2019 - 2021 FMA Magazine

2019-2021 

FMA 2019-2021 MAGAZINE 1

2 FMA 2019-2021 MAGAZINE

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION • AUBURN STUDENT INVESTMENT FUND 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

INTEGRATED FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM 

A U B U R N 

U N I V E R S I T Y 

INSIDE THIS ISSUE 

28 

36 

50 

58 

64 

FMA’s Third 

Financial Summit 

Case 

Competitions 

FMA Heads Back 

to Wall Street 

Alumni Updates 

ASIF Performance 

Summary 

5 Director’s Message 

6 President’s Message 

7 Plans For Next Year 

8 Who Are We? 

10 What We’re Up To 

12 FMA Resources 

20 A Look at Our Students 

28 FMA Leadership Summit 

30 Leadership Program 

Participations 

36 Case Competitions 

40 Awards & Scholarships 

50 FMA NYC Trip 

74 FMA Houston Trip 

56 Where are We 

Going Now? 

60 Performance Summary 

74 Alumni Updates 



FROM THE 

IFLP DESK 

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR 

Auburn FMA has been uniquely driven from the very beginning. The founding vision of FMA is rooted 

in the belief that Auburn students should be provided the tools and training necessary to pursue the 

most elite career paths in the financial services industry — a challenging notion for a public state 

school in the South. Today, FMA continues to uphold this determination, and with distinction. As 

the stories in this issue attest, our students are individuals who are highly capable, inquiring problem 

solvers - as qualified for top positions at leading banks as they are for admission to elite Ivy League 

programs. True to our vision, we’ve graduated six years of intellectually adventurous individuals who 

ask critical questions, challenge assumptions, create solutions, and leave an indelible stamp – not only 

on the company teams they join, but also on the Auburn program that is proud to call them alumni. 

Through 2021, we continued to focus on academic and practical application integration, casting an 

overreaching umbrella over a program that includes not only career prep and technical training, but 

also extends that education to the classroom, pulling in industry expertise to provide members with 

application tactics and how-to. In the spring of 2020, we integrated our first of such courses through 

a collaboration with a Training the Street executive. Members were able to enroll in our Practical 

Financial Application course, which bridges the gap between academia and real world by teaching the 

practical skills needed to optimally succeed on the job. 

The second major integration accomplishment for our program in 2020 was to officially pull FMA and 

the Auburn Student Investment Fund (ASIF) under one comprehensive program – The Integrated 

Financial Leadership Program. Every FMA member will now spend a minimum of one year as an 

analyst for our Fund, and participate in two classes that focus on security analysis and portfolio 

management. The first of the ASIF classes, Advanced Security Analysis, is taught by a professional 

asset manager from Retirement Systems of Alabama – again, focusing on real world application 

with ASIF at the core of the in-class learning. The program-specific coursework is capped off with 

Advanced Portfolio Analysis, taught by Dr. Albert Wang. 

There’s so much for FMA to be proud of beyond these integration efforts. Our alums are now enrolling 

in top graduate programs, and our undergrads continue to cast a bright light on our program, our 

college, and our university - including back to back national first place case competition honors in the 

elite Duff & Phelps YOUniversity Deal Challenge. As we look to the future of the program, FMA will 

continue to push for facilities that support our students, reflect the success of our program, and help 

to market HCOB’s finance program. 

Finance Rocks! 


MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT 

PRESIDENT JIM BREWSTER 

A Look at 

2019-2020 

FMA’s mission remained strong during a dynamic school year. 

This group adapted to the pandemic without wavering and 

continued to advance the organization. Guided by a strategic 

plan set in place by the FMA Advisory Board, our group’s 

initiatives this year focused on partnerships, organizational 

structure, and practical resources. We began pursuit of these 

goals using the most valuable resource that this organization has, 

its members and alumni. As a team, we collaborated to achieve 

these strategic initiatives and the results that follow in the rest of 

this annual. 

1. 100% full time job placement for 22 seniors 

2. 100% internship placement for 28 juniors 

3. Recorded an average starting compensation for the 2020 

graduating class of $95,600 

4. Introduced Auburn FMA’s first university sponsored course, 

Practical Application, which is taught by a Training the Street 

representative and covers topics such as financial modeling and 

valuation 

5. Integrated FMA and the Auburn Student Investment Fund 

into one Integrated Financial Leadership Program 

6. Pioneered FMA’s first corporate visit trek to Houston with 

firms that included Bank of America, Credit Suisse, Evercore, 

Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Moelis 

7. Created a 30-page technical interview guide with over 150 

questions and accompanied recording of question walk-throughs 

8. Successfully transitioned candidate training program to 

virtual format through institution of live video meetings, 

recorded lectures and modeling tests 

9. Expanded alumni outreach with two events in Atlanta and 

Dallas 

FMA 2019 – 2020 President, Jim Brewster, joined 

FMA as a freshman and graduated with a degree 

in Finance and a minor in Economics. Jim led his 

HCOB class as the Fall, 2020 Graduation Marshal. 

Through the mentorship and resources he found 

in FMA, Jim was able to complete five internships 

across asset management, private equity, and 

investment banking. He will join Evercore full time 

in New York City as an M&A analyst. 

I recognize that my experience in FMA has been made 

possible by upperclassmen and alumni who give back to the 

organization. Whether it is through interview prep, career 

advice, or alumni involvement, their impact has changed my 

experience at Auburn and my career trajectory. I plan to pay 

it forward as I graduate and encourage my peers to do the 

same. The future for this group is bright, and I know that the 

next leadership team is in a great position to advance this 

organization. 


MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT 

PRESIDENT PRICE DELK 

2020-2021 

in Review 

Firstly, thank you to former president Jim Brewster and the 

previous executive team. This group has matured greatly under 

your tutelage, cementing our reputation as an elite finance 

organization. 

Our focus in 2020 - 2021 centered upon maximizing the 

resources available to our members. We worked to fully 

integrate our new FMA coursework, both with the launch of our 

new ASIF classes and the continuation of our Training the Street 

practical applications course. In addition, we made huge strides 

in initiating the process for implementing a new finance lab and 

future home for FMA and ASIF. Thanks to the efforts from our 

program director, Tracy Richard, engaged alumni, and HCOB 

leadership, plans are now being discussed for the creation of 

such a space. With this space, our members will be able to take 

advantage of every opportunity afforded to them and FMA will 

be elevated to truly rival the top programs in the country. Once 

again, the program produced 100% placement for our graduating 

senior and junior internships alike. 

We continued to nurture existing relationships with employers 

while also focusing on developing new ones. As our alumni 

network experiences exponential growth in both strength 

and number, we intentionally increased alumni touchpoints 

to solidify budding corporate relationships. This effort starts 

and ends with our graduates – thank you to all of those who 

continually support this outstanding group. 

Lastly, we focused internally, on our intermember relationships. 

With the pandemic, we were presented with an opportunity 

to turn inwards and stress preparation and growth, not only 

technically and professionally, but also amongst ourselves, 

recognizing relationships formed within our organization are not 

limited to four years, but last lifetimes. 

FMA 2020 – 2021 President, Price Delk will 

graduate with honors from the College of 

Engineering with a degree in Mechanical 

Engineering and Finance. Price joined FMA as a 

freshman and utilized the organization’s resources 

to prepare early. The Birmingham native completed 

internships in IB and PE, with New Capital 

Partners, The Valence Group of Piper Sandler, and 

Goldman Sachs. Price will join Goldman full time 

in New York City as an investment banking analyst 

in their Natural Resources Group. 

As I reflect on my time in this organization, I am filled 

with gratitude, pride, and excitement. Gratitude for the 

opportunities FMA has granted me, pride for my peers and 

how far we have come, and excitement for the future—not 

only in the approaching year, but excitement for the next 

chapter in FMA’s astounding success. 


FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION • AUBURN STUDENT INVESTMENT FUND 

INTEGRATED FINANCIAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAM 

A U B U R N 

U N I V E R S I T Y 

WHO ARE WE? 

We are Auburn students who pressed 

for an organization that could identify 

top talent and provide focused 

preparation for a career in finance. 

FMA Graduation Party 2021 

We are a growing base of involved alumni 

that continue to give back, both financially and as 

mentors and advisors from inside the corporate world. 


We are involved ambassadors that continuously push for resources and training. We 

are a morning mock interview, an afternoon happy hour and a late night in the Bloomberg room. 

FMA Graduation Party 2019 

We are a source of honest feedback, 

a study partner, a mentor. 

FMA Graduation Party 2018 


We are a group of dedicated students who want 

the best opportunities for ourselves and our fellow members. 



WE ARE FMA. 


Ø 

Houston 

Ø 

Charlotte 

Ø Birmingham 

Ø Dallas 

Ø Nashville 

Ø Boston 

Integrated Practical Application 

Ø Tampa 

Ø Charlottesville 

WHAT WE’RE 

Average FMA Starting Compensation 

AVERAGE FMA STARTING COMPENSATION 

$116,000 

$%&"'()$'*)+,$#-.-'% 

Candidate Training Course 

'()*#+,('(-%)./,+%&/-0 

'()*+',-./ Three IFLP specific classes, ?%9=%* encompassing 9 

credit hours 

34%251-3 

@.239.3 

.)9 

UP TO... 

Training 

Wall Street Prep Online courses 

LinkedIn Workshop 

Peer and Alumni Mentor Program 

Team Building 

,13*2)..% 

9

Corporate Headquarter Visits 

Bank of America | Houston, TX 

Cantor Fitzgerald | New York, NY 

Duff & Phelps | Atlanta, GA 

Evercore | New York, NY and Houston, TX 

Goldman Sachs | New York, NY and Houston, TX 

JP Morgan | New York, NY 

McKinsey | Houston, TX 

Moelis | New York, NY and Houston, TX 

New York Stock Exchange | New York, NY 

FMA Sponsored Programming 

Financial Leadership Summit 

• Panel speakers included John Murphy - Coca- 

Cola, Kristin Kallergis – JP Morgan, David 

Andrews– Evercore 

• 4 Break out sessions with execs and students 

• Alumni and supporter luncheon and awards 

banquet 

• Evening networking social 

• Networking Tailgate 

Inclusion Forum 

• Seminar and discussion surrounding diversity 

and inclusion in the workplace 

• Breakout session for FMA women followed 

Other 

CFA Forecast Dinner | Birmingham, AL 

CSIC Conference | Tuscaloosa, AL 

Power lunches with executives from investment 

banking, PE, corporate finance, and private wealth 

FMA Meet & Greet – hosted 13 firms for a private 

career fair. All finance majors with above a 3.5 GPA 

invited 

FMA Student Leadership Trip – NYC 2020 

Members involved in 5 Case Competitions 


FMA RESOURCES 

Integrated Website with digital resource portal • Finance Career Guide 

Executive Mentor Program • FactSet for FMA lab computers • Expanded content of FMA Summit 

Structured and holistic mandatory new member training program 

FMA Training Resources and Reading Library • FMA Library 

Structured prioritized registration for FMA members to begin finance curriculum 

WEBSITE 

The FMA and ASIF 

websites are now housed 

under one domain, with 

cross-discipline resources 

and information on both 

organizations 

WEBSITE FEATURES INCLUDE: 

FMA overview 

Executive committee headshots and 

biographies 

Semester events 

Alumni network overview 

ASIF information and performance 

reports 

Fundraising campaign link 

Membership and recruiting process 

Member resource portal 



ASIF hosts members of Alabama’s student investment fund members for an investment pitch and networking event. 

Program Overview 

Candidates are matched with 15 

alumni mentors based on the students’ 

industry/career interests. 

Mentors and students participate 

in 2 phones calls and multiple email 

exchanges throughout the semester. 

FMA students are required to send 

multiple feedback forms, call records 

and email drafts to the FMA president 

and advisor to ensure the proper 

utilization of the mentors’ time and 

resources. 

Program Timeline 

February 

• Mentor & student introductions (e-mail) 

• Students schedule 1st intro call and send 

follow-up email 

March 

• Students send update email to mentors on 

recruiting/academic progress 

April 

• FMA president checks in with mentors 

• Students schedule 2nd call (mock interview) 

May 

• Mentors submit program feedback forms 

• Students send additional update emails 

MENTOR 

PROGRAM 

FMA’s mentor program 

connects students with 

alumni professionals 

CAREER GUIDE 

Networking 

LinkedIn is the greatest resource you have for networking into 

• Provides critical career path information 

to students in an accelerating internship 

recruiting environment 

competitive finance positions. In addition to finding alumni and other 

connections to reach out to, you can look at the path other professionals 

have taken to their current position. Since Auburn is a non-core school 

for many large financial institutions – this is especially true in Investment 

Banking, Sales & Trading, and Private Equity – you will have to reach 

out and network your way into many interviews. Although this sounds 

daunting, follow these steps and with time (and a little luck) you could 

land your dream job. 

Networking 

LinkedIn is the greatest resource you have for networking into competitive finance positions. In addition to 

finding alumni and other connections to reach ou to, you can look a the path other professionals have taken to their 

current position. Since Auburn is a non-core school for many large financial institutions – this is especially true in 

Investment Banking, Sales & Trading, and Private Equity – you will have to reach out and network your way into 

many interviews. Although this sounds daunting, follow these steps and with time (and a little luck) you could land 

your dream job. 

Set up Profile 

LinkedIn 

•Make sure to use a professional picture and keep information up to date 

•See the FMA website for advice 

• Focuses on year-specific guidance related 

to work done in and outside the classroom 

• Covers an encompassing range of topics 

including diversity programs, the business 

school application process / the GMAT, 

and the different organizations on campus 

available for finance-oriented students 

• Opportunity for Auburn FMA to give back 

to the university in a reusable, public, and 

targeted form of communication 

Build Connections 

Speak with Industry 

Professionals 

Informational Interviews 

The “Cold Email” Process 

Cold emailing simply refers to sending an email to someone 

without actually knowing them. Here are the steps (for this 

example we use IB): 

1. Identify firms you are interested in (Google “Top 

Investment Banks New York City” for help”) 

2. On LinkedIn, search “[Goldman Sachs] Analyst” 

and filter to New York. Also filter according to the 

tips on this page to improve your chances of getting 

a response. 

3. Once you have the name of someone, you will have 

to guess their email. The best way to do this is to 

Google [Goldman Sachs] email format. 

4. Email [firstname.lastname@gs.com] according to 

the cold email template below. (Also check Mergers 

and Inquisitions for more templates – this is just an 

example) 

Hello [John], 

•Connect with anyone you meet at networking events, other students, FMA 

Alumni, friends of parents, etc. The more connections you have, the better. 

