One of our goals at the Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy is to develop students’ understanding of the intersection of public policy and the markets in order to help prepare them for successful careers, in whichever field they choose. The Psaros Center aims to ensure our programming is multidisciplinary and available to students across all of the schools at Georgetown University. To accomplish this we provide students with opportunities to participate in immersive learning experiences, like the FinPolicy Trek, where they can connect and engage with academic leaders, industry leaders, and policymakers. Additionally, it is a great way for the selected students to engage with our outstanding alumni network who can share their own insights and experiences.
As part of the second annual FinPolicy Trek, 14 Psaros Center FinPolicy Scholars visited landmark policy and financial offices from May 13 to May 17, 2024. The first two and a half days of the FinPolicy Trek focused on the policymaking side of finance as students met with senior-level officials at The White House, the U.S. Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the U.S. House of Representatives. After taking a train to New York City, students learned about various aspects of the practice of finance for the next two and a half days as they interacted with executives at Neuberger Berman, Silver Lake, Goldman Sachs, the New York Stock Exchange, Nuveen Churchill Asset Management, BlackRock, BNY Mellon, KPS Capital Partners, and JPMorgan Chase.
On Monday, the cohort kicked off the FinPolicy Trek by departing campus for the White House. After clearing security, the group visited the Diplomatic Reception Room in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. There the students met with senior officials from the National Security Council (NSC), the National Economic Council (NEC), the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Students heard from senior officials who inform and report to the President on various aspects of economic policy. They covered topics such as tariffs, sanctions, and fines serving as geopolitical tools, and how administrations have to adapt and invent new tools. They also discussed the national debt, lessons from the Great Recession, and the influential soft power of finance and economics.
After the first set of meetings, students refueled with lunch before making their way to the U.S. Treasury Department. During their two-hour visit at the historic Main Treasury building, the students heard from and spoke with senior leadership in the Office of Economic Policy, the Office of Domestic Finance, the Office of Financial Institutions, the Office of Financial Markets, and the Treasury Department’s Equity Hub. Students were able to learn about the U.S. economic recovery from the pandemic, disparities in tax policy, and how backgrounds in the private sector inform public sector work before delving into such topics such as banking, interest rates, and government service.
The students then visited the Federal Reserve Board of Governors to meet with Fed Governor Michelle Bowman. They learned directly from Governor Bowman about the general operations of the Federal Reserve including the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings, the procedure for blackout dates, and monetary policy as an economic tool.
To close out the first day of the Trek, students had an informative dinner. They were joined by Washington representatives from the London Stock Exchange Group, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Ripple. Over dinner, the students were able to network and learn about different career trajectories from leaders of financial institutions who are based in Washington, DC..
Day two of this year’s FinPolicy Trek focused on two key financial market regulators. The morning was spent at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the afternoon at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
First, the students met with Rostin Behnam (B’00), Chair of the CFTC, and his senior leadership team. In addition to Chair Behnam and his senior staff, they also met with the Policy Advisor to CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero.
After a quick lunch at Union Station, the Psaros FinPolicy Scholars went to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to meet with Chair Gary Gensler, SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda (B’92), and senior members of their staff.
The students were able to ask Commissioner Uyeda about the resurgence of retail investor activity and the popularization of fractional share trading. They also spoke with Chair Gensler about the SEC and its regulatory function, digital assets, and the structure of financial markets.
While the FinPolicy Trek was reaching the halfway mark, excitement continued to build. Not only was it the travel day from Washington, D.C. to New York, but a photo-op with the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives was also added to the schedule. The students were rewarded for the early call time with a meeting with Jack the Bulldog, who sent the Psaros FinPolicy Scholars off in style to the U.S. Capitol.
After clearing security, the group headed to Statuary Hall, where they met with Speaker Mike Johnson. Speaker Johnson spoke with the group and invited them to see one of the most beautiful views in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Capitol Speaker’s Balcony, which overlooks the National Mall.
The students proceeded to their reserved meeting room in the Capitol building. They met individually with U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell (SFS’75, C’96) of Michigan, who spoke of her experience as a Member of Congress and took questions from the students. Then U.S. Representative Bryan Steil (B’03) of Wisconsin stopped by and spoke about his work on the House Financial Services Committee and held a wide-ranging discussion with the students on fiscal issues. Representatives Dingell and Steil also shared their journey from the Hilltop to Capitol Hill.
