The vision for the Notre Dame Institute for Global Investing (NDIGI) is to be the preeminent, university-based investment management research and education program worldwide, convening ideas and people around critical industry topics. The team at NDIGI has been busy this year in pursuit of this objective. We have included a few examples below of ways we are convening people and sharing ideas.
WIS’23: “Defining your Edge”
WIS’23 marked the fifth anniversary of the Women’s Investing Summit (WIS), an important inclusion initiative at NDIGI. WIS is a forum for female-led discussion on leadership, markets and investing. The Summit is open to all students, faculty and staff at Notre Dame, St. Mary’s and Holy Cross. This year, 425 students from six colleges across campus registered for the two-day event.
WIS’23 kicked off in the Jordan Auditorium with a panel on early-stage investing. Immediately following, NDIGI, in partnership with the Hesburgh Women of Impact, hosted a dinner for students, speakers and sponsors. Haley Scott DeMaria (ND ’95) provided the keynote and shared lessons on overcoming adversity and living a life of gratitude.
On Friday morning, 20 senior women from various leadership roles and asset classes traveled from all over the country to share career wisdom, market insights and investment ideas. Keynote speakers included Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn, former Neiman Marcus CEO Karen Katz, and president and CIO of Brandywine Jenny Heller. All of the speakers have a demonstrated edge in their field and each articulated how they have built and maintained that edge over their careers.
WIS’23 was made possible through industry sponsors including Goldman Sachs, Sixth Street, William Blair, Artisan Partners, BlackRock, Jennison Associates, Norwest Equity Partners and TCW. Visit womensinvestingsummit.nd.edu for the full gallery of speaker bios and more photos.
Please Save the Date for WIS’24 on February 29-March 1!
Pre-College Program: “The Power of Investing
In July 2022, NDIGI, in partnership with the Office of Pre-College Programs, hosted 41 high school students on Notre Dame’s campus for a leadership seminar titled, “The Power Of Investing: Financial Literacy and the Power of Compound Interest.” One of the goals of the program was to broaden the reach of our educational content by connecting with diverse students earlier in their discernment process.
Carl Ackermann and Mark Dumich led instruction on investment principles such as the time value of money, personal budgeting and valuation methods. Guest lectures were provided by Mendoza’s own Wendy Angst and Kristen Collett-Schmitt. The cohort also spent a day in Chicago being exposed to various careers in financial services while visiting firms such as William Blair, Northern Trust and Baird.
Early signs of the program’s success have begun to roll in. Thirty-four of the 41 students applied to Notre Dame and 23 were recently accepted. Of those admitted, 17 students indicated finance as their preferred major. As of today, three have placed deposits to enroll at Notre Dame this fall.
The Power of Investing is a tool to attract talented and diverse students to campus. The program is designed to spark passion in the student in the hopes they seek to pursue a degree at Notre Dame and eventually a successful career in Investment Management. Our goal is to ultimately improve the composition of placement and employment ratios within the industry, which has historically been underserved by women and other minorities.
The Power of Investing will be offered again this summer from July 22 - August 2. A great deal of planning around curriculum, logistics and industry engagement is taking place this semester in preparation for another successful program.
The Business of Life
NDIGI is pleased to again be offering The Business of Life during the spring semester. Now hosting its fourth cohort of students, this extracurricular program leads a group of 20 to 25 participants through discussions across several topics, including multidisciplinary thinking, core values and career discernment.
Led by Peter Kaufman, chairman & CEO of Glenair and author of the world-famous investing book "Poor Charlie’s Almanack," the experience culminates in a trip to Glendale, California, where students visit Glenair’s manufacturing facility to see firsthand the lessons of leadership, alignment and values that are key to operating a successful business. Students in the spring ’23 cohort spent Friday, March 31, on the West Coast for this unique and distinctly Notre Dame experience.
Career Discernment
Expanding the career opportunities available to the students we serve is an important pillar of our work at NDIGI. Early exposure to a broad range of possible paths allows students to discern over time where their skill sets and passion are best aligned. Our hope is that this leads to more sustainable long-term career satisfaction and success.
During winter break, NDIGI hosted career exploration treks in Boston, New York and Silicon Valley. 42 freshmen and 54 sophomore students convened in these cities and were exposed to careers across asset classes and strategies including Private Equity, Public Equity and Venture Capital. Firms included Fidelity, Blackstone, a16z and Wellington, among many others.
Notre Dame on Wall Street
After a three-year hiatus, the Notre Dame Wall Street Dinner resumed this month at the Midtown New York Hilton. Seven hundred alumni from across industry and asset classes convened to network with fellow alums and to hear from Notre Dame speakers including Executive Vice President Shannon Cullinan, Martin J. Gillen Dean Martijn Cremers and Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman.
This group of alumni is particularly passionate about furthering student education, discernment and placement within financial services. Many of these alumni are actively engaged with NDIGI. If we can be a helpful liaison for you to this group of practitioners, please reach out to our team.
As always, thank you to the long list of faculty and staff actively contributing to our work at NDIGI. Please encourage your investment-minded students to engage with NDIGI, and continue to let us know if we can be a resource for you going forward.
In Notre Dame,
Patty Brady, Interim Managing Director
Mark Dumich, Associate Director
Tess Swain, Communications and Events Coordinator
Via The Mendoza Exchange, From the Dean's Desk, Guest Column: Patty Brady, April 17, 2023