•Once you identify an area of interest (IB, S&T, etc), use the Search function to 

find professionals that you can contact to hear abou their experience 

•Reach out (cold emails) and ask to speak abou their experience in finance 

•This is a great way to learn about what you are pursuing 

•Many phone calls will result in informational interviews which lead to real 

interviews 

“Cold Email” Example 

Finding Connections 

Often times, you will have the best luck 

reaching ou to someone who has some form of 

personal connection to your story. Here are 

some ways you can filter your LinkedIn search 

to narrow it down: 

Auburn (or SEC schools in general) 

Current City 

Previous Employer 

‣ Major (especially if you are 

engineering or a non-traditional 

major) 

Hometown / High School 

‣ Specific Industry focus (Ex. 

Industrials) 

Similar Interests (Ex. Triathlons) 

‣ Similar Ethnic Background 

My name is ___ and I am a junior studying ___ at Auburn University. I found you via LinkedIn and given [some sort of connection], I 

wanted to reach out. After ___ internship, I am confident that I want to pursue Investment Banking, and I would enjoy hearing about 

your experience if you are willing to share. I understand if you have too much going on, and would appreciat even a short phone call. 

Best Regards, 

Your Name 

example) Background 

9 



NEW MEMBER 

CIRRICULUM 

Major Accomplishment: New Member Curriculum 

New Member Training and Development 

Career Path 

Exposure 

Host career panel of senior members with internship experience in FMA’s core focus career 

paths: investment banking, asset management, elite corporate finance, private wealth, and 

S&T, equipping each student with equal technical preparation to pursue desired career path 

Recruiting 

Overview 

Provide students with a NMDP binder, including FMA Career Magazine and finance 

recruiting guides. Topics for recruiting are based on a cycle: Positioning Yourself, Polishing 

Up, Understanding What You Want, Networking, Interview Preparation, and the Offer 

Resume and 

Behavioral 

Host expert speaker in behavioral interviewing, standardize resume and cover letter 

formatting, and assign new members an older mentor who serves as a guide throughout 

recruiting and facilitates resume improvement and mock interviewers 

Technical 

Training 

Cover a range of topics throughout 12 week training program, including accounting, cash 

flows, cost of capital, DCFs, comparables, precedent transactions, M&A, and LBOs in a 

flipped classroom environment, utilizing Wall Street Prep and in class discussions 

Capstone 

Project 

Culminates into Capstone Project where students perform a discounted cash flow analysis 

of Tiffany & Company, presenting their findings in a mock super day, which includes both 

technical and behavioral interview components 

14 FMA 2019-2021 MAGAZINE 

[ 7 ]


OVERVIEW 

Since its inception in Fall 2014, FMA has supported its student members in their 

pursuit of rewarding and competitive careers. From candidacy to graduation, we 

have created an integrative curriculum that focuses on practical application. 

In addition to the new candidate training semester, IFLP provides three program 

specific courses. 

• Each counts as a 3-hour finance 4000-level course. 

• Adding university-approved curriculum to Auburn FMA’s program puts it on 

par with competing investment banking schools. 

• With the integration of ASIF and FMA under the Integrated Financial 

Leadership Program, we have formalized Fund application by creating a dualcourse 

structure that is specific to the ASIF portfolio. 

• Students will be involved in the ASIF program for 2 semesters during their 

junior or senior year and will receive 3 credit hours each semester 

• The ASIF program combines the real-time decision-making aspects 

of managing an investment fund with the structure and formality of a 

university-approved course 

• Pitching new investments and managing the portfolio will be actively 

integrated with the ASIF portion of the course curriculum 

IFLP 

CURRICULUM 

IFLP SPECIFIC CLASS 1: 

ADVANCED FINANCIAL MODELING 

• Taught by a former Training the Street (TTS) executive – TTS is a learning 

services firm that focuses on financial modeling and valuation. Several firms 

throughout Wall Street hire TTS during their in-house training programs to 

teach modeling. 

• This class provides students with the opportunities to learn practical skills 

that students will use throughout their careers including discounted cash 

flow, leveraged buyout, precedent transaction analysis, public comps, merger 

consequences and Excel best practices. 


ASIF – ADVANCED SECURITY ANALYSIS 

• Taught by an investment professional from the Retirement Systems of 

Alabama 

• Analysis of investment decision process, include student pitches across Fund 

sectors 

• Connection to industry professionals in equity research, geo-political risk and 

capital markets 


ASIF – ADVANCED PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT 

• Foundations of portfolio theory with considerations given to market 

expectations and strategic asset allocation 

• Looks at optimal investment strategy and focuses on portfolio management 

and allocation while applying these concepts to the ASIF portfolio 

• Monitoring and rebalancing portfolio, with new investment pitches presented 

by each sector 



Work Hard... 

FMA Big Event volunteer team 



Play Hard.


A LOOK AT OUR STUDENTS 

MICHAEL 

PARKER 

Michael Parker came to Auburn 

from Fayetteville, North Carolina 

on a full scholarship. He has always 

been interested in finance and has been an impactful member 

since he joined his sophomore year. Michael says “FMA 

pointed me in the right direction to have a successful career 

on Wall Street. The training, preparation, and connections 

that this organization provides are strong enough to make us 

competitive with elite Ivy League students.” Parker advises 

younger members: “You have two ears and one mouth, so 

listen more than you speak.” His favorite Auburn memory is 

2019 March Madness. “The excitement of our basketball team 

reaching the Final Four for the first time, and having stellar 

games all along the way, will be something I remember for 

the rest of my life.” Michael interned with Insight Partners 

in NYC during summer 2020 as an investment analyst intern, 

and will start full time with Insight after completing his 

Masters in Finance at Vanderbilt University in summer, 2021. 



NADINE MOUSALLI 

Nadine Moussalli 

came to AU from 

Montgomery, AL. 

Showing true resiliency, Nadine 

stuck with accounting and, in 

addition to her FINC major, she 

graduated in 2020 with an ACCT 

minor. Nadine started her career 

in Charlotte, NC working as a 

Capital Markets Analyst with 

Regions after completing two 

internships with the firm – one 

in the Financial Development 

Program, and one as a coverage 

analyst in the corporate bank. 

As an executive member of 

FMA, Nadine says she will miss 

spending her days in the FMA 

Bloomberg room of Lowder. Her 

favorite pastimes include running, 

playing tennis, and Harry Potter 

(a self-proclaimed Slytherin). 

Quite modestly, Nadine says that 

she owes her career preparatory 

success in college to FMA. “This 

organization encouraged me 

to be more forward thinking 

and ambitious and for that, I 

will always be thankful.” She 

encourages new members to “use 

the resources and the people in 

FMA - they are here to help you, 

take advantage of it.” 


A LOOK AT AT OUR STUDENTS 

CHRIS 

CORY 

Chris Cory, our best ever VP of 

operations, grew up in Roswell, 

GA and says he came to AU 

because he loved the atmosphere when he visited – 

“Everyone was so nice, the campus is beautiful and of 

course, there’s the football program.” Chris, who is an 

avid hunter and scuba diver, joined FMA in Spring 2017 

and was a member since his freshman year. He says his 

favorite FMA memory was the student leadership trip 

to NYC. What advice does Chris give to our younger 

members? “Reach out to the older members and 

alumni. You’d be surprised how much people know 

and their willingness to share that knowledge and help 

out. Help out exec and Tracy with whatever they need 

(thanks Chris), it’ll be a huge stress relief for them. 

Work hard, but enjoy yourselves; you won’t get these 

years back. And don’t take Auburn for granted because 

you never know when a pandemic will strike your last 

semester short.” Chris joined Capco in NYC as part of 

their Associate Talent Program in spring, 2020. 

22 FMA 2019-2021 2017 MAGAZINE MAGAZINE 

FMA 2017 MAGAZINE 22


KATIE LEONE & 

DANIELLA CUCCI 

It didn’t take Katie Leone 

and Daniella Cucci long 

to become friends once 

joining FMA. These winning women were in 

the spring 2020 FMA cohort and got to know 

each other through training and socials. Both 

are Yankees – Katie hails from Philly, while 

Daniella came to Auburn from Syosset, 

New York. 

Katie attended a tiny, Quaker high school and 

wanted to do a complete 180 when it came 

to choosing her college. “I was attracted to 

Auburn first by its size and location but later 

found the people to be the defining reason for 

my selection,” Katie says. “Before deciding to 

attend AU, I did my research and discovered 

the Auburn FMA webpage. After learning 

more about the program and its successes, I 

made it my goal to join FMA my freshman 

year. It was a huge selling point for me when 

making the decision to attend Auburn and 

has been the defining influence of my college 

career thus far. Not only has FMA prepared 

me and helped me succeed in the rigorous 

investment banking recruiting cycle, but it 

has given me some of my best friends. The 

advisory and mentorship of this group are 

unmatched. This past year, older members 

consistently reached out to me to help me 

prepare for interviews without hesitation.” 

Daniella attended an all-girls Catholic high 

school, where tradition and family were 

constantly emphasized. So naturally, when 

going through the college process, these two 

characteristics were critical. “It might have 

taken 10+ university tours,” Daniella says, “but 

I was finally introduced to something familiar, 

the Auburn Family. This meant being able 

to walk down any street wearing anything 

AU related and getting an enthusiastic “War 

Eagle” or simply a smile from afar. While this 

might be a small polite gesture to some, it 

makes Auburn feel like home, especially being 

so far from where I grew up.” 

Daniella originally chose Auburn for the 

computer science program in the College of 

Engineering. However, a year in, the New 

York native realized “many engineering 

careers lacked the competitive edge that I 

was seeking - it felt like a part of me was left 

on the sidelines. I realized the answer was in 

front of me all along in my mom. The ultimate 

role model for me, I had watched my mom 

successfully navigate the demands of a career 

as a principal portfolio consultant while 

raising three children.” 

Daniella’s grit and quantitative leanings 

made her a perfect candidate for FMA. The 

feeling was mutual: “COVID-19 might have 

put a pause on normal university operations, 

but FMA did not skip a beat,” Daniella said, 

“With Tracy’s guidance, I worked closely with 

alumni and upperclassmen mentors, which 

ultimately led to my success in IB recruiting, 

even in the middle of a global pandemic. I’ve 

never met such passionate people who jump 

at the chance to lend a hand and celebrate 

your successes. Having experienced all of this 

mentoring has encouraged me to do the same 

and pay it forward to younger members.” 

Daniella loves her Italian heritage. Her favorite 

activity is gathering at large family dinners, 

and every summer, she and her family make 

homemade tomato sauce. We are glad to 

have both of these young women in the FMA 

family. Daniella will intern with Wells Fargo’s 

Financial Institutions Group in Charlotte for 

summer, 2021. Katie will be an IB intern with 

CreditSuisse’s energy group in Houston for 

summer, 2022. 



ABIGAIL 

COLEMAN 

Abigail Coleman, a 2021 graduating 

senior from Dothan, Alabama, 

comes from a “divided house” when it comes to choice of 

university. Although both of her parents went to the University 

of Alabama, and she was raised as an Alabama fan, Abigail and 

her two older sisters all decided to call Auburn their college 

home. Abigail explains: “After visiting the campus numerous 

times and attending football games, I fell in love with Auburn 

and everything that it had to offer. I felt that Auburn was the 

place that would best help me achieve my goals and would 

encourage me grow into the person I wanted to become. I’ve 

come full circle and am now on the Auburn University Dance 

team, cheering on the Tigers at every sporting event possible.” 

It takes focus and determination for this active 4.0 student to 

master her busy schedule. “There are a lot of time, physical 

activity, and discipline demands placed on student athletes. 

As a member of the Tiger Paw Dance Team, each week I spend 

about 12 hours practicing, 3 hours engaging in community 

appearances, and 4-6 hours performing for football, basketball, 

soccer, and volleyball games. I have to balance time spent 

between schoolwork, on-campus organizations, and being 

intentional with friendships. It’s important to remember that 

I’m a student first; therefore, my studies and schoolwork are of 

utmost priority.” 

When she can find free time, Abigail enjoys reading, traveling, 

running half-marathons, spending time with friends and family, 

and cooking. She advises younger students to “Embrace being 

uncomfortable. If you’re comfortable, you’re probably not 

growing. Take advantage of every opportunity that challenges 

you and meet new people. You never know what doors could be 

opened due to connections you’ve made. FMA was a whole new 

world for me, but I stepped boldly and am so thankful for all 

the experiences I’ve gained from it!” Abigail will join Truist in 

Atlanta full time as a portfolio management analyst. 



Auburn was really the only 

school that rising senior, 

and incoming ASIF Chief 

Investment Officer (CIO), 

Sam Colvin, considered attending. His older brother 

and sister are both alumni, so he had spent a good bit 

of time on campus. Sam shares: “It turned out to be 

a great decision - the experiences I’ve had at Auburn 

have greatly shaped the person I am today.” 

A mechanical engineering major, Sam says he knew 

little about ME as a profession when he first changed 

majors from pre-med, but knew he liked solving 

problems and saw the major as a good way to apply his 

quantitative strengths and interests. “The engineering 

school does a great job of teaching students how to use 

available resources to systematically solve complex 

problems. This teaching has instilled in me confidence 

that I can solve any problem and the work ethic to see 

it through. I believe that’s something that translates 

well to any career.” 

Sam plans to reinvest in the organization that helped 

with his career goals by taking the reins of the ASIF 

for 2021 – 2022. “Every internship I’ve had is directly 

tied to the FMA network, and that’s true for most 

everyone in this organization. In addition, FMA has 

provided me with multiple resources, including career 

training, corporate visits, case competitions and most 

importantly a group of driven students to work with. 

It is unlike any other organization I’ve been a part 

of at Auburn. As CIO, I want to use the skills that 

FMA / ASIF has taught me to further invest in this 

organization. Auburn means a lot to me, and I think 

FMA is going to play a large role in the advancement of 

this school as well as the state of Alabama. I also think 

of future students, like my younger brother, and hope 

they have the same, if not better, opportunities I had 

through the Integrated Financial Leadership Program 

at Auburn.” 

As further proof of his intellectual curiosity, Sam is 

a two-time winner of HQ trivia. He is interning with 

Piper Sandler in New York City as a summer analyst in 

their chemicals group. 

