The magazine for alumni and friends of the UB School of Management
Issue link: http://ubschoolofmanagement.uberflip.com/i/261286
Spring 2014 B B Shortly after arriving at Bloomberg, the first stop of the trip, Benjamin Gunn '12, MS '14, and Adrian Rangl '12, MS '14, received calls that would change their lives. They found out that they both would be get- ting hired at Goldman Sachs, where they'd interviewed at the company's Salt Lake City offices just two days earlier for positions in the Financial Controller Division. "I vividly remember walking down the stairs at Bloomberg, talking with Ben about when or how we would be notified," says Rangl. "He told me that if we received a call soon it would most likely be good news." About 10 minutes later, Gunn's phone rang. It was Goldman Sachs, and he was get- ting hired. "I stepped off to the side to take the call and remember feeling overwhelmed," says Gunn. "I wanted the job so bad, and this was the moment everything came together." Still on the phone, Gunn gave a thumbs-up to the group. "It was hugs, smiles and high fives all around," he says. Rangl's call came next. "I started to wonder if Goldman could take more than one person from UB," says Rangl. "But then my phone rang, I showed Ben the number and he said it was Goldman. "All I remember is answering questions and feeling like I was on cloud nine during the call—I could not stop smiling. It was a very happy moment for both of us." Rangl has been involved with the Terese Kelly Investment Group since its inception. He is the current CEO of the group and pre- viously served as COO. Gunn currently serves as chief risk officer and previously served as an analyst. "I have learned how to analyze detailed metrics to measure risks, the different ways people find high quality investments, how to The Terese Kelly Investment Group Real money, real risk Cosan is a Brazilian conglomerate pro- ducing bioethanol, sugar and energy. Jillian Fair is pitching the company to an investment group that will decide whether to buy shares for their portfo- lio. Growth drivers for Cosan, she says, include long-term demand for ethanol and the company's natural hedge against variation in demand for its products. Fair and two teammates roll through a slick PowerPoint presentation: industry factors, revenue growth, direct compe- tition comparison, valuation, key ratios and statistics, growth rates, potential risks and, finally, their recommendation to buy 200 shares at the market price ($14.75 earlier that afternoon) and 200 additional shares at $14.25. The investors have questions: Why is Cosan's debt-to-equity ratio so high? Is the fact that the U.S. market is high a deterrent to buying now? The compa- ny is only three years old—is that a risk? (Actually, the company is long- established, but has only been listed on U.S. markets for three years.) The group votes twice, first on whether to invest in Cosan, then, if yes, whether to accept the recommended amount and pricing. The Cosan team gets unani- mous support on both. This is the Terese Kelly Investment Group at work—seven MBA students and six undergradu- ates, wearing the req- uisite dark suits for the presentation. Membership is by invi- tation based on facul- ty recommendation. The money is real. The investors are serious. The group has a dedi- cated office furnished like a boardroom and fitted with a Bloomberg Terminal acquired with pro- ceeds from a bequest to the school. They started investing in 2011 with $129,909. At the end of 2013, they held $129,232 in equities and $34,287 in cash, a gain of nearly 30 percent. Cosan hasn't been a star: it's only up a few cents. Constellation Brands (up 216 percent) is the top pick in the portfolio. Newmont Mining (down 38 percent) is bringing up the rear. The biggest winner: the Terese Kelly Investment Group. x —Judson Mead Development Communications Photo: Robert Adam Mayer Terese Kelly "Then we headed to the gold vault. I like them to see that even given how complex the world has become, there's still a bunch of gold in a basement." Gregg Fisher '92, CFA, CFP Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Gerstein Fisher