Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investments and Finance 2024-2024 Impact Report
2023-2024 Impact Report
Our Mission
The Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investments and Finance is dedicated to advancing finance education and improving the marketability of Babson students. We provide programs and cutting-edge resources that enrich the student learning experience, support faculty research, and engage our alumni community. We’re committed to furthering Babson’s innovative and practical approach to finance education and enabling industry practitioners, faculty, and students to collaborate and learn from one another.
The Cutler Center
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“ The Cutler Center fosters experiential learning opportunities by providing students and professors with the leading tools and techniques used throughout the finance and investment industry. This hands-on experience, coupled with strong mentorship and a robust network of recent graduates and seasoned alumni, provides Babson finance students with a significant competitive edge to succeed in their careers and professional
Marco
Gargurevich MBA’01, Head of Strategic Initiatives, Geode
MESSAGE FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
The 2023-24 academic year was filled with highlights, both in and out of the classroom, for our Babson College finance students.
The finance lab continued to host multiple undergraduate and graduate courses, including Financial Trading Strategies, Fixed Income, and Real Estate Investment. These courses integrate the data and analytical tools available in the lab. The lab also hosted two interactive workshops in the spring, focusing on improving students’ financial modeling and Python skills. When not used as a classroom or a lab, student organizations such as the Babson Finance Association and Babson Scholars of Finance utilized the space for various workshops and guest speakers during the year.
Regarding events, our largest gathering of the Babson community was for our Distinguished Speaker Series in January, which kicked off the spring semester. In partnership with Babson Scholars of Finance, we welcomed Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, to campus for a fireside chat moderated by two of our student leaders.
Fintech continued to be a popular topic of interest for students and alumni. During Boston Fintech Week, we hosted a panel discussion on artificial intelligence and investing and wrapped up the fall semester with a fintech startup pitch competition as part of our undergraduate and graduate courses. Select students were invited to pitch their ideas to a group of esteemed fintech professionals for a chance to win cash prizes.
Outside the classroom, our students continued to excel in several competitions. Another group of undergraduate students in the Babson College Fund won the local CFA Institute Research Challenge. This is the sixth time in eight years that Babson has won. This success rate is a testament to the skills our students develop in the Babson College Fund and directly reflects Steve Cutler’s vision and generosity.
As the year ended, finance took center stage at commencement, where our students were honored for their work. The undergraduate Senior Awards ceremony was highlighted by Andrea Torres ‘24 being presented with the prestigious Roger W. Babson Award for excellence in scholarship, co-curricular activities, and leadership. Alexander Bowers ’24 was awarded the Carroll W. Ford Scholarship Award as class valedictorian. This is the third year a finance student and Cutler Center Student Assistant has been awarded the Roger W. Babson Award and the Carroll W. Ford Scholarship Award.
While we look back on the past academic year, we also want to acknowledge the career outcomes for the class of 2023. For the undergraduate class, 33.6% of students secured a job in the financial services industry, making it the most popular industry for the entire class. The starting salary for those in the finance industry was $82,280, higher than the class average. For the graduate class, all students enrolled in the Master of Science in Finance program secured employment within six months of graduation for the second year.
As we reflect on these and other highlights over the past academic year, we thank you for your continued support of the Cutler Center as we further our mission of advancing Babson’s innovative and practical approach to finance education. We are also excited for 2025 when the Cutler Center will celebrate its 25th anniversary. We look forward to engaging with you in the coming year and appreciate your continued support.