SAM COLVIN 



JILLIAN 

COLQUITT 

Jillian Colquitt, VP of Membership 

Affairs, has accumulated quite an impressive resume since 

joining FMA her freshman year. Specifically, she received 

the honor of attending multiple diversity summits, including 

the Wells Fargo Securities Freshman Diversity Finance 

Forum and the Jefferies Inspiring Women in Finance 

Symposium. Through these events, she was able to land 

a prestigious internship with Jefferies in their New York 

office for summer, 2021. Jillian credits FMA for preparing 

her for these events in a way that made her stand out— 

even relative to her peers from top universities across the 

country. She said these programs, coupled with her technical 

training through the FMA candidate curriculum, gave her 

the necessary confidence to speak up in front of crowds, 

network with individuals from other schools, and perform 

well in interviews. She also credits her preparedness to the 

mentorship she has received through FMA and now gives 

back to younger members. Jillian is excited to take on her 

new role as VP of External Engagement and make the most of 

her senior year with her FMA friends. 



HANNAH 

VINES 

Learn every day, do small 

things well, and always be on 

the lookout for growth opportunities. Hannah 

Vines grew up in a household that stressed hard 

work and commitment to family, friends, and 

associates. The rising junior never had to look hard 

for a role model. Hannah’s dad is the president and 

CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, so she 

was exposed to business at an early age. 

Originally, Auburn wasn’t in the cards for this 

Birmingham native. “I was previously committed 

to playing volleyball at another D1 university. 

Something kept calling me back to Auburn and 

I ultimately decided to listen to that voice. I 

switched paths and made the decision to head to 

The Plains. It’s the best decision I’ve made.” 

In true Vines style, Hannah did her research early. 

“I heard about FMA through some friends. Caleb 

Carter (FMA ’20) told me about the organization 

when I was still in high school, and I made it a 

point to meet Tracy and other members when I 

got to campus.” Hannah joined the organization 

in January of her freshman year. “FMA has helped 

me achieve not only my professional goals, but my 

personal and academic goals here at Auburn. The 

mentorship and alumni network are what set FMA 

apart from other campus organizations. Members 

of the organization are passionate about finance as 

well as building relationships outside of work and 

school. FMA perfectly balances community and a 

commitment to professional growth.” 

Hannah stays busy outside of FMA as well. She is 

a member of SGA, Alpha Gam sorority, Auburn 

Black Student Union, and War Eagle Girls and 

Plainsmen. In her spare time, she loves to knit - 

blankets, hats, scarves, socks, you name it. Hannah 

will be joining Goldman Sachs, NYC as a summer, 

2021 intern in their IB real estate group. 


FMA Leadership Summit 

Three executives from separate business 

disciplines discussed how oil in Saudi 

Arabia might impact the stock market, the 

growing impact of women in the C-suite, 

and taking chances with new, aggressive 

product lines, among other topics. 

However, 2019 Summit panelists - David 

Andrews, Senior Managing Director at 

Evercore, John Murphy, EVP and CFO at 

Coca-Cola, and Kristin Kallergis, Head 

of Alternatives at J.P. Morgan, shared a 

common theme during a 90-minute panel 

session – advice for young professionals. 

Three takeaways: be receptive to 

feedback, recruit mentors, and don’t take 

yourself too seriously. 

The event, held in Lowder and packed 

to standing room only with students in 

business attire, was held in conjunction 

with the annual Financial Management 

Association Leadership Summit. 

“When I look back at my career, the 

major inflection points have been 

directly related to either a sponsor 

whom thought I was worth sponsoring 

or a mentor who was there to give good 

advice,” said Murphy, who has held 

numerous management, finance and 

strategic planning roles in his 31 years 

at the soft drink powerhouse. “It’s often 


intimidating to think – particularly if 

you’re looking for more senior people and 

believe that they won’t help – but in fact, 

I think it’s quite the opposite. People are 

often too willing to share back what they 

have received. Actively recruit mentors 

from the get-go.” 

Andrews, who earned a degree in 

mechanical engineering at Auburn in 

1991, spent 11 years in the U.S. Navy and 

has worked in the oil industry since 2012. 

“In my stage of my career, I’ve found 

that people who seem the happiest are 

the people who don’t take themselves 

too seriously,” he told students. “I know 

that you are sitting here all dressed up in 

a suit and tie and you’re anxious about 

starting your careers, and I’ll tell you that 

you’ll spend the first 20 to 30 years of 

your career just trying to make sure that 

people are taking you seriously. That’s 

good. Strive to make sure that other 

people take you seriously – but don’t take 

yourself too seriously.” 

Kallergis spent five years as Alternative 

Investments Specialist and Head of 

Alternative Investments at J.P. Morgan 

in London, England, before moving back 

to her hometown of Chicago, Illinois. 

“Always be open to feedback, because it’s 

the only way you are going to grow,” she 

said. “If people think that you are not 

good at receiving feedback, then they will 

stop giving it to you. One of the things 

that I’ve always done in my career is I go 

to a team member and ask, ‘What’s one 

thing you would have done differently?’ 

When you ask it that way, it’s a nice way 

to pull the answer out of them.” 

Murphy added that a special emphasis on 

communication skills is vital for success 

in the business world. “If I was to give 

myself some advice, I would have invested 

more time earlier in communication. 

There is nothing more important as you 

progress through your life and career as 

having the ability to communicate in a 

compelling way so that you have others 

who will want to listen to you and want to 

connect with you.” 

The question-and-answer style forum was 

moderated by Harbert College of Business 

alumnus Steven Aldridge, Managing 

Director at Cantor Fitzgerald. A favorite 

of the students, and FMA Board Member, 

Steve has been a part of the Summit since 

it started 3 years ago. He moved into the 

role of moderator in years two and three 

after serving on the inaugural Summit 

panel in 2017.

EXPANDED PROGRAMMING 



FMA expanded Summit programming 

this year, offering several engagement 

opportunities for students, including breakout meetings with 

industry professionals representing different fields: Moelis 

– investment banking, McKinsey – consulting, and Sysco – 

corporate finance. FMA also hosted a networking social at the 

Collegiate for its alumni members and concluded the Summit 

on Saturday with a special tailgate on the Gavin Terrace at 

Horton-Hardgrave Hall, prior to the Georgia at Auburn 

football game. 




PREMIUM TO PAR 


Leadership Program 

PARTICIPATIONS 

FMA strives to identify diverse and underrepresented 

students and prepare them for 

application to national financial leadership programs. 

In 2021 alone, FMA students placed in over 20 such 

programs. The mentorship and early identification 

that FMA provides rendered student acceptances into 

elite programs, including those of Citibank, Goldman 

Sachs, Seizing Every Opportunity, Searchlight 

Capital, Girls Who Invest, and Evercore, – to name a 

few. 

According to AJ Stanley, “Diversity programs allow 

women and minority students who attend ‘nontarget’ 

schools (which include both predominately 

white institutions such as Auburn University, and 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities) to create 

inroads with a firm, catalyzing the formation of a 

professional network and unlocking access to the 

highly-competitive recruiting process.” 

Financial institutions have a duty to maintain teams 

of investors that best reflect the diverse backgrounds 

of the clients they serve, and in turn, studies show 

diverse teams yield higher returns and have better 

team dynamics. 

Michael Parker, who has attended several leadership 

conferences, shares, “Being a minority, it has been 

crucial to my personal growth to be surrounded by 

such a diverse group and be able to witness individual 

successes. To see people of color and women pursue 

and succeed in their careers provides me with hope 

and makes me optimistic about this industry’s future. 

I firmly believe that individuals become the product 

of the groups they associate with, and there’s nothing 

better than being a part of such a diverse and high 

achieving organization.” 

FMA believes in this cause and pushes women and 

minorities to lean in – to engage early, and allow their 

voices to be heard. 


GIRLS WHO INVEST 

In 2021, FMA celebrated its 4th student 

acceptance into the prestigious 

Girls Who Invest (“GWI”) Summer 

Intensive Program. GWI seeks to 

address the gender imbalance in the 

male-dominated asset management 

sector by equipping women with the 

necessary technical and behavioral 

skills to succeed in a career in 

investing. This 10-week program 

entails four weeks of classroom 

experience at Wharton and Notre 

Dame, followed by a six-week 

internship with a leading asset 

manager. The training portion of the 

program culminates into a capstone 

project, where women have the 

opportunity to consult with a Fortune 

500 company’s investor relations team 

and formulate a pitch to a committee 

of investors. 

Kennedy Jarvis, a rising senior and 

2021-2022 co-president of FMA, 

completed the program in summer 

2020. Kennedy’s expectations were 

based on the experiences of previous 

GWI alumni, Jenny Herrell (’20) and 

Emily Mills: lots of long days, hard 

work, and late-night chats with new 

friends. “Upon acceptance to the 

program, I was informed I would 

be spending the first portion of the 

program, four weeks of intensive 

training culminating in a final 

presentation, in Philadelphia at the 

University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton 

School. After that, I’d be continuing on 

to Salt Lake City to join the developed 

markets team at Wasatch Global 

Investors as an equities analyst.” 

The pandemic resulted in a virtual 

program, but Kennedy said GWI 

made a seamless transition. “I am 

abundantly grateful to the GWI for not 

even batting an eye before reassuring 

us that our summer would proceed, 

even if it looked a bit different. They 

worked tirelessly to put together 

a complete online curriculum, 

consisting of live lectures, guest 

speakers, and group presentations. 

The team did their best to preserve 

the overall experience and encourage 

interaction between the scholars even 

though we could not be together. 

I am also thankful for the team at 

Wasatch for putting together a training 

program and looping me in on real, 

team-benefitting projects in my short 

and virtual time with them.” Kennedy 

will intern with Moelis in NYC this 

summer. 

GWI’s goal is simple: Build a pipeline 

of female asset managers so that 30 

percent of global investable capital 

is managed by women by 2030. FMA 

shares in this vision. Former GWI 

alum Jenny Herrell contends, “We 

believe financial literacy offers women 

and minorities the opportunity to 

hold power over their future, pursue a 

career with influence, and ultimately 

better their communities and bring 

about change in both political and 

social spheres. Financial literacy 

provides the opportunity to control 

your own wealth, and wealth implies 

power, which ultimately garners 

influence.” 

Throughout the summer, Kennedy, 

like the women that participated in 

the program before her, continuously 

emailed IFLP director, Tracy Richard 

with ideas for programing and 

training, adding to the framework for 

the Auburn Student Investment Fund, 

which Kennedy oversaw during her 

junior year. 


Leadership Program Highlight 

Tracy explains “FMA’s accomplishments and 

prestige are built on student drive and ownership 

– Kennedy is a solid testament to this dedication 

and stewardship. When she returned to campus, 

our goal was simple: rally behind a candidate 

and aim to place a fourth woman into GWI.” 

Kennedy, along with FMA’s 2nd former GWI 

alums, Emily Mills and Jenny Herrell, helped to 

prepare other applicants to the program to follow 

in their footsteps. The team could think of no 

better candidate than Maggie Richard, current 

FMA sophomore who had already completed three 

internships in the financial services industry. 

Maggie was accepted to GWI and will intern with 

Searchlight Capital in New York at the end of her 

technical training. 

FMA women believe in assisting one another 

and lending a helping hand to see junior female 

members succeed – a sentiment clearly seen in 

the advancement of all FMA women but a culture 

that began long before their membership. FMA’s 

mentorship and early identification has led to the 

development of countless female leaders, including 

President Caroline Clothiaux, who is now a senior 

financial analyst with Cox Communication and 

continues to champion for the employment of 

additional FMA members. This legacy continued 

with President Krista Alexon, currently an 

associate at Silicon Valley Bank, who also remains 

strongly connected to the organization. Former 

president Bailey Sullivan is now with The Carlyle 

Group in New York, and Kate Bagley, former 

Auburn Student Investment Fund president 

is working with Exxon, adding to the list of 

impressive leaders. First year GWI member Jenny 

Herrell will be joining Goldman Sachs full time on 

their cross-asset sales desk. 

Ø 

Ø 

Ø 

Ø 

Ø 

Ø 

FMA Identified opportunity with one of the most prestigious diversity programs in the country 

FMA works with target students to prepare application and recommendation packet 

Student is selected – GWI provided 6 weeks of academic training at Penn then places her with partner investment management 

firm for summer internship 

This experience makes program graduates highly prepared for recruiting cycle 

Prepare student 

and application 

Leadership 

program 

acceptance 

LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS 

Prior participants work to identify and prepare subsequent nominees, who are assisted with application 

FMA-GWI women continue to invest in the program and support undergraduate applicants 

Academic 

training 

Top internship 

Elite career 

placement 

Graduates are engaged, grateful, and motivated to stay involved 

Leadership Program Highlights 

• FMA identifies opportunity with one of the most prestigious 

diversity programs in the country 

• FMA works with target students to prepare application and 

recommendation packet 

• Student is selected – GWI provided 4 weeks of academic 

training at Penn then places her with partner investment 

management firm for summer internship 

• This experience makes program graduates highly prepared 

for recruiting cycle 

• Prior participants work to identify and prepare subsequent 

nominees, who are assisted with application 

• FMA-GWI women continue to invest in the program and 

support undergraduate applicants 

There are many strong women associated with 

FMA that continue to pour into this program. 

Without their dedication and hard work, the 

organization would not have reached the feats they 

boast today. Ownership, drive, and stewardship 

are the qualities ingrained in these young 

leaders and have been an integral focus since 

the program’s inception. Members believe in the 

organization’s mission to increase diversity in the 

financial services industry, for they have witnessed 

firsthand the successes that stem from the 

mentorship and encouragement that occurs within 

the walls of FMA. 


Case Competitions 


FMA students represented FMA in five case 

competitions over the last two years: Duff & 

Phelps’ YOUniversity Deal Challenge (two years), 

the CFA Institute Research Challenge, and the 

UGA Stock Pitch Competition (two years). 

The 2020 – 2021 CFA team, included 

students Jillian Colquitt, Lee Schuessler, 

Maggie Richard, Preston Wise and Will 

McColskey. This is an annual global 

competition that provides students 

with hands on mentoring and intensive 

training in financial analysis using 

analytical valuation, report writing and 

presentations skills. 

The event included 15 teams representing 

universities across the Southeast and 

took place virtually due to COVID. 

Students worked on the project from 

October to February. 

The team’s final report consisted of 

an in-depth analysis of Aflac with 

quantitative and qualitative research to 

supporting the team’s recommendation 

placed on the equity. 

“It’s good for the students to participate 

in such a large-scale competition and 

compete with other regional schools 

such as Emory, Georgia, Georgia Tech, 

and Georgia State. I’m so proud of our 

students,” said Albert Wang, associate 

professor in finance at Harbert College, 

who also serves as the team’s faculty 

advisor. 

