finance. This inspired Wanda to make her daughter proud and become an executive in an industry mostly dominated by men.
She serves as a strong role model to women who are considering careers in the financial services industry.
Her career has taken her all over the world. She told the girls they could also have careers like hers and that nothing would stop them from being successful.
The students took a photo with Wanda Lyle, their teacher Dr. Kriebel, and members of RTSWS.
Five UBS panelists spoke to the girls about their experiences as women in the financial services industry:
- Lindsey Walker: Graduate Trainee, Group Technology / Compliance & Operational Risk
- Campbell Estes: Business Analyst, Investment Bank COO
- Cher Cuthbertson: Associate Director, Performance Reporting Manager
- Sejal Desai: Executive Director, Client and Tax Reporting Service Delivery Manager
- Marie Christine Crewe: Managing Director, Head of Group Risk Control Nashville and Risk Control Operations
The women talked about their college and career paths and stressed to the girls that confidence is very important in the workplace. They encouraged the girls to ask questions when starting their careers because no one expects them to know everything.
When a student asked the panelists how they got to UBS, Cher said she enjoys analyzing data and building relationships. Her career at UBS enables her to do both.
Marie Christine said she has been fortunate in her career to have met or worked with individuals who have pushed her out of her comfort zone. She has grown as a person and also as a working professional because of this. “Forging those relationships and nurturing them is very important,” she said.
Sejal encouraged the girls to surround themselves with positive people who support and encourage them in their careers and life goals.
Marie Chrstine said, “Being a woman is actually an advantage” in the financial services industry.
Campbell echoed these messages: “People want diversity, and it can be fun being one of the only women on the team.”
A student asked the panel members what they recommend they do to succeed in their careers. Sejal said it is important to be focused and set goals throughout life. Lindsey recommended the girls become very familiar with financial terminology and study the background of the company where they hope to be employed.
The students received Rock The Street, Wall Street certificates of completion for their class participation this semester before heading back to school. This is one trip they will never forget!
Oct 30, 2016 | Uncategorized
RTSWS students at Ravenwood High School learned what a career in finance is like while on their field trip to Jackson National Life Insurance on Oct. 26.
They spoke with several members of the Jackson team, including Chairman Barry L. Stowe and Emilio Pardo: senior vice president, chief marketing and communications officer. Susannah Berry, corporate social responsibility specialist, provided the students with a tour of the offices, located in the Nashville suburb of Franklin, Tennessee.
Chairman Barry L. Stowe and Emilio Pardo, senior vice president, chief marketing and communications officer, discussing sovereign debt and the importance of being financially literate with the RTSWS students.
Ashley Golson,vice president of the sales desk, discussed her education in communications and her career path. After college, she was offered a position at Jackson and she learned very quickly about annuities and other retirement products. She worked her way to become vice president of the sales desk.
Ashley explained that she had always liked math but not science and that she had thought her only career opportunity involving math would be in engineering. She loves her job and told the students that a career in finance is very achievable and personally rewarding.
“I love Jackson and finance because if you don’t understand how money works, you’re at a disadvantage,” Ashley shared. “Jackson opened my eyes to this.”
Ashley manages internal wholesalers and business development consultants. One of the girls asked Ashley what skills are needed to be successful at Jackson. A continuous learner and good work ethic, she responded, will get you far. Other traits she looks for in employees are great communication skills, an internal drive to reach goals, open to criticism and is very approachable.
Speaking of internal wholesalers, four of them spoke with our girls. Madison Georgi explained the need for a company like Jackson: “People are living longer; how do they pay for it?” Jackson assists financial advisers across the country in finding the best suitable investment products for their clients.
A panel of four internal wholesalers answered questions from the students and talked about their college and career paths to Jackson. They all very much enjoy what they do. Their jobs require them to continuously increase their financial product and tax knowledge, communication skills (with clients and financial advisors), and their public speaking skills.
The last piece of advice the panel offered our students: Bite off more than you can chew and grow from the experience. Whether you rise or fall, you will be wiser and more confident for when the next challenge comes your way. Well said!
Oct 18, 2016 | Uncategorized
We’re thrilled to be mentioned in this Business Insider article about the lack of women in the hedge fund industry.
As we have seen from our work with many organizations in the financial services industry, hedge funds are among those that are not searching for gender diversity among their employees.
The article states, “Investing is one of the last frontiers where women are this underrepresented.” Think about it: No one bats an eye when a woman wants to become a lawyer, doctor, athlete, or many other professions. We want the same to be true for women who want to pursue financial careers.
