The annual Jr. Bills on Wall Street trip brought students to the Big Apple for a weekend of business meetings, tourism, and career soul-searching for the ten students hoping to pursue a career in the world of the financial sector.

The formal attire-clad group arrived in New York City on Thursday, Nov. 7 and explored life in the upper echelons of American investing, banking, and other aspects of the financial world into Saturday, Nov. 9.

The group had meetings with SLUH alumni in finance and capital markets. Alumni hosted them at municipal bond trading firm Morgan Stanley where Pat Haskell, ’90, put the visiting students on the trading floor with employees who were working on a deal.

The experience gave students a perspective of working in money bonds and what the job was actually like.

At two private equity firms Lebaron Brown Brown (Jonathan Holden, ’06) and Willow Tree Credit Partners (Tim Loner, ’95), the students learned about the purpose and specific jobs that PE firms carry out. This included financial advice for clients, leverage buyouts with other private equity firms, and the ins and outs of a day in the life of an equity trader.

At the New York Stock Exchange, the students received a tour of the place itself, and had a tour guide from Morgan Stanley giving personal accounts of his career as a trader and how life in the exchange really is.

Next, they visited Credit Suisse, a large Swiss bank, where they were hosted by Mitchell Klug, a former SLUH and Harvard graduate. There, the students learned about finance and financial advice.

“I felt like going to the firms was the most fun thing. My favorite was Lebaron and Brown (the alum) was really cool and gave it to us all in student-friendly terms,” said senior Irfaun Karim.

In preparation for the trip, pairs of attendees presented on topics that their alumni visits would cover. Topics included buyouts and private equity, Their purpose was to gain an understanding of the types of businesses they’d be seeing and the language of the finance world.

“The weekly meetings with Dr. Foy introduced us to terminology that was essential to understanding how different firms on Wall Street function,” said senior George Roby.

“By spending some time reading and learning and hearing questions, you can digest enough information that what you hear in New York is way more valuable,” said Foy.

The group also had dinner with more recent alums, who offered specific advice on college planning and career trajectory.

“What I like the most is the Friday meeting reception where the young alums are offering very specific advice, talking about their lives, and listening to what our guys are doing at SLUH,” said Foy.

Tourist stops to Chinatown and Broadway to see the musical Come From Away helped give a feel for the unique culture New York has to offer. A visit to the New York Stock Exchange offered a bit of financial tourism for the group, too.

Foy plans to offer an open event soon for the school to hear about the trip and learn from the students who were able to attend.

“I think that the guys that do get to have this experience owe the institution a little giving back and helping everybody else understand what happened,” said Foy.