The Importance of Networking
The MMspire summer internship program places great importance on formal and informal networking events. Networking is a great way for the summer students to learn about the finance business and its many facets, understand the industry in general, and hear about challenges that professionals face in their actual jobs and in their careers. Our students learn that many jobs are simply not advertised and it is through a network that unadvertised positions arise. Further, people recommend others that both parties know and like, so meeting many people increases the chance that you might meet your dream employer or that one of their contacts will recommend you.
Networking takes a great amount of time (and sometimes some money) and there is not instant gratification in growing a network: this is very surprising to the interns. The summer team learned how to handle both their new network and manage through Prof. McNew’s network by attending professional events, meeting professionals, and watching how the professionals interact (both at a personal and business level). They learned that networks are gold and how to handle them with respect and good management.
For the MMspire fledging student network, we look to build professional friendships first, expand those friendships to a wider circle of professional friends, perhaps get professional advice, add to our community, get/make introductions and then finally, maybe, good career opportunities will arise. If we have a strong network, then we will find that there is a positive influence on our career.
We place great importance put on learning the etiquette of networking and professional etiquette in general.
Networking takes a great amount of time (and sometimes some money) and there is not instant gratification in growing a network: this is very surprising to the interns. The summer team learned how to handle both their new network and manage through Prof. McNew’s network by attending professional events, meeting professionals, and watching how the professionals interact (both at a personal and business level). They learned that networks are gold and how to handle them with respect and good management.
For the MMspire fledging student network, we look to build professional friendships first, expand those friendships to a wider circle of professional friends, perhaps get professional advice, add to our community, get/make introductions and then finally, maybe, good career opportunities will arise. If we have a strong network, then we will find that there is a positive influence on our career.
We place great importance put on learning the etiquette of networking and professional etiquette in general.
Professionals That Checked-In Weekly With MMspire
Mike Groff – Currency Trader, Gelber Group
Mr. Groff had a crucial role in developing the traders’ trading plans and reviewing their resumes. He checked in with the team on a weekly basis to discuss the condition of the markets, critical price levels and trends in the spot currency market. Mike also reviewed the traders’ trades and provided insight into how they can improve.
Peter O’Neill – Chief Risk Officer, Head of Finance for North America, Uniper Global Commodities North America
Mr. O’Neill met with the team on a weekly basis to discuss how to network in a business setting as well as how to effectively run MMspire Trading Company.
Mr. Groff had a crucial role in developing the traders’ trading plans and reviewing their resumes. He checked in with the team on a weekly basis to discuss the condition of the markets, critical price levels and trends in the spot currency market. Mike also reviewed the traders’ trades and provided insight into how they can improve.
Peter O’Neill – Chief Risk Officer, Head of Finance for North America, Uniper Global Commodities North America
Mr. O’Neill met with the team on a weekly basis to discuss how to network in a business setting as well as how to effectively run MMspire Trading Company.
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August 3rd, 2017 – Networking Thursday
The 2017 MMspire Summer Internship Team participated in their final networking Thursday event organized by Professor McNew at Ceres Café. They were taught an introduction to derivatives and fixed income from Mr. John Sleight, Assistant Vice President of the Derivative Products Group at US Bank. They learned a basic example of how corporations might hedge their interest rate exposure using fixed income or bond alternatives. The team also had the opportunity to network with Mr. Miles O’Hare, Performance Analyst at Marquette Associates; Mr. Michael Groff, FX Trader at Gelber Group; and Mr. Alexander DeJulius, a Market Maker for Equity Index Options at Andrie Trading.
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August 1st, 2017 – BP Trading Floor Tour
The 2017 MMspire Summer Internship Team had the opportunity to visit and observe the BP trading floor from the bridge. They were guided by Mr. Aleksandar Rancic, Commodity Risk Analyst of Global Derivatives at BP America, who explained to them the floor layout and how each team interacts within itself and amongst the entire corporation. Not only did Mr. Rancic give them a tour of BP, he told them a little about his interview experience and some advice from what worked.
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July 27th, 2017 – Networking Thursday
The 2017 MMspire Summer Internship Team began the afternoon learning to appreciate art at the Art Institute of Chicago graciously provided by Professor McNew. In the afternoon, the team had the opportunity to learn from and meet Mr. Aleksandar Rancic, Commodity Risk Analyst of Global Derivatives at BP; Mr. Mai He, Business Analyst at Cortland Capital Market Services LLC; Mr. Kevin Zielinski, Quantitative Analyst at Geneva Trading; and Mr. Jack Barry, Investment Analyst at Trust Company of Illinois. The team learned to appreciate the important skill of Excel and some of the quantitative skills required and used at each firm.
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July 20th, 2017 – Trip to NYC
The 2017 MMspire Summer Internship Team had the unique privilege of traveling to New York City, and meeting some of Professor McNew’s friends and network. They began each session with pitching what they have been doing and have completed thus far this summer, before learning about the various sectors of finance from the contacts. They began the day pitching to Mr. Kurt Tenenbaum, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs; then Mr. Jim Caron, Managing Director at Morgan Stanley; then Mr. Harry Plastik, Executive Search Consultant at Marcum Search LLC; and Mr. Brandon Turcotte, CAIA, Director of Foreign Exchange at Capital One, in the evening. The team had the opportunity to learn about many different fields ranging from leveraged finance of technology, media, and telecommunications to investment banking from the sales side of operations. The team is truly grateful and appreciates everyone who gave their time on Thursday as they learned a lot from everyone.