The Psaros FinPolicy Scholars made their way to Union Station to catch an Amtrak train to New York City; the policy-focused part of the Trek was over, but the financial markets portion was about to begin.
After checking into the hotel, the students went to a reception and dinner with Mike Psaros (B’89, Parent ‘21), Robin Psaros (Parent ‘21), and Leo Psaros (B’21). Mike Psaros spoke with the students about the private equity industry and, specifically, the manufacturing sector that his firm, KPS Capital Partners, specializes in. The students had a great discussion with Mike, Robin, and Leo Psaros.
Thursday was the first full day in New York City and it was a nonstop day for the Psaros FinPolicy Scholars. It started with a subway ride to the headquarters of Neuberger Berman Group LLC to meet with Joe Amato (B’84), President and Chief Investment Officer of Equities of Neuberger Berman and Member of the Board of Advisors of the Psaros Center, and Tim Creedon (SFS’98), Director of Global Equity Research. Joe and Tim, both Hoyas, gave the students an overview of asset management and the financial services industry. They explained the sector and the markets before taking questions from the scholars.
After Neuberger Berman, the students made their way across Midtown to Hudson Yards, where they met Egon Durban (B’95), co-chief Executive Officer of Silver Lake, as well as members of his team. Mr. Durban discussed the private equity market with the students, focusing on the tech sector, the specialty of Silver Lake. They took questions from the students and got into the specifics of tech and private equity.
After Silver Lake, the Psaros FinPolicy Scholars headed downtown to the Financial District to go to Goldman Sachs’ headquarters. Hosted by Eric Jordan (B’99) and Feroz Khosla (B’10), the students had lunch and engaged with multiple rounds of experts from Goldman Sachs, many of whom were Hoyas. They shared insights about their particular division. Eric and Feroz also brought in the head of campus recruiting for Goldman Sachs, to speak with the students.
Traveling across Lower Manhattan, the group’s next destination was the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), where they watched the closing bell ceremony on the day that the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke the 40,000 level. After the closing bell, they heard from David D’Onofrio, NYSE Archivist, who gave a history of the NYSE’s 232 years.
After leaving the NYSE, the group made it back to Midtown for Dr. Reena Aggarwal’s moderated discussion with Ken Kencel (B’81), President and Chief Executive Officer of Nuveen Churchill Asset Management. Reena and Ken interacted with the students, covering a range of topics including the history and current status of the private credit market.
The final day of the Psaros Center’s second annual FinPolicy Trek was an early start for the students with a 6:45 a.m. baggage call. Students checked out of their rooms and stored their bags so they could get to JPMorgan Chase in time for the Wealth Management Morning Meeting. The call was led by Mary Erdoes (C’89), Chief Executive Officer of the Asset and Wealth Management Division and a Psaros Center Advisory Board Member. Mary Erdoes began the morning call with a special recognition of the visiting Georgetown students.
After the call, Mary Erdoes took the time to speak with the students about JPMorgan and answered questions about the private bank’s business and her career path. The students proceeded to the client center board room to hear from two panels, each containing a Hoya, about the various business divisions that are part of JPMorgan.
The group then took the New York City subway to Hudson Yards to visit BlackRock’s headquarters. They heard from an all-Hoya panel representing various aspects of the business interests at BlackRock, from emerging markets to platform strategies to bond ETFs. The discussion at BlackRock ranged from the specifics of Aladdin®, their investment management software, to emerging markets, digital assets, global markets, and even career advice.
After the stimulating conversations of the morning, the Psaros FinPolicy Scholars returned to the hotel to have lunch. They met with another fellow Hoya, Meaghan Muldoon (C’99), the Chief Sustainability Officer at BNY Mellon. The casual lunchtime conversation covered sustainability and ESG issues that financial institutions are working with as part of their daily activities. Sustainability issues had come up in conversations all week so it was great to hear from an expert who was also a Hoya.
The end of the lunch marked the end of the FinPolicy Trek for 2024. The students gathered their bags before departing to Washington, D.C., or extending their stay in New York.
