In the third installation of our MBA Catapult Q&A series, we wanted to focus in on the benefits of RTF Fellowship. We reached out to our current Fellows and posed the question, “How has the Robert Toigo Foundation Fellowship aided you in accomplishing your Finance goals?”

“Opened my landscape: Toigo challenged me to really see that I could achieve whatever dreams I had regardless of where I came from. I do not come from a family that is involved in finance but Toigo has given me friends, mentors, and supporters that have played a huge role in my success. I was born in the small country of Guatemala, and my father was actually born in a very remote village that did not have power or running water till the late 70s. And yet next summer I will be in an Investment Banking associate in New York, the center of finance. Many people have helped me along the way, but in the past 6 months I have to say that Toigo has been at the forefront of shaping how I think about my career and how best to prepare for it.

-Provides true support: the career advice, encouragement, and support is unparalleled. Our Career Center at Kellogg is amazing and has many resources, but I had an additional counselor from Toigo who not only looked over my information, but questioned my interests, mock interviewed me, actually traveled to campus to meet with us, and was willing to make connections for me all over the street. I reached out to a Toigo Board member and she was willing to take time out of her busy schedule to sit down with me over breakfast. Once again I had someone that I could ask questions to and could provide advice as I thought about my time at b-school.

-Gives unparalleled access: Toigo provides specific educational opportunities with some of the top leaders at some of the most renowned organizations in Finance. JP Morgan, CALPERS, KKR, Tishman Speyer, UBS, the list goes on… It is not about going to an office to watch a presenter go through a PowerPoint presentation – these opportunities go way beyond that in providing meaningful time to sit with senior managers and Toigo alums to get our questions answered and learn about their organizations. This summer I got the chance to ask the President of one of the largest insurance companies in the world what he thought about the markets – a person I thought I might never meet, let alone ask a question to.

-Establishes a network: Apart from my current 2010 class of Fellows, who have ended up being some of my closest friends at school, the Toigo network extends across the country and up and down companies. When you go to business school you end up establishing a very close relationship with classmate and the alums that came before you, but Toigo is like having a second MBA – without all the studying! Are you interested in quantitative hedge funds? PE? Sell-side equity research? Private Wealth Management? The Toigo network covers the gamut of industries, but more importantly, responds like a family because they have all been in our shoes.”

***Hector Fernandez (Kellogg ’10)

“The Toigo foundation has been the most important organization that I have ever been a part of. It has affected me in 2 distinct ways:

Training: The organization has used its alumni and access to top finance professional to provide key training seminars for me and my fellow Toigos.

Access to a Great Network: The organization has also helped me create a network of peers and professionals. For example, I did my summer internship with one of the Top Pensions Funds in the world, by learning about the previous summer experience of another Toigo fellow.”

***Karlo Teran (Kellogg ’10)

The New Restructuring of Financial Services...

In our continuing question and answer series with our Fellows, we would like to provide another installment, in which we posed the question: “What are opportunities that you see in the new restructuring of Financial Services?”

“One of the clearest challenges from the current crisis is that government and private industry need experienced, financially-wise leaders to step into new roles. These are the types of markets that are remembered for decades to come and it could not be a better time to enter Finance. We will see a huge opening for hungry, new, and diverse talent to step in and develop the ideas that will move us forward.

Secondly, while some might say that a few specific “models” are gone forever, I think they will just adapt to the new landscape. People have falsely “killed off” investment banking, emerging markets investing, high yield bonds, real estate, private equity, micro-finance, and derivatives many times over. Certain products do go away, but there could be no better time to learn how to analyze bonds in a depressed market, or bring forth a creative M&A deal with limited financing, or get a hard hat on to explore real estate properties. Yes the market is tough and opportunities might be more limited than before, but Finance is here to stay.”

***Hector Fernandez (Kellogg ’10)

“I see a lot of opportunities given the new restructuring. I feel that a lot off “complexity” will be taken out and all of the so called fancy products that got us into this situation will be hard to replicate. That said, banks will still need to put money to work, the new rules of the game will probably involved better risk management and less use of leverage across industries/companies, that said, I feel that Real Estate, Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship will be great areas to get involved right now. As Warren Buffer said “be greedy when everybody is fearful and be fearful when everybody is greedy”.”

***Karlo Teran (Kellogg ’10)

Why Finance now? What are the merits?

In an ongoing effort to provide you with insight into the current Financial landscape, we have reached out to our Class of 2010 Fellows and asked them to address certain key questions that will help you, the MBA Catapult member key into the market's pulse. In this first installment, we posed the following question, "Why Finance Now, what are the merits?" The following are some of the amazing responses we received addressing this question:

"In my opinion there are three careers that make the most impact: education, politics, and finance. Those three have the broadest reach regardless of who you are, where you live, or what you want to accomplish. As an MBA student at Kellogg I am further developing my education, while politics have never attracted me after seeing how dangerous they could be in Latin America!