Jonathan Hu led the 2021 UGA Stock 

Pitch Competition team of Stephen Sadie, 

Finn Price, and Hannah Vines. They 

chose to pitch the Walt Disney Company. 

“This is a great way for younger members 

to get introduced to equity research and 

the analysis tools necessary for ASIF.” 

Case competitions provide FMA students 

with practical, hands-on application and 

industry exposure, and students continue 

to proudly represent our program at 

regional and national competitions. 


DUFF DYNASTY 

YOUniversity Deal Challenge national 

champions for the second consecutive year, 

and 2021 winner of the international title. 

Students in Harbert College’s Financial Management 

Association (FMA) are Duff & Phelps YOUniversity Deal 

Challenge national champions for the second consecutive year. 

But they didn’t stop there. The 2020 – 2021 team elevated their 

game this year and brought home the international title, beating 

out the regional winners from Europe, India, and Asia. 


In February 2020, Jenny Herrell, FMA vice president and 

ASIF CIO led the team that included fellow FMA members, 

Jonathan Hu and Kennedy Jarvis to Auburn’s first national 

title. The final round presentation was held before judges in 

Chicago. “Working in teams, students apply technical reasoning 

and critical thinking through key stages of the deal-making 

process. Together, we put these skills to work as we solved a 

complex transaction related to a key stage in business dealmaking,” 

Herrell says. Jonathan Hu attributed the success 

to team dynamics: “Going into Chicago and pitching our 

recommendation to a panel of judges who each had decades of 

experience in the industry was definitely a tall task for a few 

undergraduate students,” he said. “However, each of us made 

sacrifices and put forth our best effort in the months leading 

up to the competition. Our team dynamic, along with proper 

training and advice from the FMA organization and alumni 

ensured that we went into that room confident and prepared.” 

Duff veteran, Kennedy Jarvis, went on to lead the team this year, 

with Sam Colvin, a junior in mechanical engineering, and Nick 

Thompson, a sophomore in accounting and finance. The pitch 

wowed industry professional judges with their pre-COVID and 

post-COVID valuations of a multi-chain restaurant company in

CASE COMPETITIONS 

the United Kingdom in the March 31 final round, held virtually. 

The Harbert College students were awarded $15,000 for for the 

first place finish, defending the national title against finalists 

from the University of Texas and California-Berkeley. The 

international prize netted the students another $15,000. 

“I could not be prouder of these students and our program as 

a whole,” said Tracy Richard, Director of Harbert College’s 

Financial Leadership Program. “This competition is rigorous 

with 277 original entries this year. The win exemplifies the talent 

of the Auburn students and the FMA program on a national 

stage, and clearly shows our ability to go toe to toe with elite 

institutions. Auburn FMA fielded a team in this international 

competition every year for the last five years, placing in the top 

five every year but one and winning the national title the last two 

years.” 

The annual YOUniversity Deal Challenge engages teams of 

business students from across the world to showcase their 

finance skills through simulated case studies. Top teams from 

each region – the Americas, Asia, India, and EMEA (Europe, 

Middle East and Africa) – traditionally have met in a final 

international competition. COVID-19 continues to throw a 

wrench into those plans, however. 

“Winning prestigious national competitions like these against 

other great business schools definitely puts us on the map,” 

said Jarvis, President of the Auburn Student Investment Fund 

and Incoming FMA Co-President. “We want to market this 

to students in high school and say, ‘Look what we’re doing at 

Auburn.’ There are other great business schools in the South and 

winning these types of competitions legitimize Auburn FMA, our 

finance program, and the Harbert College of Business.” 

For the March 31 finals, students were provided financial 

information regarding a hypothetical restaurant that recently 

made an acquisition. Students were challenged to determine 

whether or not this was a smart move and make valuations, 

pre- and post-COVID, on the restaurant. Students were given 

30 uninterrupted minutes to present, then another 30 to answer 

questions. 

“Our main deliverable was the valuation,” Jarvis said. “It was 

interesting, trying to find research materials and precedent 

transactions that accurately reflected the types of multiples that 

we needed to see. This wasn’t necessarily part of the deliverable, 

but we just threw in tidbits like, ‘We think they should invest 

in delivery kitchens because that’s where we see the future of 

the restaurant industry, especially in the recovery from the 

pandemic.’” 

Jarvis credited FMA – and a familiar face -- for best preparing 

the team for this competition and setting them up for bright 

futures beyond college. 

“Auburn FMA has, hands down, changed my Auburn experience 

and my career path in ways that I couldn’t have even imagined,” 

she said. “One of my favorite things that is evidenced through 

these case competitions is how the former students like to give 

back. And even beyond graduation, we receive so much support 

and involvement from our alumni. This year, Jimmy Brewster’s 

mentorship was invaluable. He graduated last December, and 

he’s still giving back, helping us with the presentation and the 

valuation for no personal gain. He wants to see the organization 

flourish and grow and succeed.” 

Brewster, a former FMA President and competitor on FMA case 

competition teams, was Harbert College’s Graduation Marshal 

for Spring 2020. 

“Through Harbert College’s finance program and the FMA, 

I’ve learned so many technical financial skills, including capital 

structure analysis and valuation, that I wouldn’t have learned 

otherwise,” Jarvis added. “Also, I’ve learned so much about 

gratitude and stewardship. I have only one year left at Auburn, 

but after graduation, I plan to be as involved as the committed 

alumni that have gone before me.” 


UNIVERSITY AND 

NATIONAL AWARDS 

Auburn University FMA Honor Society Presented with 

Superior Chapter Award for the Fourth Year in a Row. 

SUPERIOR CHAPTER • NATIONAL FACULTY ADVISOR OF THE YEAR 

BEST IN PRACTICAL APPLICATION • NATIONAL EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR 


INTEGRATED EARNINGS 

For the fourth year in a row, in spring of 2021, FMA was 

named Superior Chapter by the FMA national organization. 

Our chapter was also recognized, two years in a row, with 

National Executive of the Year and Faculty Advisor of the 

Year awards. At the University level, FMA received the 

Excellence in Practical Application Award for the second 

time, at the 2020 AU Involvement Ceremony. 

A prime example of our emphasis on practical application and 

career readiness can be seen in FMA’s candidate development 

program. This curriculum includes a rigorous twelve-week 

intensive training program designed to prepare students 

for elite careers in finance. This comprehensive academic 

preparation entails over 40 hours of intensive training 

including: 

• 300-page guide with a weekly schedule and syllabus 

• Wall Street Prep Video Curriculum with accompanying 

PowerPoint deck 

• Technical Finance Question Guide 

• Behavioral Question Guide 

• Weekly homework 

• Networking assignments 

• Internal mentors 

• Professional development seminars 

• Weekly meetings to cover technical and behavioral 

topics 

• Capstone mock technical interview and discounted 

cash flow analysis project 

This candidate training is only the beginning. Members 

continue their training with three FMA/ASIF specific 

courses: Advanced Modeling Practical Application, Advanced 

Security Analysis, and Advanced Portfolio Management. 

These honors recognize our accomplishments as an elite 

financial preparation program that combines education, 

career preparation, industry intellectual capital, alumni 

engagement, and information resources to produce the best 

trained and prepared students for finance careers. These 

training efforts resulted in an average starting compensation 

of $116,000 for our 2021 graduates. 


AWARDS & SCHOLARSHIPS 

FMA MEMBER NAMED 

GRADUATION MARSHAL 

IN SPRING 2020 

“When I think of my future career goals and desire 

to mentor women, it is largely shaped by the desire 

to honor the legacy and impact that this institution 

has had on my own life.” ~ Jenny Herrell 

When Auburn Director of Financial Leadership Programs 

Tracy Richard was asked to describe Jenny Herrell, a junior in 

finance, she didn’t hesitate. “She’s amazing, driven, reliable, and 

she’s loyal,” Richard said emphatically. “She gets involved and 

encourages dedication from every person she comes in contact 

with. I can think of no one more deserving of the Graduation 

Marshal title” 

Herrell reflects on her time at Auburn: As I near matriculation, 

I reflect on my time at Auburn with a sense of awe – awe of 

the mentors I have met, organizations that have bettered me, 

and the undeniable luck that characterized this journey. I 

entered my freshman year at Auburn relatively certain of my 

career interests and intent on declaring finance as my major. 

In finance, I found a convergence of my greatest interests – a 

field that required analysis and the appetite for risk and an 

environment best suited for individuals that thrive in dynamic 

and fast paced situations.” 

The first month of my freshman year I applied for and joined the 

Financial Management Association (“FMA”) and the Auburn 

Student Investment Fund (“ASIF”), where I began as a junior 

analyst and eventually advanced up the ranks to sector director 

and, now, Fund president. This organization evoked my passion 

for investing, shaped my career interests, and allowed me 

practical application of the concepts introduced in coursework. 

More importantly, it placed peer and faculty mentors in my 

life who pushed my boundaries, broadened my knowledge, and 

demanded more from my work and research. Influencers like 

Tracy Richard, director of Auburn’s financial leadership program, 

who pushed me to apply to programs and conferences and to 

develop my own sense of tenacity. Her stewardship rendered my 

acceptance into Girls Who Invest – an organization advocating 

for a greater female presence in the asset management industry 

– where I was the first woman from an SEC state university 

to be accepted into the program. Through the preparation of 

both FMA and ASIF, I have had the opportunity to further 

JENNY 

HERRELL 

my knowledge through internships, case competitions, and 

conferences. More importantly, it allowed me an avenue to 

mentor and invest in other young women, hoping to equip them 

with similar opportunities. These experiences transformed the 

lens through which I viewed finance; to me, finance is no longer 

merely a number-based science; rather, it is the motor that drives 

exciting growth opportunities that I can be a part of creating, 

whether that be business, political, or philanthropic efforts. 

Although it may sound cliché, I truly believe in the uniqueness 

of the Auburn family – in the willingness of its members to 

pour into others, better one another, and cater to all. Without 

it, I would likely never have experienced the empowerment 

that a career in finance can yield and never have met the many 

Auburn men and women who have shaped me into the woman I 

leave this university as. When I think of my future career goals 

and desire to mentor women, it is largely shaped by the desire 

to honor the legacy and impact that this institution has had on 

my own life, and one of the many reasons I am proud to be an 

Auburn woman. 



FMA PRESIDENT NAMED 

STUDENT LEADER OF THE YEAR 

AND HCOB MARSHAL 

Jim Brewster came to Auburn as a freshman – eager to get 

involved and take advantage of the resources the Harbert 

College of Business had to offer. It didn’t take long before the 

Atlanta native became involved in the Financial Management 

Association (FMA) and discovered his career calling and passion 

for the industry. Four years later, not only had Brewster served 

as Vice President of the Auburn Student Investment Fund 

(ASIF) and President of the FMA – and held five internships – 

he’s leaving Auburn as HCOB’s Graduation Marshal for the Fall, 

2020 commencement. 

“The Harbert College of Business and FMA connected me with 

mentors that gave me insights early on in my college experience 

on what I needed to do to achieve my career goals,” Brewster 

said. “These mentors in the FMA were crucial in my professional 

development. In addition, Auburn FMA’s university-sponsored 

coursework, Practical Application and ASIF, provided me 

practical skills that I will use daily in my job such as financial 

modeling, valuation and corporate strategy.” 

Tracy Richard, Director of the Integrated Financial Leadership 

Program at the Harbert College and FMA faculty advisor, 

considers Brewster to be one of the brightest students she’s 

mentored. 

“Even as an underclassman, Jim worked strategically and 

efficiently to follow his goal that one day he would represent 

Auburn University where seldom students had gone before,” 

Richard said. “His initiative was impressive, but along with that 

JIM 

BREWSTER 

initiative was a character steeped in humility, altruism, and 

leadership. Jim is significantly involved on campus, focused on 

supporting his peers and the HCOB finance program. As FMA 

President, he has worked extensively year-round to provide 

guidance and aid to his colleagues – spending countless hours 

with students of all majors, who have an interest in finance. He 

is both humble in manner, and prodigious in skill. 

“Jim has been relentless in his drive, not only for himself, but 

also for the organizations that he represents. He is not only a 

great leader, but also a great friend and I, along with the dozens 

of students that have benefitted from his stewardship, can’t 

thank him enough. Auburn is markedly better for having Jim as 

a student these last four and a half years.” 

Brewster said his time in the FMA was the most impactful 

contributor to his college experience. 

“Both the people and structure of the program guided me every 

step of the way in my personal and professional development,” 

he said. “Tracy Richard is the cornerstone for the group, and 

I am a personal witness that she dedicates her life to this 

program and these students. I recommend this program to every 

underclassmen I meet because I have never seen an organization 

on campus that creates as much of a tangible impact on students 

as this one.” 

In four years at Harbert, Brewster was also named AU Involve 

Student Leader of the Year for 2020, was recipient of the 

Phi Kappa Phi Yates Award, and helped lead a team of FMA 

members into the final round of the Duff & Phelps YOUniversity 

Challenge. Brewster will soon assume a role within Evercore’s 

Mergers and Acquisitions group in New York City. In doing so, 

Brewster will become the first Auburn to work for Evercore 

directly out of college. 



PARTH 

RANCHHOD 

INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS 

ENGINEERING SENIOR EARNS 

FRANK VANDEGRIFT AWARD 

Parth Ranchhod, an industrial and systems 

engineering senior, has received the 2020 Frank 

Vandegrift Co-Op Student of the Year Award. 

Established in honor of Frank Vandegrift, a former director 

of the Cooperative Education Program at Auburn University, 

the award is given each year as a testament to an outstanding 

engineering co-op student. 

Ranchhod fulfilled his co-op at Cox Communications 

and completed an internship with Truist Securities, both 

headquartered in Atlanta. 

Spending two rotations with Cox Communications, the largest 

private telecom company in America, Ranchhod developed the 

“Customer Service Ecosystem” dashboard. 

SHAWN 

METZGAR 

Shawn Metzgar is no stranger to hard 

work. A senior from Decatur, AL, Shawn 

joined ROTC at Auburn because of his 

love of country and his desire to nurture 

and develop leadership skills and selfdiscipline. 

