FMA Magazine 2021 - 2023

MESSAGE FROM THE CO-PRESIDENTS
CO-PRESIDENTS MAGGIE
RICHARD & NICK THOMPSON
2022-2023
in Review
We’d like to start by thanking Kennedy and Jonathan for their leadership
during the 2021 – 2022 school year. Their hard work and dedication set a strong
foundation which allowed us to transition with ease.
In the fall of 2022, our focus turned to the opening of the Harbert Investment
Center, which houses an academic finance lab, as well as the new home for our
Program – the Financial Leadership Center (FLC). The FLC is equipped with 8
Bloomberg terminals, a state-of-the-art board room, equity research software,
and large screen/dual monitors – providing a space for student members to
pitch, collaborate, research, and work on financial modeling skills. In addition,
the new space has allowed for all HCOB students to learn about opportunities
in finance through FMA-sponsored educational forums. We hosted three such
forums during the school year: Introduction to Oil & Gas Banking, Structure
of Goldman Asset Management, and Overview of Syndicated and Leveraged
Finance. Through these forums, we have been able to share resources and
educate students outside of FMA. The FLC has become a cornerstone for our
organization – one that adequately represents and markets the strength of
HCOB’s finance program and our outstanding students.
FMA 2022 – 2023 Co-President, Maggie Richard, was actively involved
with ASIF and FMA since her freshman year and graduated with a
4.0 in Finance. Maggie was a Girls Who Invest Scholar and completed
five internships while at Auburn in asset management, private
equity, digital currency and leveraged finance. Maggie was named
the Graduation Marshal for the HCOB spring 2023 graduating
class. Upon graduation, Maggie joined TD Securities in NYC as an
investment banking analyst in their Leveraged Finance Group.
We also made strides in marketing/branding this year, as part of a continual
effort to expand FMA name recognition campus wide. In 2022, FMA leadership
presented to both the AU Foundation and the Auburn Board of Trustees. These
presentations provided an opportunity to tell our story, enabling trustees
and foundation members to better understand our mission and impact on the
greater university. This exposure, in turn, led to FMA on-field recognition prior
to the LSU home game, and to hosting Trustee Huntley at our Spring Forum.
Once again, we posted 100% graduate full time and junior intern placement,
setting a new high total compensation for our 2023 graduating class of
$148,400. We were again recognized with the Superior Chapter designation by
FMA International and brought home the Best in Career Preparedness award
at the annual Student Involvement Awards. Notably, the event that brought
FMA the most accolades this year was winning the Harvard Global Business
Case Competition. This key event showcased our students’ grit, drive, and
preparedness, and proved once again that FMA is a competitive force that rivals
top programs in the country.
It’s rare to find a group of such talented and driven students who seamlessly
work together towards a common mission. We are incredibly thankful to have
had the opportunity to lead FMA during the past year and look forward to
seeing what the organization accomplishes in the years to come.
FMA 2022 – 2023 Co-President Nick Thompson joined FMA as a
freshman and served as an integral member of the executive team
since he was a sophomore. Nick completed three internships while
at Auburn including a summer as an investments analyst with
Retirement Systems of Alabama. His junior summer, Nick interned
with Goldman Sachs in Dallas in their Real Estate Asset Management
Group. After graduating with honors in Finance, he returned to the
same group at Goldman as a full-time analyst.