Rock The Street, Wall Street aims to equip high school girls with financial skills and potentially pursue careers in finance. While a recruiter in the article says only 5% of the candidates he finds are women, our goal is to raise the visibility of qualified females and increase this number over the years.
Our classroom instructors include female financial pros from firms that include TD Ameritrade, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, Jackson National, and UBS. Our pros are role models and mentors for the girls and share firsthand what careers in finance are like; that finance, for the most part, is nothing more than first-year algebra; and that our girls are very capable of being successful in the financial services industry.
While we educate high school girls to become financially literate — critical in itself given that 7 out of 10 women state they know little to nothing about finance — we also reach out to a variety of businesses, organizations and government entities in the financial sector to tell them about our mission and educate them on the lack of women in finance.
We believe finance is at the heart of opportunity.
Oct 13, 2016 | Uncategorized
We have kicked off our business case study at Byron Nelson High School in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and Ravenwood High School in Brentwood, TN. How better to start a study than sampling the product?
Our students are doing a business case study of Dunkin Donuts vs. Krispy Kreme and deciding which stock Jane, our 34-year-old fictional investor, should choose to invest in.
On Day 1, our girls learned about what they’d be doing during these sessions. They read the objectives of the case study and how, at the end, they will be presenting their investment decision to their classmates.
Doughnuts are great inspiration. Krispy Kreme gets a thumbs up from one team.
Sweet treats kick off this case study. This team gives Dunkin Donuts a thumbs up on taste.
Now down to the business model.
Our students work in small groups to complete this course.
Which company do you think our students will choose for Jane to invest in: Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreme?
Oct 7, 2016 | Uncategorized
This week, we’ve been in Dallas/Ft. Worth training our awesome TD Ameritrade volunteers on the tasty case study their be instructing. Our girls will be comparing to two very popular donut company’s stocks – Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts.
Byron Nelson High School
Maura Cunningham with our TD Ameritrade volunteers
We spent Wednesday and Thursday doing the training.
Our students at Byron Nelson High School will be looking at the differences in the Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts stocks. Over the four weeks, they’ll be working in groups to researching and present a Google Slide presentation on which stock they think Jane (our fictional character who’s looking to invest) should invest in.
By the end of the classroom sessions, our girls will be able to do the following:
- Analyze a company’s decisions and in turn base their investment decisions based off of what they’ve read in their research.
- Hold a conversation about the articles they read.
- Debate with their group mates and pitch their ideas to the group – collaborate to make a cohesive argument.
Discuss their decision about where to invest Jane’s money in the large group setting.
- Work under time pressure.
- Evaluate the standing of a company and generate suggestions about the growth trajectories of each company and make an investment recommendation for Jane.
Our TD Ameritrade volunteers
Our TD Ameritrade volunteers are very excited
TD Ameritrade volunteers will be conducting a 4 week case study
As you can imagine, all of this talk about donuts can make you hungry. We were! So what did we do? We headed to the Krispy Kreme store nearby and picked up some delicious donuts.
Krispy Kreme, here we come!
Krispy Kreme is ready for Halloween!
We couldn’t resist getting some of the Halloween donuts
As you can see, we couldn’t resist getting some of the festive Halloween donuts that Krispy Kreme was offering.
So what sweet company do you think our girls will decide Jane should invest in? Will it be Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts?
Jan 1, 2016 | Uncategorized
We always say here at Rock The Street, Wall Street that if these girls can SEE it, they can BE it. From the comments we received on our surveys, taking these young female students to various financial institutions really broadened their minds on what it looks like to work in the financial services field.
We started our field trips in Chicago, on Friday, October 23 at Ariel Investments, in the beautiful AON Building. A highlight was touring the Trading Floor, and meeting with Cheryl Cargie, Head Trader.
Next up, UBS in Nashville on Friday, October 30. We made a round table discussion with women leaders at UBS work with over 40 RTSWS students. It was a packed house, but the girls had very candid discussions with women there, including a video chat with the chairwoman of UBS’s women’s group All Bar None Americas in New York City.
We launched this fall in New York City, and we were thrilled to take our Zone 126 Long Island City High School girls to Morgan Stanley in midtown Manhattan on Friday, November 6. The girls had a tour of the Trading Floor at Morgan Stanley, then sat down for a discussion with female financial professionals there. From the comments we received, learning about their backgrounds and education made our girls realize they they could pursue a potential career in the financial industry.
Finally, we ended our Field Trips in Memphis at FTN Financial on Tuesday, November 10. The girls had a tour and a panel discussion with women leaders in Treasury Management, Loan Support Services, Investor Relations, Client Credit Risk, and Auditing.
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