In spring 2014, seniors Mike Ordway, Sara Schneider and Howell Zheng, and junior Aaron Weiner met with the BBA Program staff to begin planning a reorganization of the finance extra-curricular experience at Goizueta. Mike and Sara, co-presidents of Goizueta Investors, came up with the idea of a more coordinated effort between finance clubs in order to deliver an even stronger extra-curricular finance experience. Howell, president of the Alternative Investments Group (AIG), and Aaron, president of the Goizueta Investment Management Group, joined Mike and Sara to help drive this effort. Fall 2014 will mark the first semester for the new Goizueta Finance Group, a cohort of five new and existing programs that will offer BBAs interested in finance ample opportunities to experience finance outside of the classroom.
The Group will consist of a new Pre-Finance Society which will partner with the current Pre-Business Society to help pre-BBAs begin thinking about and preparing for career paths within finance. The club will host informational sessions and networking events with current BBAs and introduce newly-admitted students to the other programs within the Goizueta Finance Group. Early admit sophomores and first semester juniors will have the opportunity to join the Investment Banking Academy and Sales & Trading Academy. During the fall semester, these academies will help students prepare for recruiting by hosting weekly seminars that explore the industries, firms and the internship processes. The academies will host several networking events with senior BBAs and alumni to provide students with a way to begin building their networks.
For students interested in gaining real-world investing experience, the Goizueta Finance Group will also include Goizueta’s existing student-managed fund, GIMG. In addition to investing a $100,000 portion of Emory’s endowment, GIMG provides its members with volunteer opportunities through its mission to bring greater financial literacy to Atlanta-area youth. For more information about GIMG, you can visit the group’s new and improved website at www.GoizuetaIMG.com. For BBAs who have begun thinking about the Hedge Fund and Private Equity worlds, AIG will continue next year as a part of the Goizueta Finance Group. In addition to hosting the Private Equity Case Competition, AIG will offer students the chance to hear from and network with alumni and regional professionals.
Each of the leaders of the five respective programs will be members of the Goizueta Finance Group’s Executive Board which will be tasked with coordinating efforts across programs and organizing group-wide events. All of the new programs will begin marketing their opportunities to students this fall. For more information on how to get involved, please contact Aaron Weiner at adweine [at] emory [dot] edu.