Regards,
Patrick Gregory, CFA Managing Director, Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investments and Finance Faculty Director, Babson College Fund (BCF) Professor of Practice, Finance Division, Babson College
2023-2024 Impact at a Glance
42 WORKSTATIONS INCLUDING 22 BLOOMBERG TERMINALS
30 MATCHES WERE MADE BETWEEN STUDENTS AND ALUMNI FOR OUR CUTLER CENTER MENTOR PROGRAM
$5.8M
PORTFOLIO MANAGED BY UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS
1,000+ STUDENTS, STAFF, FACULTY AND ALUMNI ATTENDED 26 PROGRAMS AND EVENTS ON OUR WELLESLEY AND BOSTON CAMPUSES
7 FINANCE LAB STUDENT ASSISTANTS ON STAFF TO ASSIST STUDENTS AND FACULTY WITH CLASS ASSIGNMENTS AND HOMEWORK
OVER 300 GUESTS ATTENDED A FIRESIDE CHAT CONVERSATION WITH BANK OF AMERICA CEO BRIAN MOYNIHAN
1ST PLACE FINISH IN THE LOCAL CFA INSTITUTE RESEARCH CHALLENGE, WINNING FOR THE SIXTH TIME IN THE LAST EIGHT YEARS
107 ALUMNI AND FRIENDS HAVE VOLUNTEERED TO BE A PART OF A PROGRAM OR EVENT THAT HELPS SUPPORT OUR FINANCE STUDENTS
State-of-the-Art Finance Lab
The Cutler Center Finance Lab sits at the heart of campus and features 42 workstations with various analytical tools that industry professionals use. The facility provides Babson students with unique opportunities to learn and lead through learning experiences designed to prepare them for successful careers in financial services.
When not utilized as a classroom, the finance lab is open to all Babson students and staffed by our Cutler Center student assistants, who are trained on multiple financial research resources and can assist with research and assignments during library hours.
BABSON FINANCE ASSOCIATION (BFA)
The Babson Finance Association strives to bring together undergraduate students with an active interest in finance and facilitate further exposure and engagement in the field. Throughout the year, BFA utilizes the finance lab for workshops, guest speakers, and recruiting events.
BABSON SCHOLARS OF FINANCE
Scholars of Finance is a rapidly growing organization on a mission to inspire character and integrity in the finance leaders of tomorrow. The student organization seeks to solve the world’s largest problems by investing in undergraduate students through leadership development, mentorship, and the active support of hundreds of purpose-driven finance executives and investors. The group also hosts various guest speakers during the academic year in the Cutler Center Finance Lab, which is open to all students to attend.
OUR LAB OFFERS A WIDE ARRAY OF ANALYTICAL TOOLS: Bloomberg, Capital IQ, ESG Direct, FactSet, Mergent, Morningstar, Rotman Interactive Trader, S&P Net Advantage, WRDS
Experiential Learning:
Student Competitions
CFA INSTITUTE RESEARCH CHALLENGE
CFA INSTITUTE RESEARCH CHALLENGE
1ST PLACE FINISHES
The last six out of eight years:
2024 | Babson College » Toast 2023 | Babson College » BJs
2022 | Babson College » Akamai
2021 | Babson College » Rapid7
2019 | Babson College » CarGurus
2017 | Babson College » Global Partners LP
Team Babson won the local CFA Institute for the sixth time in the past eight years. The team was comprised of undergraduate students Matthew Giacchetti ‘24, Nicholas Michaud ‘24, Emilio Oliva ‘25, Nina Radman ‘23, and Andrea Torres ‘24. The team was required to analyze a publicly traded company, write a comprehensive research report, and present their research to industry judges. The team competed against local colleges and universities, including Suffolk, Western New England, and Northeastern University. On behalf of the team, the Cutler Center would like to thank David Wellinghoff MBA ‘07, whom the students benefited from his guidance and support as the industry advisor.
ROTMAN INTERNATIONAL TRADING COMPETITION
Babson College placed sixth out of 43 leading international universities at the 2024 Rotman International Trading Competition in Toronto. The team was comprised of Joshua Collins MBA’24, Benjamin Epstein MBA’24, Matthew Giacchetti ’24, Nikolas Kritsikis MSF’24, and Wanrong Zhu ’26 (alternate). The team spent well over 100 hours preparing for the competition by building and refining complex trading algorithms in Python. The competition includes teams from leading universities such as Princeton, New York University, Columbia, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, and Peking University.
