An Interview with Daniel Jones

The above is Mr. Daniel Jones. He has graciously allowed me to interview him. Please excuse my interviewing abilities.

Hi Danny, tell me a little about yourself:

-I am a current MSF student. I was an accounting undergraduate major at Marquette and worked in the field as an auditor for three years before coming to Boston College. 

Why did you decide to come to Boston College?

-I want to switch my career to one in investment management. BC has one of the top Finance programs in the country and Boston is a major hub for the asset management industry. BC offers an exhaustive alumni network that is always willing to help and I embrace its Jesuit philosophy. 

What class are you enjoying this semester?

I really enjoy CIRM. 

What’s CIRM?
Curriculum in Investment Research Management

Can you describe the class a bit?

It is a three stage course. The first stage is an introduction to investment research and the second stage is a competition where the teams in the class compete to manage the Boston College Endowment. Throughout the semester we had various industry professionals come in and speak to the class about their experiences. These individuals were aware of the competition we were in and provided us with advice to help formulate our strategies.  

Interesting, what is the competition process?

-We had four teams in the class and each team came up with an investment philosophy/strategy. We each then conveyed our strategies to the Board of Trustees through an RFP (request for proposal ) and presentation. 

Was that nerve racking?  How did you guys do?

-A little bit but we were confident in our strategy and proud of work regardless of the outcome. We ended up earning one of the two spots and we are currently managing part of the endowment.

Wow, congratulations! You mentioned three phases, what is the third phase? 

-The third phase is the actual management of the endowment. Our group meets on a weekly basis and we discuss specific investment ideas such as stock and bond holdings. Based on our research and discussions, we have created a portfolio and we report our performance to Professor Howe monthly. We have two scheduled presentations with him throughout the semester where he asks us about our meetings and why we chose different stocks; he acts as the client.

So CIRM perfectly correlates with your career goals.
-Absolutely.