The Chartered Financial Analyst careers panel as part of the Finance Career Conference featured four CFAs: (from left) Adam Emig, vice president and senior investment research analyst at Commerce Trust; Scott Harrison, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management; Eric Jasso, vice president and lead investment research analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute; and Christopher Jordan, senior vice president and senior investment advisor at PNC Bank. (Photos by Derik Holtmann)

As a senior pursuing her BSBA with an emphasis in finance, Addison Eaker has spent a lot of time thinking about her future. And as the president of the Finance Club at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, Eaker has spent a lot of time thinking about the future for her fellow College of Business Administration students, too.

That’s why Eaker relishes participating in events like last Thursday’s Finance Career Conference, which featured two keynote speakers and two panels with seven more finance professionals sharing their life and career experiences in the Century Rooms at the Millennium Student Center.

“It’s not always easy for students to get access to industry professionals, and wisdom in particular is very valuable to us at this stage,” said Eaker, who started the event with a welcome and introductions. “People are trying to figure out themselves and what they want to do, and what are the most important avenues to spend their time on. These speakers have firsthand industry experience where they can say, ‘This is worthwhile, this has worked for me.’”

The Finance Career Conference has become an UMSL Business tradition since the first event was held in 2014. The goal of the event, which is hosted by the Finance Club, is always the same.

“What we are really trying to do, ultimately, is take students and train them the best we can to maximize their abilities, and then set them up to be successful, not only in their careers, but also to become productive citizens,” said Nasser Arshadi, an UMSL professor of finance and Finance Department chair. “We address a lot of ethical issues, and how money is not everything, even though we teach finance. Those issues are important. The idea is to make them happy, productive citizens, and part of it is to have financial security.”

Beth DeCamp, director of enterprise rate forecasting at Boeing, and Morgan Koenig, senior vice president and head of investment portfolio management at Enterprise Bank & Trust, were the keynote speakers. Both are UMSL alumni. Koenig was back in the same place – the Century Rooms – where she was one of four UMSL alumni honored at the Salute to Business Achievement Awards in April.

They spoke about their time at UMSL, the importance of making connections in the industry and how that impacted their career paths and also the different roles they’ve held that have gotten them to their current position. Along the way, they dispensed a little advice on things students can work on now to prepare them for getting a job after graduation.

UMSL alum Morgan Koenig, a senior vice president and head of investment portfolio management at Enterprise Bank & Trust, was one of the keynote speakers at the 2024 Finance Career Conference.

“We want someone who is very skilled in Excel,” Koenig said during the question-and-answer session. “We build models in Excel, and having skills in Excel is something we definitely look at. And that’s something you can certainly build throughout your time at UMSL.”

The first panel, moderated by Yiuman Tse, endowed chair and professor of finance at UMSL, focused on Chartered Financial Analyst careers and featured four CFAs: Adam Emig, vice president and senior investment research analyst at Commerce Trust; Scott Harrison, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management; Eric Jasso, vice president and lead investment research analyst at Wells Fargo Investment Institute; and Christopher Jordan, senior vice president and senior investment advisor at PNC Bank.

“I was born and raised here in St. Louis, and it’s always great to come back to UMSL,” said Harrison, who earned his bachelor’s in finance at UMSL. “I went through the night program while I was working full time during the day. I always think of the UMSL student rolling up their sleeves, being a hard worker and really willing to take on a challenge. And that’s something we look for.”

All four stressed the value added by earning the CFA designation – from the knowledge gained to the doors that open and even the discipline learned by setting aside the time to study for what is a very challenging three-stage exam. During the open and honest panel discussion, Harrison admitted failing Level I and Jasso admitted falling short on Level II, both using their potential roadblocks as encouragement for students in attendance that might feel like they’re struggling.

“Resilience is the biggest thing. Failing Level II and having a full year until I could take it again, that was a killer,” Jasso said. “Most people don’t pass all three levels the first time. Very few do. Resiliency is a big part.”

The second panel, moderated by Arshadi, focused on fintech careers and featured Kevin Kercher, patent and trademark attorney at McKee, Voorhees & Sease; Nong Lin, senior vice president and director of quantitative equity research at Commerce Trust; and Tim Dombrowski, an assistant professor of finance at UMSL and the faculty advisor of the Finance Club.

Within UMSL’s Finance Department, the goal is to give students a wide array of viewpoints and ways to approach finding solutions. That view was reflected in the panels at the conference.

“That’s why we have different types of people speaking,” Arshadi said. “In my fintech panel, I had an attorney who helps startups in fintech, and then I have a professor who teaches that stuff. I want to mix up things to give different angles to students.”

That was appreciated by the students.

“It was nice to hear that so many different professionals have had such different journeys, but they’ve still landed on what makes them happy,” Eaker said. “It’s nice to know that you don’t have to know exactly where you want to end up now, but if you work hard and develop your skills, then eventually you can find your niche.”