VAN BERKOM CASE COMPETITION
Babson College placed fourth at the Van Berkom John Molson Small-Cap Case Competition in Montreal. The team was comprised of Raffaello Aquino MBA’24, Aryan Goyanka ’26, and Nikolas Kritsikis MSF’24, and supported by faculty advisor Spencer Adams The event is the premier case competition focused on small-cap investment. It provides business students with an opportunity to showcase their ability to analyze financial business cases, develop strategic recommendations, and apply the academic skills they have gained in the classroom while networking with other business students and professionals in the finance industry. New this year, participants had the opportunity to ask questions directly to the management of the company they were evaluating.
BABSON TRADING COMPETITION
Sponsored by Fidelity Investments, the 13th annual Babson Trading Competition brought a limited number of Babson students to the Cutler Center Finance Lab for the sales and trading competition. Special thank you to Marco Gargurevich MBA’01, Janis Voldins MBA’98, and Brooke Hughes ’04, who spoke with students before the competition about the trading operations at Fidelity Investments and Geode.
1st » Alex Bowers ‘24
2 nd » Matthew Giacchetti ‘24
3 rd » Tinn Habanananda ’24
4th » Shengxun Sun ’26
5th » Milo Perozzi ’26
Experiential Learning:
Babson College Fund (BCF)
The Babson College Fund is an accredited two-semester program that allows a select group of undergraduate and graduate students to manage $5.8 million of the Babson College endowment, gaining investment research and portfolio management skills and practical experience. Students conduct fundamental and quantitative research, pitch their ideas, and work with experienced money managers to create a diversified, long-short equity portfolio.
BCF PARTICIPANTS RECENTLY RECEIVED JOB OFFERS FROM THE FOLLOWING FIRMS: Citizens Bank, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J. P Morgan, Moelis, Piper Sandler
BCF CELEBRATES YEARS
During the Back to Babson festivities, the Cutler Center celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Babson College Fund.
A special thank you to our guest speakers
Holland M. Ward III MBA ‘99, faculty director Patrick Gregory, CFA, Nicholas Michaud ‘24, and Arya Patel ‘23, for offering their insights into the past, present, and future of the Babson College Fund.
Eric Crawley MBA ‘09 also helped us honor our faculty directors for their leadership and mentorship over the last 25 years:
>> Diana Harrington
>> Steven Feinstein
>> Rick Spillane
>> Patrick Gregory, CFA
A special thank you to Executive in Residence extraordinaire James F. Spencer ‘73, CFA, for volunteering with the program for over twenty years.
Experiential Learning:
Babson FinTech
Start Up Pitch Competition
In conjunction with undergraduate and graduate fintech courses, the Cutler Center hosted the second annual Babson FinTech Start Up Pitch Competition. Five teams from the course, taught by assistant professor Linghang Zeng, presented their start-up ideas to a group of esteemed fintech professionals for the opportunity to win cash prizes.
» Ravin Nanda, Corporate Development Analyst, Fidelity Investments
» John Reed Stark, President, John Reed Stark Consulting
» Jared Shulman, CFA ‘12, CEO & Cofounder, Lendica
TOP 3 WINNERS & PRIZE AMOUNTS
1st PLACE: Cardfolio » $1000
pictured above on the top left, from left to right
Khushaali Seth MSF‘23
Abhishek Mittal MSF‘23
Mayank Kapur MSF‘23
Rushank Bimal Mehta MSF‘23
2nd PLACE:
EduEquity » $750
Ryan Grund ’22 MSF‘24
Samuel Morgan MSF‘24
Adeleke Karera MSF‘24
3rd PLACE: P-AI-MENTS » $500
Blake Albanese ’24
James Zheng ‘24
Oak Kornsri ‘24
Demitri Papoulis ’24
Seminars & Workshops Experiential Learning:
ESSENTIALS OF VALUE INVESTING SEMINAR
Select undergraduate and graduate students participated in a yearlong seminar series with Gary Mishuris, CFA, Managing Partner, and CIO of Silver Ring Value Partners. Throughout the seminar, readings, such as Benjamin Graham’s Security Analysis and Warren Buffett’s Partnership Letters, are used to discuss the investing philosophies and processes of successful value investors. Students can use the insights from the readings to build an internally consistent value-investing framework that suits their strengths.