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July 13th, 2017 – Networking Thursday
The 2017 Summer Internship team participated in an informative and beneficial networking event this Thursday at Ceres Café. The team presented their pitch of the structure of the summer to: Mr. Michael Babicz, Analyst at J.P. Morgan; Mr. Tyler Clark, Associate Vice President Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley; Mr. Wesley Decatur, Associate at Dresner Partners; Mr. Alexander DeJulius, Market Maker for Equity Index Options at Andrie Trading LLC; Mr. Michael Groff, FX Trader at Gelber Group; and Mr. Brian Andzik, Bond Trader at Morgan Stanley. Not only was the team able to receive feedback on their pitch and insight into the multitude of sectors of finance represented, but also a historical perspective on how finance has evolved and changed over the last couple of decades.
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July 10th, 2017 – Visit and Meeting at The Trust Company of Illinois
After trading during the morning hours with Mr. Jonathan Markowitz, the team met with Mr. Thomas Egan, Senior Portfolio Manager at The Trust Company of Illinois, and Mr. Jack Barry, Investment Analyst at The Trust Company of Illinois, where the team learned about wealth management as well as how crucial Microsoft Excel skills are to their firm. The team also had the fortune of learning some of the main differences between a more personal firm such as The Trust Company of Illinois and an institutional wealth management firm: a member learns, interacts, and participates in all facets of the firm ranging from the different sectors to quantitative research or even flying around the United States meeting with the different clients.
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July 6th, 2017 – Cubs home game against the Brewers
Teamwork is an important facet to the MMspire internship. Thanks to the generous gift by Mr. Peter O’Neill and Professor Leslie McNew, the 2017 Summer Internship Team had the opportunity to attend the July 6th, 2017 Cubs baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers as an outstanding team building event. The team sat in the 2nd row directly behind center field and had a great time.
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June 29th, 2017 – Networking Thursday
The 2017 MMspire Summer Internship Team was hosted by Professor McNew for a networking Thursday session at the Ceres Café in the Chicago Board of Trade Building. At the event, the team had the opportunity to meet Mr. Alexander DeJulius, Market Maker for Equity Index Option at Andrie Trading LLC; and Mr. Michael Groff, Foreign Exchange Trader for Gelber Group. Not only did the team learn more about their respective positions and responsibilities, they were given countless values and philosophies that each live by that they figure helped get them to where they are today. After Ceres Café, the team had the opportunity to accompany both Mr. DeJulius and Mr. Groff to a nearby cigar lounge where the team continued to countless excellent pieces of advice to help them in both the finance sector and in the professional world.
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June 28th, 2017 – FOW Event at the Swissotel
Accompanied by Mr. Jonathan Markowitz, the 2017 MMspire Summer Trading Team attended the FOW event at the Swissotel and listened to presentations over “Machine Learning in Trading” and “Is the speed race over? Is data the edge today?” The team also had the opportunity to meet Mr. Ray Cahnman, Chairman and Founder of Transmarket; Mr. Charles Bohm, Senior Vice President, Sales in Futures and Options at ED&F Man Capital Markets Inc.; Mr. David Schulz, Director of Business Development and Global Client Services at the CBOE; and Mr. Daniel Gramza, President of DMG Advisors, LLC. The team learned about the beginnings of the Mortgage Options Market from Mr. Cahnman, clearinghouses for both equities and futures from Mr. Charles Bohm, the growth of the FX market in the CME from Mr. David Schulz, and the importance of candlestick and chart analysis from Mr. Daniel Gramza. The event was extremely interesting and taught the team a lot about Machine Learning and Big Data.
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June 22nd, 2017 – First Thursday Networking Event at Ceres Café
Professor McNew hosted the MMspire 2017 Summer Internship Team for a networking session at Ceres Café at the Chicago Board of Trade. The team had the opportunity to engage with Mr. Danny Demko, Senior at Ernst & Young, and Mr. Anthony Martone, Trade Desk Assistant at Uniper. Mr. Demko gave a lesson in restructuring and described how the different levels of debt work within a company. Mr. Martone spoke about the difficulties of trading physical natural gas and how it compares to trading its financial counterpart. Ceres Café provided a wonderful atmosphere which was conducive for speaking with these gentlemen and learning more about their position and role within their respective company.
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June 21st, 2017 – Jazzin' at the Shedd
The MMspire 2017 Summer Internship Team was hosted by Mr. Peter O’Neill, Director of Risk Analytics at Archer Daniels Midland Company, at the Shedd Aquarium for their Jazzin’ at the Shedd event. They had the opportunity to engage with Mr. Miles O’Hare, Performance Analyst at Marquette Associates, and Ms. Natalie Dunn. The Shedd provided the team with great views of the city skyline and a good place to network.
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June 18th, 2017 – Big Summer Party at the University Club
The MMspire team went to the Big Summer Event at the University club where they met and engaged with Mr. Peter O'Neill, Director of Risk Analytics at Archer Daniels Midland Company; Mr. Jack Barry, investment analyst at Trust Company of Illinois; and Mr. Woody McCally, president of Finnegan Family Foundation.
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June 13th, 2017 – CFA Society of Chicago: The Active vs. Passive Debate: Trends, Insights, and Case Studies
The team had the opportunity to listen to a distinguished panel of investors from firms such as Vanguard as well as Dr. Eugene F. Fama. Dr. Fama is the Robert. R. McCormick Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and 2013 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences. Dr. Fama encouraged the idea of passive investing since it is both more economically conscious and simpler to invest your own money into mutual funds such as Vanguard than paying an asset manager to do the same. Beforehand, there was an extensive networking session where the interns met different traders from around Chicago from firms such as Northwestern Mutual, ETF Managers Group, and Morningstar.
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June 12th, 2017 - First Day of Trading
First day of the MMspire Trading Company Summer Internship 2017.
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