His four-year involvement 

in ROTC has been marked by one 

accomplishment after another. Most 

recently, Shawn was named the recipient 

of the William Nichols Award, the 

designation given to the most outstanding 


cadet in Auburn’s ROTC program. As 

evidenced through his impressive career 

while at Auburn, Shawn is always striving 

to find ways to set himself apart as a 

leader. After a rigorous, merit-based 

national selection process, Shawn was 

accepted into the Sapper Leader Course – 

a 28-day leadership development program 

for combat engineers that teaches 

advanced Army techniques. The training 

includes troop leading procedures, 

demolitions, and mountaineering 

operations and culminates in an intense, 

7-day field training exercise that tests 

the leadership skills required to earn the 

coveted Sapper tab. Shawn doesn’t plan 

to stop there, however. Upon completion 

of the Sapper Leader Course, Shawn has 

goals of graduating Ranger School and, 

eventually, earning his MBA and starting 

a business of his own. Thank you for your 

service - we are so proud of you, Shawn.


Emily Mills, a Harbert College of Business senior majoring 

in finance, was named the Alabama Association of 

Colleges and Employers Intern Student of the Year for 

2020. This award recognizes an outstanding intern from a 

four-year or two-year institution. 

Mills, a native of The Woodlands, Texas, earned this 

honor after completing the Girls Who Invest Summer 

Intensive program in 2019. GWI selects the brightest 

female finance students across the nation and puts them 

through a rigorous, four-week training program focused 

on core asset management concepts and skills taught 

by professors from the Wharton School of Business. 

She then completed the GWI program with a six week 

internship at Vista Equity Partners gaining hands on 

experience in the financial industry. This summer she had 

the opportunity to continue learning about the industry 

while interning for ExxonMobil in Houston. There, she 

worked as a CFS summer analyst focused on creating a 

tool for managing employee staffing and development. 

“This award highlights the amount of work both my peers 

and Tracy Richard (Financial Management Association 

Director) have put into encouraging me to reach beyond 

what I believed I was capable of when I started school in 

2017. I have been guided every step of the way,” said Mills, 

a four-year member of the FMA National Honor Society 

who expects to graduate this December. “I never could 

have won this award without FMA, Tracy, and classes at 

Harbert College that pushed me to think outside of the 

basics of finance.” 

EMILY 

MILLS 

“I am so grateful for everything FMA has provided 

me. I have been surrounded by the brightest students 

in finance, encouraged to better myself every 

semester, and pushed to apply for everything that 

comes my way... It is because of FMA that I feel I am 

ready to start my career in the coming year.” 

Richard said that Mills “approaches every task with 

purpose and heart.” 

“Her acceptance to Girls Who Invest was one of the first 

for women of the SEC,” Richard continued. “But beyond 

this drive, Emily is just a good person who always lifts 

those around her. She has left her mark on FMA and the 

University by embracing the mentorship of our younger 

students. I look forward to watching Emily’s success at 

ExxonMobil and beyond.” 

“I joined FMA without really understanding the impact 

it would have on my time here at Auburn,” Mills said. “I 

was just eager to find my place here in the business school. 

I am so grateful for everything FMA has provided me. I 

have been surrounded by the brightest students in finance, 

encouraged to better myself every semester, and pushed to 

apply for everything that comes my way. I have been able 

to network with alumni and have had the opportunity to 

take more challenging courses. It is because of FMA that I 

feel I am ready to start my career in the coming year.” 



LAUREN BRADFORD 

BY JOE MCADORY 

Lauren Bradford will carry the crown of Miss 

Alabama for a year. However, her academic 

foundation earned at Auburn University’s 

Harbert College of Business will last a lifetime. 

Bradford, who graduated in May, 2021 with a degree in 

finance and was crowned Miss Alabama the night of June 12, 

hopes to parlay her education into a career in strategy and 

management consulting. 

“The Harbert College of Business has equipped me for the 

future by fulfilling a culture of hard work and engagement 

with professors and faculty,” said the Gulf Shores, Alabama, 

native who will compete in the Miss America Pageant in 

December. 

“The finance program at the Harbert College is filled with 

professors and individuals who truly care about the outcome 

of their students and work to ensure they have the resources 

needed to obtain internships, networking opportunities and 

their desired careers.” 

Bradford, who will begin pursuit of a Master of Science in 

finance at Vanderbilt University in 2022, made the most of her 

three years as a student as an active member of the Auburn 

University Financial Management Association, or FMA, and 

Harbert College’s Executive Society. 

“FMA works to prepare students interested in competitive 

careers in finance for Fortune 500 and Wall Street jobs in 

fields such as investment banking, asset management, and 

strategy consulting,” she said. 

“I have learned so much from this competitive environment 

and hope to carry these skills gained into my next season.” 

Tracy Richard, director of Harbert College’s Integrated 

Financial Leadership Program and FMA faculty advisor, said 

Bradford’s skills “reach far beyond the classroom.” 

“She’s a remarkable young woman who has the capacity to look 

at the big picture first and then drill down on meaningful ways 

to achieve desired outcomes,” Richard said. “FMA is so proud 

of all of Lauren’s achievements. We look forward to cheering on 

her successes as Miss Alabama, a Vanderbilt graduate student 

and a successful career woman, and wish her the best at the Miss 

America pageant.” 

“FMA, under Tracy’s directorship, pours so much into ensuring 

students obtain their dream internships and offers,” Bradford 

said. “I appreciate her level of dedication and intentionality to 

myself, the students of FMA and the finance program at Auburn 

University—she has truly impacted so many of us and charted 

a path for her students’ success. In the words of Tracy, ‘Finance 

rocks.’” 

Though Bradford was deeply entrenched as a Harbert College 

student for three years, she remained active in the pageant 

scene, winning Miss Auburn University as a freshman in 2019 

and Miss Jefferson County in 2020. 

“After stepping into a role that I never expected to hold at the 

age of 18, I was emboldened by professors, faculty and members 

of the Auburn Family,” she said. “I learned so much about what 

it means to be an Auburn woman and stand for something 

bigger.” than myself.” 


RECOGNIZED RESEARCH 

ALBERT 

WANG 

The acquisition and exploitation of private 

information in U.S. capital markets has been an 

issue since the early days of Wall Street. 

While regulators have increased their efforts to eliminate 

selective disclosure, methods mutual fund managers use to 

obtain inside information from local firms, however, have 

become creative ... and simple. How? They call a taxi. 

Harbert College of Business finance professors Dr. David Cicero 

and Dr. Albert Wang’s co-authored study, “Taxi! Do Mutual 

Funds Pursue and Exploit Information on Local Companies?” 

examined data obtained from the New York City Taxi and 

Limousine Commission from 2009 to 2016 and identified more 

than 500,000 recorded trips between 266 mutual fund offices 

and 244 public firm headquarters in Manhattan. 

Neither phone nor email records are left behind. Instead, 

information can be shared face-to-face – before it goes public 

-- and fund managers appear to obtain superior information by 

visiting local companies. It was discovered that only those funds 

in New York City that frequently visit local companies via taxi 

overweight local firms in their respective portfolios, and firm 

visits were associated with superior investment performance, 

the paper reported. 

“These trips are elevated a couple of weeks before earnings 

announcements,” Cicero, the Bray Distinguished Associate 

Professor in Finance, noted. “Insiders know a lot from the end 

of the quarter up until earnings are released that the rest of the 

world does not know. What do fund managers do when they get 

this information? Well, they appear to trade on it -- profitably. 

“This study ties into fundamental questions of financial 

economics … are fund managers able to outperform the markets? 

Should clients be paying them fees because they are good 

at their jobs? Or do they just cheat the system? Even in this 

small area where it looks like they have outperformed their 

non-local peers, our evidence suggests that the reason they’re 

outperforming is they’re obtaining private information. There’s 

not much evidence to suggest they earned those fees from 

clients because they know how to pick stocks, and that sheds a 

bad light on the overall industry.” 

Who would have thought to trace taxi rides between mutual 

funds and corporate firms in New York City in hopes of 

uncovering potential insider trading? A former student in 

Harbert College’s Ph.D. program in Finance, Shen Zhang, now 

an Assistant Professor in Finance at Troy University and coauthor 

on this paper, brought this revelation to the attention of 

his mentors at Harbert, and the idea for a new research paper 

was born. 

“Shen came to us and said, ‘I was able to uncover this interesting 

data. I don’t know what to do about it, but it’s pretty cool,” 

Wang, the J. Stanley Mackin Distinguished Professor of Finance, 

said. “The three of us sat down and we began this research 

project. It’s a huge amount of data – millions of taxi records. We 

had to run our analysis on the supercomputer managed by the 

College of Engineering.” 

The researchers hope their paper will not only shed light on 

potential insider trading practices but provide regulators 

another source to help keep the system fair. “Our paper could 

serve as a helpful piece to the Securities Exchange Commission 

or the government,” Wang added. “If there’s enough evidence 

suggesting managers are doing something they’re not supposed 

to do, then that could prompt them to look into taxi records 

or investigate more carefully any other means by which fund 

managers could gain information from corporate insiders.” 


EXECUTIVE RECOGNITION 

What makes FMA special? 

Our supporters - in 

particular, our board 

members. 

In 2020, for the third year in a 

row, an IFLP board member was 

named National Executive of 

the Year by the FMA National 

organization. Board Chairman, 

John Bright, is a man of few 

words, but never short on 

impact. As the founder, CIO, 

and president of his own asset 

management company, John’s 

experience has been an invaluable 

factor in IFLP’s success. John 

explains the relationship with 

Bright Investments: “In 2015, 

our firm was approached about 

partnering with the Financial 

Management Association 

(FMA) in the Harbert College 

of Business. As FMA is made 

up of undergraduate students, 

we were concerned about their 

ability to perform as our focus 

has historically been on MBA 

candidates. Six years later, FMA 

has been the most surprising 

benefit of our association with the 

Harbert College. 

“What makes FMA differentiated? 

Simple. FMA students take 

ownership of the organization. As 

an institutional asset management 

firm, these interns add value 

to our investment process 

performing disciplined equity 

analysis that positions students 

to compete post-graduation in 

top investment bank training 

programs. “ 

Thank you John. This national 

recognition is well deserved. 

Your dedication to our integrated 

program has made a difference 

on all aspects from student 

internships to ASIF portfolio 

management. 


JOHN BRIGHT 

2020 FMA National Executive of the Year 



In 2019, Chris Baker was named 

National Executive of the Year by 

FMA national organization. 

A current board member, Chris has 

backed his words with action since 

the founding of FMA. Not only has he 

gifted a $300,000 endowment to FMA 

to support the long-range success of the 

organization, he has also been involved 

with all aspects of FMA, from recruiting, 

to employer networking, to student 

mentoring. 

When Chris Baker was a student at 

Auburn, he found that the finance 

faculty’s support made a huge difference 

in his engagement and academic interest 

in finance. “Dr. Jahera asked me to join 

the Auburn Business Case Competition 

Team where we competed against other 

national schools. We came in 3rd place, 

but won best overall presentation. As I 

began to get more involved in the college 

of business as an alumnus, I saw a need 

for a systemic program to do what was 

done for me, but in a much more holistic 

and comprehensive manner - and at a 

scale where driven students could engage 

to their fullest. So, when the opportunity 

to support FMA presented itself, I jumped 

on it. Now, as I see the full impact over 

the years of this organization - I couldn’t 

be prouder or more excited for all the 

talented student outcomes that are now 

being achieved.” 

After graduating from Auburn, Chris 

began as a staff consultant at Arthur 

Anderson. Through hard work, he rose to 

Global Managing Partner at the firm now 

called Accenture. Baker spent most of his 

career within the global energy sector 

working on the largest and most complex 

client problems involving business 

transformation, which impacted all 

aspects of his clients’ business strategy, 

technology, processes and organization 

aspects. 


CHRIS BAKER 

2020 FMA National Executive of the Year 

How does Chris define success? “I like 

to get the right stuff done the right way. 

I’ve always worked hard in my endeavors. 

So, no matter the task, do it like everyone 

is watching, make good decisions, and 

work harder than everyone else. As a 

management consultant, I lived by the 

motto: “Always do the right thing for the 

client”. That wasn’t always popular, or 

easy, or without risk to my consulting 

business, but I always knew if I took care 

of clients in the long run, they would take 

care of me. These relationships built over 

decades are founded on trust and doing 

the right thing. 

Chris is humbled by the national 

recognition: “It means that Stewardship is 

alive and well - make the place better for 

others than it was for yourself. It means 

that Leadership is alive and well - Tracy 

and the team of students have been true 

and courageous leaders to make this 

all happen. It means that Meritocracy 

is alive and well - the best and most 

driven students have flourished in ways 

unthinkable years ago.” 


FMA NYC TRIP 

INTEGRATING 

EXTERNAL 

ENGAGEMENT 


Through collaboration, support, 

and initiative of Auburn FMA 

alumni and supporters, the 

group completed their fourth successful New York Trip. 

Fourteen students had the opportunity to interact with elite 

employers, expand the university’s professional network, 

and participate in the annual FMA International Finance 

Leadership Conference. 

The annual trip is a definite highlight for the students and 

provides an experiential look at day specific targeted career 

paths. In addition to the conference events, this year’s trip 

included a stop at the New York Stock Exchange where Joe 

Dente of Wellington Shields guided students through the 

exchange and introduced them to various traders as the 

opening bell rang. 

After spending the morning in downtown Manhattan, 

FMA headed to Midtown where they would meet with 

Moelis & Company, and Evercore. Auburn FMA alumnus, 

Jordan Carr, once again hosted an informative session 

at the Moelis office where they discussed transactions, 

the analyst experience and the firm’s recruiting process. 

Later that afternoon, the students attended an info session 

at Evercore where FMA supporters, Robbins Taylor and 

Brett Basik, welcomed the group and with another great 

learning/networking experience for the students. This 



was Auburn FMA’s first corporate visit 

to Evercore’s New York office. Later that 

day, Auburn alumnus Alan Bannister 

hosted a dinner for the students and FMA 

supporters. 

The following day, students transitioned 

from boutique firms to bulge bracket, 

meeting with executives from JP Morgan 

and Goldman Sachs. The JP Morgan was a 

unique opportunity where students gained 

insight via a conversation with John Duffy, 

Vice Chairman and Global Head of Morgan 

Private Ventures for JP. Bailey Sullivan 

and Stan Lewis hosted an analyst panel at 

the Goldman Sachs office where students 

had the opportunity to ask questions 

and inquire about how the experience at 

Goldman differs from other banks on Wall 

Street. 

Another highlight of the trip was the 

Annual FMA Student Leaders Conference. 

Hosted by FMA International, the 

event included speakers from a diverse 

set of backgrounds and an in-person 

case competition, which Auburn FMA 

participated (thank you Trigg for getting us 

a first seed spot in the bracket). 

That evening, the Harbert College of 

Business organized a young alumni night 

at Columbus Circle. It was a great turnout 

and exciting to see that many young 

Auburn graduates working in the city. Dean 

Ranft and several other leaders from the 

HCOB were in attendance. 