PYTHON: CORE DATA ANALYSIS WORKSHOP
The Cutler Center partnered with David Malone of Training the Street to offer professional development training using Python. During this hands-on course, participants gained the skills needed to develop Python programs to solve typical finance problems. Students were introduced to best-practices programming in Python to clean, analyze, and visualize financial data.
FINANCIAL MODELING BOOTCAMP
The Cutler Center partnered with Michael Silk of Training the Street to offer financial modeling experience. During this training session, students learned how to build a fully integrated three-statement model by forecasting the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement using various assumptions. The seminar required participants to build several models of different levels of difficulty, starting with an extremely simple model and ending with a robust circular model. This teaching method ensures that building blocks and links between the forecast financial statements are fully understood.
FROM SEMINAR TO UNDERGRADUATE COURSE
FIN4504 Private Equity is an undergraduate course that allows students to develop a practical understanding of the private equity industry and related topics generally in the venture capital industry. The course focuses on various phases of activity including fund organization, prospecting, valuation, LBO modeling, negotiating skills, and exits. The course also provides students with an understanding of careers in private equity and related industries. It is designed to enable students to practically apply financial theory in a way that is consistent with industry practices, techniques, and professional expectations. The course is taught by adjunct lecturer Jaime d’Almeida and five Executives in Residence with extensive industry experience who volunteer their time to enrich this educational experience for the students.
Thought Leadership:
Distinguished Speaker Series
BRIAN MOYNIHAN,
Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America
In partnership with Scholars of Finance, the Cutler Center welcomed Brian Moynihan, Chief Executive Officer of Bank of America, to campus for a fireside chat with moderators Oleksandra Mukha ‘26 and Emily Truszkowski ‘26.
In front of over 300 Babson community members, Mr. Moynihan touched on topics from his early education, career, values, and leadership before taking time to connect with members of the Babson community during a networking reception.
PANEL DISCUSSIONS
Thought Leadership:
Panel Discussions
Finance 101: An Intro to a Career in Finance
In partnership with the Undergraduate & Graduate Centers for Career Development, we hosted a panel of Babson alumni who discussed what finance jobs entail on a day-to-day basis, the skills needed to succeed in their respective sectors, and how they broke into these competitive fields. Special thank you to, Alua Askarbek, CFA ‘18, Associate at BlackRock; Catherine Chan MBA ‘12, Senior Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at Chroma Medicine; Henry Cobb ‘19, Technology Investment Banking Associate at Stephens; Elizabeth Holmes ‘16, Director of Corporate Services at R.W. Holmes Realty Co., Inc; Michael Rothstein ‘18, Investment Analyst at Schonfeld, and Kendall Valencia ‘16, Vice President of HarbourVest Partners.
Boston FinTech Week: Al and Investing: Analyzing the Current Trends and Opportunities
As part of Boston FinTech Week, a group of industry experts came together to discuss how artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted the field of investing in recent years and how to make more informed decisions, optimize strategies, and manage risk more effectively. Special thank you to Sri Krishnamurthy, CFA, CAP, CEO of QuantUniversity; Kleida Martiro, Partner at Glasswing Ventures; Anish Shah, PhD, CFA, Financial Engineering at Smartleaf Asset Management; Dushyant (D) Shahrawat, Director of FinTech Investment Banking at Rosenblatt Securities, and Arun Verma, PhD and Head of Quantitative Research Solutions at Bloomberg, LP.
Financial Planning 101: Making an Impact
as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL
PLANNER Professional
We welcomed a panel of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professionals as they discussed their personal stories and career paths in the industry, learning about the various roles in the financial planning industry and the benefits of choosing this career. Special thank you to Kashif A. Ahmed, MBA, MSF, PGDMS, CFP®, President at American Private Wealth, LLC; Kathleen Kenealy, CFP®, CPWA®, Founder at Katapult Financial Planning; David Mastroianni CFP®, AWMA™, Wealth Advisor at Adviser Investments; Ashley McHarrie, CFP®, CIMA®, CPWA®, Senior Vice President, Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, and Eric Roberge, CFP®, Founder at Beyond Your Hammock.