What that leaves for me is Finance - where the landscape is always changing and just as you need to be creative and strategic in bull markets, bear markets challenge you even more.

The ticker never stops, entrepreneurs never lack the need for funding, and entire countries move forward by accessing financial advice and markets. If you want a career that by definition pushes you to change, adapt, and constantly learn this is for you. Whether you end up trading, providing advising investment banking, pursuing traditional buy-side research, becoming the CFO for a 10 person startup, or trying to lbo the moon (ok that will take better markets…) Finance offers a wide range of opportunities to not only excel career-wise, but also learn specific skills that can help the non-work related organizations that you might be involved in, such as a non-profit or your local church.

This last element is specifically important to me, in that while I have volunteered in the past, I know that I will be much more helpful in the future as I keep developing my finance skills, which many times tend to be lacking as you move into the non-profit sector. In the past decade or so financial professionals have really started to move to the forefront of providing pro-bono services and understanding how to leverage knowledge to impact communities."

***Hector Fernandez (Kellogg '10)

"As we are currently witnessing, the world of Finance is the key driver of any economy. Today, we are facing an unprecedented time where this “key” is once again changing due to mistakes made within the industry. Right now is the best moment to dive into the subject and learn about its origins, its transformation, its current familiar and its future state. Whether you want to be an employee in a corporation, an executive in a service form, a nonprofit member or an entrepreneur, knowing and understanding about finance is key to your personal development."

***Karlo Teran (Kellogg '10)

"Where there is chaos, there is opportunity. If this maxim is to be believed, then the current crisis represents a landscape teeming with opportunities. To be sure, there will be difficult times ahead. And the financial sector will feel that acutely. However, for the most enterprising practitioners, this is also a chance to shape the financial services sector for the future. The new regulation that will inevitably arise from this will demand that firms rapidly adjust their businesses to conform. Finance professionals that can demonstrate deep understanding of the new rules will be highly sought after for their expertise-- and well compensated in the process. That said, anyone entering this business now should be comfortable with rapid change. It is a new day; and Wall Street 2018 will likely bear a very small resemblance to Wall Street 2008. Witness the evolution since 1998, and how Sarbanes Oxley and the repeal of Glass Steagall have radically changed the way business is done in the financial sector. By most accounts, the coming changes will easily dwarf what took place in the last decade. In such an environment, it is absolutely critical to remain in close proximity to power and information. In truth, the two are one and the same. There is no organization in the world that is better prepared than the Toigo Foundation to be a port in the coming storm and give aspiring finance professionals the tools they will need to navigate this industry. I have personally witnessed doors open at the mention of the Toigo name. I have seen the camaraderie that is built between Toigo’s across years and sectors. And perhaps most importantly, I have seen the high regard that the industry at large has for this organization. Recruiters no longer view this as a minority recruiting program. Whether in financial services or other allied industries, HR professionals view the Toigo Foundation as a resource to help them identify the most ambitious and most talented finance professionals in the country. Period. I am honored to now be a part of that lineage, and like so many before me, will do all that I can to provide assistance to future Fellows who aspire to carry on the dual mission of service and leadership that Toigo has come to represent."

***Vincent Harris (Darden '09)

"Why Finance? Finance is at the core of all business decisions. Great companies rely on finance professionals to make strategic decisions that will move their business forward. The current financial crisis has not only highlighted the importance of the financial markets to the global economy but it has also illustrated the importance of having top talent in the financial services industry. This provides us with a tremendous opportunity to be at the forefront of the restructuring that is occurring in the industry and help shape the role of finance in business today. Given the importance of this transition, we will need to be prepared to demonstrate our ability to succeed in this challenging environment. The Toigo APEX program helps you to sharpen your skills and perform at your best. Access to information and the ability to create value out of that information is the purpose of financial services firms. The Toigo Foundation provides its fellows with access to arguably one of the most expansive financial services networks in the country. This network will be invaluable to your future success in finance and in business in general."

***Tanesha Parker (Darden '10)

Welcome!

Welcome!

My name is Yvonne Hart, and I am the Associate Director of MBA Student Programming for the Robert Toigo Foundation. I am both proud and excited to introduce to you the new RTF MBA Catapult Blog! We at the Foundation look forward to using this blog as a portal for discussion between RTF Fellows, Alumni, as well as you – the members of the MBA Catapult team. With the Financial markets undergoing fundamental changes, and restructuring, we feel that it is of chief importance to provide you with an access to invaluable industry information. When looking to understand the market, who better to learn from than those involved in creating and influencing new trends, as well as decision makers who have worked diligently to rise in the ranks of their respective sector?

This blog is for you! You should use this as a forum for discussion with The Foundation, as well as your MBA Catapult cohort. We will utilize our network of over 700 Finance professionals in order to address your thoughts, questions, and theories regarding the future of the Finance MBA. Again, we at The Foundation look forward to continued engagement with you and your network as you progress on the journey toward an MBA.

Warm Regards,

Yvonne Hart

Associate Director – MBA Programming

The Robert Toigo Foundation