We continue to build the FMA brand in 

NYC and strengthen the connection with 

our alumni and supporters. This trip could 

not be possible without their support. 


INTEGRATING 

EXTERNAL 

ENGAGEMENT 

FMA HOUSTON 


In an effort to expand recruiting and placement efforts, 

FMA added a student trip to Houston this year. Fourteen 

students had the opportunity to network and attend info sessions with elite firms. 

The first day of visits included Bank of America, Moelis & Company and Goldman 

Sachs. The following day, the group attended info sessions with Credit Suisse, 

McKinsey and Evercore. These corporate visits were made possible by involved 

Auburn alumni including David Andrews, Jordan Carr, James Casey and Mustafa 

Ali. 

This visit was an important initiative by Auburn FMA to diversify and expand its 

corporate network. Since this visit, three of the fourteen students that attended 

the trek have or will intern with an investment bank in Houston. Also, through this 

trip we were able to connect with David Andrews, a Senior Managing Director at 

Evercore, who returned to Auburn as a featured 2019 Financial Leadership Summit 

executive panelist. 

Outside of the corporate offices, students had the opportunity to experience the 

culinary culture of Houston at El Tiempo, a classic, and The Union Kitchen where 

we were treated to dinner with the Spiwak family, whose daughter Lauren is an 

FMA alum.

The Spiwak Family hosted the FMA group for dinner in Houston. 


WHERE 

ARE WE 

GOING 

NOW? 


2020 FULL TIME 

AND INTERNSHIPS 

American Airlines - Dallas 

Samantha Gee 

Angel Oak Capital - ATL 

Will McColskey (intern) 

Arlington Capital - 

Birmingham 

Draper Newton 

Rachel Turley (intern) 

Ayco - ATL 

Haley Hawk (intern) 

Bank of America 

Alexa Zarvos (intern) 

Emily Baumstark (intern) 

Capco - NYC 

Chris Cory 

Capital Group - ATL 

Josh Horton 

Crown Castle 

Glenn Shell (intern) 

Delta Air Lines - ATL 

Michael Byron 

EY - Charlotte 

AJ Stanley 

Evercore - NYC 

Jim Brewster (intern) 

ExxonMobil - Houston 

Mary Margaret Turton 

Emily Mills (intern) 

Nathan Holden (intern) 

Girls Who Invest 

Kennedy Jarvis 

Goldman Sachs 

Gracie Haas - Dallas 

Jenny Herrell (intern, NYC) 

Price Delk (intern, NYC) 

Harbor View Advisors - 

Jacksonville 

Carson King 

Insight Capital - NYC 

Michael Parker (intern) 

Jefferies - Richmond 

Houston Hollis (intern) 

JLL - Atlanta 

Molly Lupas 

Johnson Sterling - Auburn 

Jackson McFadden 

Maggie Richard 

Lincoln Financial- 

Philadelphia 

Dan Stahl 

Moelis - NYC 

Nathan Stein (intern) 

Piper Jaffray - Charlotte 

Caleb Carter 

Canon Kuipers (intern) 

Raymond James - Nashville 

Brawner Little (intern) 

Regions 

Ashley Moore (Atlanta) 

Stephen Herrara (Atlanta) 

Jack Albert (Charlotte) 

Nadine Moussalli (Charlotte) 

Lexi Lyon 

Alex Deljoo (intern) 

Madeline Akins (intern) 

Michael Lee (intern) 

Preston Wise (intern) 

Jillian Colquitt (intern) 

Sabre - Dallas 

Tobias Snook 

Stifel - NYC 

Ethan Reback (Intern) 

STRH - ATL 

Jake Fink 

Taylor Hardin 

Thomas Collier 

Abigail Coleman (intern) 

Lee Schuessler (intern) 

Parth Ranchod (intern) 

Jackson Weidler (intern, Dallas) 

Summit Park - Charlotte 

Will Hull (intern) 

UBS - Nashville 

Thomas Butler (intern) 

Carter Holmes (intern) 

James Rosen (intern) 

Valence - NYC 

Sam Colvin (intern) 

Wells Fargo - Charlotte 

Angela Snider (intern) 

Delaney Kennedy 

XCLS - Chicago 

Reed McMahon (intern) 

2021 FULL TIME 

AND INTERNSHIPS 

Arlington - BHAM 

Michael Lee 

Ayco - ATL 

Haley Hawk 

Jackson Davis (intern) 

Bank of America - Charlotte 

Alexa Zarvos 

Emily Baumstark 

Credit Suisse - Houston 

Jonathan Hu (intern) 

Evercore - NYC 

Jim Brewster 

ExxonMobil - Houston 

Emily Mills 

Goldman Sachs 

Jenny Herrell (NYC) 

Price Delk (NYC) 

Grace Courtney (Houston) 

Hannah Vines - (intern, NYC) 

Harris Williams 

Will Hull 

Insight Capital - NYC 

Michael Parker 

Jefferies 

Houston Hollis - Richmond 

Jillian Colquitt (intern, NYC) 

Rachel Turley (intern, Boston) 

Lincoln Financial - 

Philadelphia 

Dan Stahl 

Moelis - NYC 

Nathan Stein 

Kennedy Jarvis (intern) 

Morgan Stanley - ATL 

Olivia Baljet (intern) 

Piper Sandler 

Canon Kuipers (Charlotte) 

Sam Colvin (intern, NYC) 

Will Hull (intern, Charlotte) 

Hays Kassen (intern, NYC) 

RSA - Montgomery 

Nick Thompson (intern) 

Raymond James 

Brawner Little (Nashville) 

Glenn Shell (intern, Tampa) 

Regions 

Alex Deljoo (ATL) 

Madeline Akins (BHAM) 

Preston Wise (ATL) 

Madison Campbell (intern, ATL) 

Jackson McFadden (intern, ATL) 

Katie McIntyre (intern, BHAM) 

Thomas Butler (intern, 

Nashville) 

TRUIST - ATL 

Abigail Coleman 

Lee Schuessler 

Jackson Weidler (Dallas) 

Parth Ranchod (intern) 

James Rosen (intern) 

Carter Holmes (intern) 

Will McColskey (intern) 

Abhi Gulati 

Sapper School - ARMY 

Shawn Metzgar 

Searchlight Capital - NYC 

Maggie Richard (intern) 

Stephens - Little Rock, ARK 

James Sadie 

Stephen Sadie (intern) 

Stifel - NYC 

Ethan Reback 

Pernille Buhl (intern) 

Vanderbilt MSF - Nashville 

Lauren Bradford 

Wells Fargo - Charlotte 

Daniella Cucci (intern) 

Angela Snider 

Nick Iannone (intern) 

Wycliffe Bible Translators 

Nathan Holden - Intl 

XLCS - Nashville 

Reed McMahon 


MASTERS OF THE FUTURE 

SAGAR LEVA 

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY 

PRITZKER SCHOOL OF LAW 

What do you find at the intersection of intellect, 

international travel, and interaction with some of today’s 

hottest names in the music industry? FMA alum Sagar 

Leva, of course! After graduating from Auburn in 2016, the 

Monroeville native spent time as an advisory consultant 

with Ernst & Young before continuing to various 

entertainment management firms, including Prodigy 

Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment. As if he 

hadn’t already accomplished enough at such a young age, 

his latest endeavor is even more impressive; Sagar is now 

attending Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of 

Law. 

In the same way Sagar sought out FMA because of the 

practical finance skill set not provided in the classroom, 

he also chose Northwestern because of the practicality of 

their numerous well-respected practicums and immersive 

programs. In addition, he also appreciates the collaborative 

classes with Kellogg which provide a unique blend between 

both legal and business issues. After obtaining his J.D. this 

year, Sagar will be joining Morris, Manning, and Martin in 

Atlanta, GA in their transactional law practice. 

Even though Sagar has spent time with the likes of DJ 

Khaled, Future, and Travis Scott, he still claims his goto 

ice breaker is the fact that he once had breakfast in 

Switzerland, lunch in Germany, and dinner in France—all 

in the same day. You are a rock star, Sagar! 

DRAKE POOLEY 

STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 

Drake Pooley (’16) has always been one 

for an adventure. Coming to Auburn 

from his hometown of Cypress, Texas, 

Drake graduated from Auburn in three 

years with a dual major 4.0 and then 

continued his education at UVA obtaining 

a Master’s in International Commerce. He 

then began a consulting career with A.T. 

Kearney, where he was based out of New 

York City and Dubai. 

His favorite project while with ATK 

consisted of developing a national 

nonprofit strategy in a Middle Eastern 

country, including creating the national 

budget and designing the government 

ministry structure. All in all, his team’s 

efforts will impact 40 million people for 

years to come. 

Since returning to the States, Drake has 

begun pursuing a different dream— 

attaining his MBA from Stanford’s 

Graduate School of Business. Aside from 

the year-round perfect weather, he cites 

the two-dimensional focus on both 

innovation and making a positive impact 

on the world as his ultimate reason for 

choosing Stanford. 

After graduating, Drake plans on 

transitioning to consumer retail growth 

equity or following his entrepreneurial 

nature and building his own start-up. 

He has continued to give back to FMA, 

including hosting guest lectures on 

consulting and grad school. He shares, 

“FMA gave me a sense of the real 

possibilities in the world and what is out 

there--outside of the small bubble I grew 

up in in the South; FMA always pushed 

me to seek more and greater heights.” 

Way to go, Drake! 


LAUREN SPIWAK 

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL 

Ever since her time on the Plains, we knew Lauren was destined for great 

things. The Sugar Land native and FMA alum (’19) began her career as 

a summer analyst with Bank of America in Houston, later joining the 

same group in their New York office full-time. She credits FMA and its 

community of like-minded and ambitious students as having the most 

significant impact on her career. Seeing older members and alumni 

excelling in their dream careers pushed Lauren and encouraged her to do 

things she would have never done otherwise. 

After spending a few years on the desk, Lauren decided to take her 

experience and pursue a different passion—corporate law. Beyond the 

prestige associated with the name, Lauren chose to attend Harvard Law 

School because of the variety of people and abundance of opportunities. 

As one of the largest and oldest law schools, Harvard fosters one of the 

most diverse student bodies and alumni bases in the nation. Lauren finds 

herself learning from her peers every day. 

Upon graduating, Lauren is interested in doing a clerkship, but she knows 

a lot change in the next few years. 

We wish you all the best, Lauren, and we are so proud of you! Maybe on 

the other side we can celebrate with one of your famous margaritas. 

DAVID 

ALDERMAN 

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 

David Alderman, FMA ’18 will be 

attending Columbia in Fall, 2020 as 

part of their a Masters in Financial 

Economics program. The Auburn 

native chose Columbia because of the 

location and the unique degree they 

offer – essentially a hybrid between an 

MBA and PhD in Finance. “Columbia 

appealed to me because it provides a 

great combination of academic rigor, 

location, and career opportunities,” said 

David, who heads to Columbia from 

Houston, where he was an investment 

banking analyst for Intrepid. 

While at Intrepid, David worked on 

intricate capital structures for various 

clients, including a private capital raise 

for NuStar Energy (NYSE: NS), a crude 

terminal/pipeline operator. “When 

COVID and the Saudi-Russia price war 

hit in early March, the debt markets 

closed creating problems for NuStar. The 

company had large current maturities 

it was no longer able to refinance with 

the debt markets closed. Our team 

started a process to raise capital for the 

company end and ended up raising a 

$750mm private term loan with Oaktree 

Capital, which was announced the day 

oil went negative in April. It was a crazy 

2 months.” 

Looking to the future, David wants 

to work in investment management, 

specifically a Macro Hedge Fund. And 

ultimately run his own fund. This seems 

about right for a go-getter like David 

who enjoys mountain climbing. “Every 

year, I try to climb at least 1 mountain. 

This year was Mount Whitney and 

Mount Shasta in California. The end 

goal is Denali in Alaska.” 

David is pursuing his future, while 

continuing to support the organization 

that got him started in finance: “FMA 

was instrumental in preparing me for 

interviews and the needed skills to 

do well. Whether it was interacting 

with potential employers, building my 

modeling skillset, or just having Tracy’s 

sage advice, FMA was a great platform 

for me to go anywhere that I wanted.” 


PERFORMANCE SUMMARY 

Performance 

Summary 

2019-2020 | 2020-2021 



Our 2021 Investment Team 

MEET THE DEDICATED STUDENTS WHO MAKE UP OUR FUND. 

ASIF is comprised of three executive officers, seven sector directors, and twelve analysts. These junior and senior students represent 

a variety of majors -- including finance, industrial engineering, computer science, and economics. Each student holds membership in 

the Financial Management Association and is pursuing a career in investment banking, asset management, or consulting. 



ABOUT THE AUBURN STUDENT 

INVESTMENT FUND 

The Auburn Student Investment Fund (“ASIF”) 

was founded in the fall of 2017 with the 

purpose of providing ambitious, intellectually 

curious undergraduate students with a 

deeper understanding of financial markets 

through real world security analysis and 

portfolio management. The Fund focuses on 

delivering hands-on, practical experience in 

valuation techniques, equity research, and risk 

management. 

The Fund’s portfolio consists of single equities, 

ETFs, and fixed income investments selected 

by students with advisor oversight. Members 

develop investment theses by conducting 

research and constructing financial models, 

resulting in the formulation of investment 

recommendations. 

INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY 

Beyond our primary goal of student education, 

the Fund secondarily aims for satisfactory 

returns against the benchmark of the S&P 500 

Value Index, in order to ensure the continued life 

of the Fund. 

This year marked the beginning of the Fund’s 

transition away from our historical core-satellite 

investment strategy, utilizing a sophisticated 

allocation model developed by Fund executives 

and advisors. This will allow future generations 

of the Fund to transition to an all-single equity 

allocation, achieve superior returns, and manage 

risk, thereby maximizing the Sharpe ratio. 

The Fund is also guided by other investment 

criteria including a 90-10 domestic-international 

split, mid-to-large cap equities only, and a 

minimum of three years post-IPO. The Fund 

is value-oriented, seeking to buy undervalued 

securities and hold them for a 3-5 year 

investment horizon. 

FUND STRUCTURE 

Each sector consists of a director and 2-3 analysts in each sector. 