Beyond Buildings: The Real Estate Investment, Leasing and Strategy Panel
In partnership with the Babson Real Estate Club (BREC), we hosted a panel discussion featuring top executives from the industry, providing insights into the core investment strategies of their established firms and included a deep dive into leasing, acquisitions, and property development. Special thank you to Andy Hoar, Co-Managing Partner at CBRE & Chairman at Boston Consulting Pool; Suzanne Duca, Director of Research at CBRE; Sam Schaefer, Market Leader & Principal at Trammell Crow Company, and Kelly Freer, VP of Leasing at Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
Thought Leadership: Faculty Research
The Cutler Center supports Babson faculty as they pursue vital research, develop intellectually rigorous programs, and deliver engaging lectures.
SEMINAR SPEAKER SERIES
The Cutler Center sponsors the Seminar Speaker Series, which allows faculty to build relationships in the academic community and exchange ideas with other top researchers.
Featured speakers during the 2023 – 24 academic year:
» Elisabeth Kempf, Jaime and Raquel Gilinski Associate Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, presented her paper, “Corporate Actions as Moral Issues”
» Sameil Hartzmark, Hillenbrand Family Faculty Fellow and Professor, Boston College, presented his paper, “Counterproductive Sustainable Investing: The Impact Elasticity of Brown and Green Firms”
FACULTY RESEARCH
Featured research papers from the 2023 – 24 academic year:
» Chava, S., Ganduri, R., Paradkar, N., Zeng, L., (2023). Shocked by Bank Funding Shocks: Evidence from Consumer Credit Cards, The Review of Financial Studies, 36, (10), 3906-3952 .
» Goldstein, M., (2023). High Frequency Trading Strategies, Management Science, 69, (8), 4413-4434.
» Goldstein, M., Namin, E.S., (2023). Corporate bond liquidity and yield spreads: A review, Elsevier, 65, (101925).
» Gilje, E.P., Taillard, J.P., Zeng, L., (2024). Human Capital Reallocation Across Firms: Evidence from Idiosyncratic Shocks, Review of Corporate Finance Studies, forthcoming.
» Menkveld, A.J., […], Davies, R.J., et al., (2023). Non-Standard Errors. Journal of Finance, forthcoming.
MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN NAMED 2024 AACSB INFLUENTIAL LEADER
Michael Goldstein is the Donald P. Babson Chair in Applied Investments and a professor of finance at Babson College. His climate work focuses on pricing the effects of near-term climate change, with a particular concentration on pricing the economic impacts of climate variance. Much of this climate research is centered on the Arctic region, particularly its shipping industry and sea ice conditions, where the effects of climate change have been the most dramatic; other work concentrates on droughts or sea level rise. Goldstein’s market microstructure work focuses on transaction costs and market efficiency.
Babson College honors graduating Undergraduate Seniors each year with awards from Babson College divisions, departments, and notable supporters. On behalf of the Cutler Center and the finance division, six of our seniors were honored, including Andrea Torres Eversest ‘24 receiving the prestigious Roger W. Babson Award, which is presented to the graduating senior who has excelled in scholarship, co-curricular activities, and leadership.
UNDERGRADUATE AWARD WINNERS:
Robert Pacheco1 – Student Contribution Awards
Presented to seniors for their meaningful contributions to student life and the Babson community.
Andrea Torres Everest2 – Economics Achievement Award
Presented to a senior who had taken four or more Economics courses and had outstanding scholarship, initiative, and resourcefulness, in the field of Economics.
Nicholas Michaud3 & Aashka Nuwal – Babson College Finance Award
Presented to a senior who will have taken at least four or more Finance courses and has completed the most distinguished academic record in the field of Finance.
Matthew Giacchetti4 – Wallace P. Mors Award
Presented to a senior for outstanding performance in Finance and division activities.
Alexander Bowers5 – Carroll W. Ford Scholarship
Presented to the graduating senior who has the highest GPA in the class.
Andrea Torres Everest2 – Roger W. Babson Award
Presented to the graduating senior who has excelled in scholarship, co-curricular activities, and leadership. This is the college’s most prestigious award for a senior.