The Fund is comprised of seven sectors: 

Consumer Discretionary (CD) 

Consumer Staples (CS) 

Financials (F) 

Healthcare (HC) 

Industrials & Energy (I&E) 

Real Estate & Alternatives (R&A) 

Telecom, Media, and Technology (TMT) 

OUR INVESTMENT PROCESS 

Our Investment Process 

Equity Selection: 

Sector discusses 

potential investments 

and selects a single 

equity to propose to 

Exec team 

Monitoring: 

Exec continues to 

monitor investment 

while sector updates 

model and Fund until 

position exit 

PITCH EXPECTATIONS 

Pitch Approval: 

Sector requests to 

pitch with brief 

explanation of thesis. 

Exec approves or 

denies 

Voting: 

Fund discusses and 

votes on investment. If 

approved, Exec and 

advisor executes 

transaction 

2020 Investment Highlights 

Each A clear sector winner is of responsible the pandemic era for due two to comprehensive 

deployment of 

pitches 

dry powder 

per 

in an 

semester, 

already 

increased online transaction volumes and 

including an investment thesis and valuation flourishing via industry 

virtual payments 

discounted cash flow 

Increased AUM by over 10% and had a 

or Beat dividend Q2 2020 discount earnings estimates model by in 21.6% addition to 

record-setting 

public comparables. 

year of fundraising 

Due 

diligence for pitches includes but is not limited to: 

75.0% Return 59.6% Return 

• Analysis of the firm’s business and its industry, including its strategy 

Delivered 

and the 

strong 

competitive 

year-over-year 

landscape 

growth 

due to technology differentiation and lowcost 

production capabilities 

• Analysis of the firm’s financial condition including profitability, 

Multiple product launches in 2020 boosted 

top balance line growth sheet, and cash flow generation 

• Note: A Returns forecast are from of the 2020 firm’s holding performance period to December structured 31, 2020 as pro forma 

financial statements with well-articulated assumptions about key 

Annual value Financial drivers Report Sensitivity / Page analysis 16 and scenario analysis 

• Analysis of the firm’s risk management and ESG 

Due Diligence: 

Sector completes 

macroeconomic, 

industry, company, 

thesis, and valuation 

analysis 

Pitching: 

Sector presents thesis 

to entire Fund with 

PowerPoint 

presentation (valuation 

embedded) and Q&A 


KKR had a stellar year due to adept 

Another obvious pandemic winner due to a 

worldwide adoption of e-commerce 

during 2020 

Experienced increase of net sales and free 

cash flow by 44% and 20% year-over-year, 

respectively 


Letter from ASIF 

2019-2020 CIO, 

JENNY 

HERRELL 

LOOKING TOWARDS THE FUND’S 

FUTURE AND BACK AT OUR 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

It has been one of my greatest honors at Auburn 

to watch the Fund’s evolution over the last three 

years. I joined its ranks during my first year at 

Auburn as a junior analyst and have truly come to 

appreciate the hard work and diligence that our 

members dedicate to the Fund’s investments and 

success. ASIF provides students an opportunity 

to leave a legacy through the decisions they make 

and infrastructure they create – building models 

and formulating pitches that students will look 

at for years to come. More importantly, the Fund 

provides students with real world experience, 

pertinent industry skills, and knowledge of the 

cruciality of investing, aiding them far beyond 

their time at Auburn and into their adult lives. 

As a result, in the fall of 2020, ASIF combined 

with the Financial Management Association 

to form the Integrated Financial Leadership 

Program. Our Fund’s members are now sourced 

from FMA, coming prepared with the rigorous 

training that this organization provides. 

Additionally, this fall, our program will achieve 

course integration, where students will receive 

six credit hours through a year-long sequence of 

classes on security and portfolio analysis – taught 

by elite faculty and industry experts. This makes 

us the first student managed investment fund in 

the state of Alabama to reach course integration. 

Finally, we continue to push for increased funding 

to place our Fund at par with comparable elite 

programs, targeting AUM of $500,000. I believe 

this goal will come to fruition as our students 

continue to showcase the diligence with which we 

make investments and the impact our Fund has 

on their success. 

Ultimately, we aim to be one of the nation’s 

premier college investment funds. I believe in the 

nobility of this organization’s cause and, as a part 

of the IFLP, look forward to seeing our integrated 

program accomplish this mission, yielding top 

candidates and attracting the best and brightest 

students in the country. 



During my freshman year, ASIF invoked my 

passion for investing, providing mentors via older 

students who supplied technical training and a 

better understanding of various industries. This 

is what drives our organization: the passion of 

our students and their willingness to give back. 

Without the many students who committed 

their efforts to our program, we would not 

have achieved the feats we have reached today. 

However, this year, our leadership recognized 

a need for better training mechanisms, greater 

oversight, and stronger incentives for student 

performance. 




Performance Comparison 

Quarterly Equity Return Alpha: October 2017 – December 2019 

ASIF Equity vs. S&P Cumulative Return: October 2017 – December 2019 

Standard Deviation of ASIF Portfolio vs. S&P: October 2017 – December 2019 


2019 Investment Reasoning 



We entered FY 2019 with a portfolio value of $275,997 

and a total return of -1.1% following the market 

downturn in December 2018. This correction eliminated 

all of the capital appreciation generated since our 

inception in October 2017 and a minor portion of 

our initial capital. The Fund viewed this as a result 

of the bond market signaling down, inversion of the 

yield curve, and trade war tensions, but we felt these 

effects could be short-term and elected to maintain our 

holdings. As the market rebounded in the beginning 

of 2019, our portfolio reached a new peak in value of 

$320,489 as of April 30, 2019, concluding the academic 

year with strong growth (+14%). 

In June 2019, our Exec elected to form a position in 

intermediate-term bonds and maintain larger cash 

and short-term bond positions. We sought stability 

in the summer months as the fund recessed but 

also anticipated the nearing end of the market cycle 

and desired a more conservative positioning. This 

lessened our risk and volatility in comparison to the 

S&P (see bottom graph on page 8). We maintained 

this investment philosophy through FY 2019 and the 

beginning of 2020 and, as a result, were well positioned 

for March 2020’s market crash and to execute our main 

objective: capital preservation. 

In the fall of 2019, the Fund’s leadership made the 

decision to spend the majority of the year revaluing our 

current portfolio to a standardized template, making 

BUY, SELL, and HOLD decisions accordingly, and 

establishing better methods of portfolio management 

and monitoring. When we began the process of 

revaluing, the Fund intended to establish a solid thesis 

on each of our holdings and to use the cash generated 

from sell-offs to purchase new equities that better 

fit our investment principles. With this in mind, we 

will spend the spring of 2020 completing this process 

and seek to purchase 3 - 5 new stocks, establishing a 

strong portfolio of 20 - 25 single equities as the Fund 

transitions into the new academic year. We concluded 

FY 2019 with a total return of 27.9%, portfolio value of 

$343,303, overall beta of .73, and total alpha of 1.9%. 

2019 INVESTMENT DECISIONS 

February: 

March: 

June: 

• Purchased Tyson Foods 

• Trimmed Position in Tall Grass Energy 

• Purchased Supernus Pharmaceuticals 

• Increased Position in PayPal 

• Increased Position in Short-Term Bonds 

• Purchased AT&T Inc. 

• Sold Financial Sector ETF 

• Purchased Bank of America 

• Sold Emerging Markets ETF 

• Purchased Intermediate-Term Bonds 

• Trimmed Position in Gilead 

December: 

• Sold Schlumberger 

• Sold Cerner 

• Sold Tall Grass Energy 

STRONG IN TECH & CONSUMER, 

WEAK IN HEALTHCARE & ENERGY 

Top Performers: 

1. Amazon +86.9% 

2. Tyson Foods +47.8% 

3. Estee Lauder +45.5% 

4. Alphabet +33.4% 

5. Medical Properties Trust +28.6% 

Bottom Performers: 

1. Schlumberger -43.6% (Realized Loss) 

2. Supernus Pharmaceuticals -42.5% 

3. Constellation Brands -13.0% 

4. Gilead -12.8% 

5. Tall Grass Energy -1.09% (Realized Loss) 




Letter from 

2020-2021 CIO, 

KENNEDY 

JARVIS 

KENNEDY REFLECTS ON A 

MOMENTOUS YEAR 

No matter which lens through which you 

choose to view 2020, the word that comes to 

mind is “historic.” From the global pandemic, 

to a contentious political election, to a baffling 

disconnect between markets and the economy, 

it seemed as though each passing day demanded 

an increased scrutiny of the way in which we 

perceive the world. The result of each of these 

macro phenomena, as it relates to the Auburn 

Student Investment Fund, was a heightened 

understanding of the interconnectedness of 

market-moving factors. 

Having their oversight and decades of experience 

was particularly beneficial in guiding the Fund 

through uncertain circumstances. They also 

provided tasks that challenged students to think 

critically about how past trends, people, and 

events may influence the current market. 

On a personal note, I can confidently say that 

ASIF has profoundly impacted my Auburn 

experience and amplified a passion for investing 

and asset management that I developed in high 

school. When I joined the Fund as a junior 

analyst in my sophomore year, I had no idea how 

much I would learn and grow as a result of my 

involvement. It has been an honor and a privilege 

to lead the team this year, and I could not be more 

excited as we look to the bright future of this 

organization. 

With gratitude, 

Kennedy Jarvis 

The integration of ASIF and the Financial 

Management Association under the Integrated 

Financial Leadership Program umbrella could 

not have come at a more perfect time. As a result 

of years of foresight and planning, the 2020-2021 

academic year kicked off the first iteration of 

ASIF coursework. Fund members took Advanced 

Financial Statement Analysis in the fall, led by 

Kevin Gamble from the Retirement Systems of 

Alabama, and continued onto Advanced Portfolio 

Management, taught by ASIF advisor Dr. Albert 

Wang, in the spring. 


PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS 

As of December 31, 2020 

Asset Class Breakdown 

$178,223 Single Equity Investments 

$62,607 Fixed Income Instruments 

$15,875 Cash 

$158,307 Exchange-Traded Funds 

$415,012 Total AUM 

Sector Breakdown 

$34,715 Consumer Discretionary 

$6,444 Consumer Staples 

$46,302 Financials 

$8,562 Healthcare 

$28,057 Industrials & Energy 

$14,459 Real Estate & Alternatives 

$39,683 Telecom, Media, & Technology 



Financial Highlights 

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS 

At At inception in in October of 2017, of 2017, ASIF ASIF was allocated was allocated seed capital seed of capital of $250,000. 

Through $250,000. accumulation Through accumulation of capital of capital gains, gains, dividends, and and generouscontributions 

contributions from donors, our students now manage $415,012 across 

from donors, our students now manage $415,012 across seven different sectors, 

seven different sectors, holding investments in 22 single equities and 5 

holding investments in 22 single equities and 5 ETFs as of December 31, 2020. 

ETFs as of December 31, 2020. 

$500,000 

$400,000 

$300,000 

$200,000 

$100,000 

$0 

Dec-17 

Jun-18 

Dec-18 

Annual Financial Report / Page 5 

Jun-19 

Dec-19 

SINGLE EQUITY INVESTMENTS 

Jun-20 

Dec-20 

Note: Invested capital includes $249,902 initial endowment 

(October 2017), $29,105 in donations (2018), $5,331 in donations 

(2019), and $4,496 in donations (2020) 

Single Equity Investments 

Single Equity Investments 

Note: Total return excludes impact of donations 

Investments per Sector 

Investments per Sector 

$178,223 Single Equity Investments 

INVESTMENTS PER SECTOR 

39.3% 

Total Return 

$288,834 

Invested Capital 

Note: Invested capital 

includes $249,902 

initial endowment 

(October 2017), $29,105 

in donations (2018), 

$5,331 in donations 

(2019), and $4,496 in 

donations (2020) 

Note: Total return 

excludes impact of 

donations 

5 

5 

4 

4 

3 

3 

2 

2 

1 

1 

0 

CD CS F HC I&E R&A TMT 

0 Note: Consumer Discretionary ("CD"), Consumer Staples ("CS"), Financials ("F"), Healthcare ("HC"), 

Industrials CD & Energy ("I&E"), CS Real Estate F& Alternatives ("R&A"), HC Telecom, I&E Media, and Technology R&A TMT 

("TMT") 

Note: Consumer Discretionary ("CD"), Consumer Staples ("CS"), Financials ("F"), Healthcare ("HC"), 

Industrials & Energy ("I&E"), Real Estate & Alternatives ("R&A"), Telecom, Media, and Technology 

("TMT") 



2020 PERFORMANCE SUMMARY 

2020 Performance 

Quarterly Portfolio Performance since Inception: October 2017 - December 2020 

2020 Monthly Portfolio Performance: January 2020 - December 2020 

Portfolio Value vs. Donations: October 2017 - December 2020 



2020 Performance Analytics 

ASIF Single Equity vs. S&P 500 Cumulative Return: October 2017 - December 2020 

Risk-Adjusted Performance Measures: As of 12/31/2020 

• Beta - 0.78 

• Sharpe Ratio - 109.54% 

• Treynor’s Measure - 21.36% 

• Jensen’s Alpha - 4.15% 

• 3-Factor Alpha - 4.38% 

• 4-Factor Alpha - 5.49% 

• Information Ratio - 54.05% 

• Sortino Measure - 99.84% 

Value-at-Risk: 95% Confidence Interval 

Note: analysis of 2 standard deviations yields upside potential of 9.16% and downside risk of -6.25% 



2020 Investment Rationale 

While COVID-19 eliminated a good portion 

of market value early in the year, we took that 

opportunity to deploy capital in select single equities 

that we thought were competitively entrenched and 

set to take advantage of key trends accelerated by the 

pandemic. As the market began to rebound and set 

all-time highs, our portfolio reached a peak value of 

$415,012 as of December 31, 2020. 

Extreme market volatility in the first quarter 

presented us with the opportunity to buy four high 

quality businesses at discounted valuations. KKR 

proved to be a compelling investment with stable 

cash flows and growing base fees. The company’s 

high equity duration, balance sheet strength, and dry 

powder proved to be a great addition to the fund and 

has been one our best performers since we entered 

the position last spring. We decided to up our 

position in the stock, as performance fees for their 

infrastructure, real estate, and growth funds still 

have about five more years before they are realized. 

In addition, COVID has brought along several 

opportunities for them to deploy their dry powder at 

depressed valuations. 

2020 INVESTMENT DECISIONS 

February: 

• Sold JB Hunt 

• Sold Oracle 

April: 

• Purchased Lockheed Martin 

• Purchased Microsoft 

• Purchased KKR 

• Purchased Johnson & Johnson 

December: 

• Purchased NVIDIA 

• Purchased Alexandria Real Estate 

• Purchased Waste Management 

• Purchased Mastercard 

• Sold Constellation 

• Sold AT&T 

• Sold Supernus 

• Increased position in KKR 

Microsoft is another company that was positioned to 

benefit from the pandemic due to accelerated trends 

in cloud computing and internet infrastructure. 

Microsoft is well diversified and is competitively 

entrenched in all of its segments. 

Lockheed Martin provides great diversification for 

the industrials sector. The defense contractor’s longterm 

F-35 contracts provides recurring revenue and 

the company is poised to take advantage of increased 

spending from the Department of Defense. 

Johnson & Johnson’s adaptive business model gives 

it a plethora of products to rely upon in addition to 

being a free cash flow powerhouse. 




In the fall of 2020, we sold off three securities. SUPN has been our worst performer in an 

oversaturated market. The company's entire business is dependent upon sales from two drugs that 

In the fall of 2020, treat epilepsy, we sold off both three of securities. which are SUPN overpriced has been and have STZ several is a company low-cost that substitutes. has not shown the ability to grow 

our worst performer in an oversaturated market. The company’s organically, as several failed acquisitions and poor capital 

entire business 

For 

is 

AT&T, 

dependent 

we found 

upon sales 

that the 

from 

original 

two drugs 

investment 

that 

thesis 

allocation 

did not 

has 

play 

caused 

out. We 

the 

believe 

company’s 

the 

debt 

company's 

to grow out of hand, 

communication segment will suffer due to better pricing plans from competitors brought upon by 

treat epilepsy, both of which are overpriced and have several making it a riskier position for the fund. 

the Sprint / T-Mobile merger, and integration of WarnerMedia has gone south with more streaming 

low-cost substitutes. 

platforms coming into play. 

In addition to those sells, the fund has identified high quality 

For AT&T, we found that the original investment thesis did not businesses in WM, MA, and ARE that are best positioned in their 

play out. We believe STZ is a the company company’s that communication has not shown segment the ability will to grow respective organically, industries as several to capture failed growth acquisitions in shifting macro trends 

and poor capital allocation has caused the company's debt to grow out of hand, making it a riskier 

suffer due to better pricing plans from competitors brought upon brought along by the pandemic. 

position for the fund. 

by the Sprint / T-Mobile merger, and integration of WarnerMedia 

has gone south In with addition more to streaming those sells, platforms the fund coming has identified into play. high quality businesses in WM, MA, and ARE that 

are best positioned in their respective industries to capture growth in shifting macro trends brought 

along by the pandemic. 

2020 BUYS 2020 SELLS 

2020 BUYS 2020 SELLS 


Unrealized Return: 

55.66% 

29.22% 

7.50% 

6.81% 

Realized Loss: 

-11.5% 

-0.7% 

-22.7% 

-2.65% 

-4.46% 

-7.9% 

4.60% 

-47.0% 

-1.62% 

Note: Unrealized return calculated from purchase date to 12/31/2020 



Q1, 2021 


Q1 2021 UPDATE 

As of March 31, 2021 

CAPITAL BREAKDOWN 

$249,902 Initial Capital 

+ $38,933 Donations 

+ $145,161 Capital Appreciation 

$433,996 Total AUM 

INVESTMENT DECISIONS 

With revaluation of every security taking place last fall, the first 

round of pitches this semester consisted of companies new to 

ASIF. Sectors pitched buy recommendations on their chosen 

firm. Fund members voted to enter into positions in Salesforce 

(CRM) due to their commanding market share in the secularly 

growing cloud computing industry as well as BJ’s Wholesale 

Club Holdings (BJ) largely as an inflationary hedge. The 

remaining companies pitched were added to the ASIF watchlist. 

In addition, members decided to sell off our holdings of Gilead 

(GILD), as the original investment thesis around vaccine 

development and FDA approval of pipeline drugs did not come 

to fruition. We also sold our position in Alibaba (BABA) due to 

increased geopolitical tensions between the US and China. 

Q1 2021 PORTFOLIO PERFORMANCE: January 2021 - March 2021 


while sector updates 

model and Fund until 

position exit 

approved, Exec and 

advisor executes 

transaction 

PowerPoint 

Q1, 2021 


presentation (valuation 

embedded) and Q&A 

2020 INVESTMENT 2020 Investment Interested HIGHLIGHTS Highlights in Learning More? 

For further information on the Fund, please 

record-setting year of fundraising 

visit our page on the FMA website 

www.auburnfma.com/overview 

Interested in Donating? 

Note: Returns are from 2020 holding period to December 31, 2020 

Please contact us at richate@auburn.edu 



A clear winner of the pandemic era due to 

increased online transaction volumes and 

virtual payments 

Beat Q2 2020 earnings estimates by 21.6% 

KKR had a stellar year due to adept 

deployment of dry powder in an already 

flourishing industry 

Increased AUM by over 10% and had a 


Delivered strong year-over-year growth 

due to technology differentiation and lowcost 

production capabilities 

Multiple product launches in 2020 boosted 

top line growth 

Another obvious pandemic winner due to a 

worldwide adoption of e-commerce 

during 2020 

Experienced increase of net sales and free 

cash flow by 44% and 20% year-over-year, 

respectively 

For further information on the Fund, 

please visit out page on the FMA website: 

www.auburnfma.com/overview 

Interested in Donating? 

Please contact us at richate@auburn.edu 


ALUMNI UPDATES 

FMA BONDS 

One of the greatest strengths of FMA is the 

commitment that students show, not only 

to the organization, but also to fellow members. In February 

of 2021, two Auburn FMA alumni took that commitment to a 

whole new level when they got engaged in Lowder 128, FMA’s 

Bloomberg room. 

Austin Howard and Madelaine Julbert were both in FMA’s 

inaugural class. They each came to Auburn from Birmingham, 

Austin went to Oak Mountain and Madelaine went to Hewitt 

Trussville, but didn’t know each other until college. 

Although the two members may have crossed paths at an FMA 

function, the first time they both truly remember meeting was 

in the Bloomberg Room where they were both studying for a 

class and chatting. Austin chose to surprise Madelaine in 128 

because “we both tie our first memory of knowing each other 

back to that room and there’s a lot of meaning for both of us.” 

Madelaine graduated in 2016 while Austin was still at Auburn 

and joined BBVA’s management training program that summer. 

Austin graduated in December of 2016 and started the same 

program a year after his future bride, in the summer of 2017. 

“I actually spoke to Austin’s management class that summer” 

Madelaine says, “and a few months later he rotated through 

my group - we worked closely together for a few months. He 

ultimately was placed in another group at a different building, 

but we still saw each other from time to time whether it was 

work related or through our friend group. We started dating in 

2019.” 

For Madelaine, Austin’s thoughtful planning was spot on: 

“Austin and I both love Auburn and I have always loved the 

fact that even though we didn’t date while in college, we have 

so many memories and similarities tied to our college days. We 

were both finance majors, both joined FMA at the same time, 

both interned at BBVA and went on to work full time for them 

as well. While we were friends this entire time, neither of us 

expected our relationship to grow into anything more but we 

are so thankful that it did! It makes sense that we move into 

this next chapter of our lives by celebrating what started it all... 

studying in the Bloomberg room.” 

Madelaine is now a Commercial Relationship Manager at 

Regions. Austin is a VP on the technology side for BBVA and 

manages a team within the bank’s Strategy and Control Group. 

The couple will be married on September 25, 2021 at the Sonnet 

House in Birmingham, Alabama. 


ALUMNI UPDATES 

Angel Snider ’20 

married Jared 

Palmer Rohm on 

January 9, 2021. 

Haley Walraven ‘17 and Tim Sheng ’17 

announced the first FMA engagement! 

Daniel Robinson ’17 married 

Kathleen O’Hara in August, 2020. 

Matthew Campbell ‘19 got 

engaged to Hannah Jane Clarke 

Tim Strader ’19 got engaged to 

Brooke Goeden. 

Matt Swedenburg ’18 married 

Jane Fiala January 9, 2021. 

Kelly Morris ‘17 married 

Josh Metzinger June 4, 2021. 

Jack Albert married Caitlyn 

Carter on May 22, 2021. 

Joseph McCormick ’19 got 

engaged to Grace Dodson. 


Alumni 

Updates 

Sean Conley ‘16 

will be pursuing his 

MBA at Columbia 

in August, 2021. 

Caroline 

Clothiaux ’16 is 

now working as 

a senior financial 

analyst for Cox 

Communication. 

Carson King ’20 

is a second year 

analyst on Harbor 

View’s FinTech 

deal team. 

Will Runels ’16 recently moved 

to NYC and is producing a 

documentary with XTR and Neon. 

Morgan Dunstan 

Lynch ‘16 and Scott 

welcomed baby Claire 

in October, 2019. 

Blake Martin ‘15 and 

his wife welcomed 

Amelia Grace 

“Millie” on 3/24/20. 

Russell Noletto 

‘18 joined Brust 

Nutter Wealth 

Advisors in Ponte 

Vedra Beach, FL. 

Ty Lamar ’19 (left) 

joined JP Morgan’s 

Consumer and 

Retail group as an IB 

analyst in NYC. 

Rushton Scott ‘17 

is attending UVA to 

complete his MBA. 


Bailey Sullivan ‘19 joined The 

Carlyle Group in NYC as a 

private equity analyst. 

Alumni 

Updates 

Drake Pooley ‘16 is completing his 

MBA at Stanford. 

Daniel Robinson ‘17 completed his 

CFA certification . 

David Alderman ’17 is getting his 

masters at Columbia. 

Jason McKinley ’17 continues to 

grow his firm, Arc Technologies 

Group, and is in the process of 

launching a new industrial cyber 

security managed service offering. 

Joe Patching ‘17 was promoted to 

Risk Advisory Manager at Deloitte 

UK. 

Mark Bergmeister ’18 is an 

associate with EIG in Washington, 

D.C. 

Benjamin Morgan ‘18 for now 

works as a Risk Analytics Analyst at 

Northern Trust Corporation. 

Matthew Swedenburg ‘18 is 

now development associate at 

Stonehawk Capital Partners in 

Dallas. 

Zach Spencer ‘18 works as an 

associate at Middle Ground Capital 

in NYC. 

Emily Kravec ‘19 joined Home 

Depot as a senior financial analyst. 

Nick Pope ‘19 joined Stonemont 

Financial Group in ATL as an 

acquisitions analyst. 

Jackson Samples ‘19 is an 

associate at Prime Commercial 

Properties in Dallas. 

Tyler Fraebel ‘18 (left) now 

works as a financial analyst 

for Harbert Capital. Katie 

Grunder ‘18 and Tim Strader 

‘18 (right) were both selected 

by JP Morgan to participate 

in an elite global leadership 

program for top analysts. 

Madison Langman ‘18 

is now an associate for 

PNC in Houston. 

Krista Alexon ‘17 joined 

SVB’s NYC Corporate 

Banking group as senior 

associate. 

Jordan Carr ‘18 started a new position 

as private equity associate at Berkshire 

Partners in Boston. 

Gracie Haas ‘19 

is joining KKR’s 

Real Estate 

Credit Team in 

NYC. 

Darby Steinberger ’17 is getting her 

MBA at the University of Denver. 


Alumni 

Updates 

2019 Atlanta alumni/member event 


BY THE NUMBERS 

7 Years of purposeful training, 

engagement and preparation for 

Auburn FMA 

3 Classes IFLP specific courses 

focused on practical application 

2 FMA couples got engaged 

18,770 Dollars donated to FMA 

in 2020 from our Alumni Members 

17 FMA alumni members served 

as mentors for our 2021 new 

member class 

5 Years in a row we have had a 

woman accepted into the elite Girls 

Who Invest Program 

116,000 Average starting 

compensation for 2021 FMA grads 

15 Executive members 

participated in the first FMA 

Executive Retreat 

125 Potential members 

interviewed 

83 Percent of freshmen and 

sophomores with internships 

19 Student diversity leadership 

programs attended 

37 Finance/career related books 

available for FMA members to read 

& return in the FMA library 

201 HCOB Students who have 

benefitted from FMA-sponsored 

Wall Street Prep training 

4 Number of years that FMA 

has been pitching a state of the art 

financial lab

5 YEARS OF RETURNS 

We want 

to thank 

you. 

OUR ALUMNI SPONSORS GAVE BACK 

$18,770 THIS YEAR! 

Thank you for showing your commitment to Auburn 

FMA. The additional training, programming and 

opportunities afforded our student members could 

not be done without our amazing alumni. We are 

especially grateful to those alums that not only gave 

financially, but also reached out to help our members 

with mentoring and recruitment. Our graduates 

in the field have been critically instrumental in the 

growth and recruitment of our current members. 

FMA Executive Sponsors 

We would like to thank our executive donors, Betsy and Don Bagley, 

Page and Martin Hull, Steven Aldridge, Chris Baker, John Bright, Alan 

J. Bannister, Jim and Vicki Brewster, Lynne and Aaron Spiwak who have 

invested not only monetarily, but also of their time. These individuals 

believe in our mission to support motivated students with the tools that they 

need to reach their full potential. 

STEWARDSHIP 

Alumni Sponsors 

Peter Lund ‘15 

Rachel Abel ‘15 

Blake Martin ‘15 

Drake Pooley ‘16 

Madelaine Julbert ‘16 

Sagar Leva ‘16 

Hudson Joyner ‘16 

Chad Caudle ‘16 

Morgan Lynch ‘16 

Jason McKinley ‘17 

Krista Alexon ‘17 

Brooke Brennan ‘17 

David Alderman ‘17 

Rushton Scott ‘17 

Haley Walraven ‘17 

Kelly Morris ‘17 

Shane Mulqueen ‘17 

Caroline Clothiaux ‘17 

Sam Schuessler ‘18 

Kathleen Leavitt ‘18 

Jordan Carr ‘18 

Zach Spencer ‘18 

John Tapp ‘18 

Benjamin Morgan ‘18 

Matthew Swedenburg ‘18 

Tim Strader ‘18 

Tyler Fraebel ‘18 

Chris Costello ‘18 

Chris Maurice ‘18 

Mark Bergmeister ‘18 

Matthew Campbell ‘19 

Caleb Carter ‘19 

Matthew Dowd ‘19 

Jake Fink ‘19 

Maggie Elliott ‘19 

Kate Bagley ‘19 

Ty Lamar ‘19 

Bailey Sullivan ‘19 

Haley McDonnell ‘19 

Cameron Rice ‘19 

Russell Noletto ‘19 

Bailey Sullivan ‘19 

Joseph McCormick ‘19 

Taylor Hardin ‘20 

Jenny Herrell ‘20 

Michael Byron ‘20 

AJ Stanley ‘20 



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