GRADUATE AWARD WINNERS:
» Akshay Sanjay Kolte – Award for Academic Excellence
» Raffaello Leonio Aquino6 – Finance Award
» Ryan Christopher Grund – Finance
Alumni Engagement
Alumni have countless ways to stay connected with the Stephen D. Cutler Center for Investments and Finance. Here are a few highlights from the 2023–24 academic year:
Alua Askarbek ‘18, CFA, Vice President, BlackRock
Alua returned to campus in the fall to participate in our annual finance career panel, which was organized in partnership with CCD. Alua also hosted students in New York City when BlackRock participated in the New York City Finance Trek.
Edward Ciancarelli ‘00, CFA, Principal & Senior Portfolio Manager, The Colony Group
In his second year as an Executive in Residence for the Babson College Fund, Ed generously volunteers his time and energy to enrich the educational experience for the students through mentorship.
Sri Krishnamurthy MBA ‘11, CFA, CAP, CEO & Founder, QuantUniversity
During Boston Fintech Week, Sri moderated a conversation with a group of industry experts on the topic of how artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted the field of investing in recent years. Following the discussion, Sri also taught a masterclass featuring a lecture on current trends in generative AI and opportunities in fintech.
Ken Martin ’95, Head Trader, Fidelity Investments
Ken returned to campus in the fall as a guest speaker at our 13th annual Babson Trading Competition, sponsored by Fidelity. Ken spoke with our participants before the competition, highlighting his role and responsibilities at Fidelity as a head trader. In the spring, Ken also hosted the top five winners from the competition at his Boston office.
Mike Massaro ’00, CEO, Flywire
In the spring, Mike returned to campus to connect with students and discuss his role as CEO of Flywire, a global payments platform that made its public debut on the Nasdaq in 2021 during the global pandemic.
Featured Partnerships
Babson College is a proud member of the CFA Institute’s University Affiliation Program and Bloomberg’s Experiential Learning Partner Program.
CFA INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY AFFILIATION PROGRAM
Through the CFA Institute University Affiliation Program, students have access to a suite of benefits as they prepare for the CFA Program, including:
» 16 annual scholarships
» Access to the CFA curriculum (Levels I, II, and III)
» Practice Exams (Levels I, II, and III)
BLOOMBERG EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING PROGRAM
Babson was the inaugural recipient of Bloomberg’s Experiential Learning Partner program. The Bloomberg ELP is designed to recognize academic institutions that are leaders in experiential learning by integrating Bloomberg terminal exercises in their curricula.
MASS FINTECH HUB
Mass Fintech Hub is a public-private partnership comprising a network of fintech leaders, financial experts, academics, public sector leaders, and venture capitalists who empower fintech startups to achieve success.
Leadership
The Cutler Center was founded in 2000 with a generous gift from Stephen D. Cutler MBA’61 and is wife, Alice. Thanks to their continued generosity and the support of many additional alumni, parents, and friends, the Cutler Center advances finance education and improves the skill set and marketability of Babson students.
PATRICK GREGORY, CFA
Professor of Practice, Faculty Director, BCF, Senior Lecturer, Finance Division 781-239-3895 pgregory@babson.edu
» Nick Platt P’23, Partner/Chief Operating Officer/Chief Compliance Officer, Kudu Investment Management
» Annabelle Reid MBA’86, Managing Partner, FoxMoor Capital
» Harison Sidhu MBA’10, Head of Manager Selection and Due Diligence, Fiduciary Trust
» James Spencer ’73, CFA, Former SVP & Chief Investment Officer, Cambridge Trust Company
» Rick Spillane, CFA, Director, Eaton Vance Management
» Joseph Spinelli ’98, Trader, Millennium Management
» Jim Taylor ’86, Managing Director and Wealth Partner, J.P. Morgan Wealth Management
» Catherine Friend White MBA’86, Managing Director, Golden Seeds
» Mark Williams MBA’04, Partner, Cape Horn Coffees Inc.
“The Cutler Center is a critical component of students’ education in finance and investments, giving them the tools to hit the ground running when they enter the workforce.”
– James Spencer ’73 , CFA, Former SVP & Chief Investment Officer, Cambridge Trust Company
