Frankel Testimonials

About Me

I need to be passionate about the environment I am in and the work I do. When I was an intern at the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) the summer between the first and second years of my MBA program, I realized that I felt passionately about stocks and investments. I feel lucky that I got the opportunity to work in an industry I like and that I want to remain in, even after I turn 80 years old.

When I think back, I realize that getting my chartered accountancy degree gave me the mind-set for details and reading between the lines, while getting my MBA from Syracuse helped me develop valuable skill sets critical in business. The MBA was a way of building skills, developing a mind-set, and gaining knowledge that wasn’t integral to my prior job function.

Now I thrive in an environment where the work is challenging, and the people are incredible to work with. After earning my MBA, I had the good fortune to join a company in Rochester, N.Y., that invests on fundamental analysis through a bottom-up security selection method. After 10 months working as an assistant, I was promoted to associate. I work with five people in my group and altogether there are about 30 people in research who manage roughly $7 billion in assets. And this is where the thrill is—bringing together ideas on stocks, working hard to pitch a buy recommendation to the core-executive group, and having the courage to take risks by sticking your neck out when even Wall Street is bearish on the market or has a depressed short-term outlook on a sector. That is because each of our risk-managed strategies are based on time tested economic principles and require strict adherence to these strategies along with pricing discipline. This is what differentiates us from other firms. I am awed by the depth of experience and the differing perspectives represented here. Everybody is hard-working and has the attitude that you are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. Picking a stock depends on whether it fits with one of the strategies of the firm and meets the valuation criteria based on facts.

Reflections on the Frankel Experience

When I applied for the Stuart Frankel & Company NYSE Program, I did not know what I would have missed had I not received it. I consider the experience to be the most memorable three days of my MBA program. Every day we met with the top management of different firms, learning from their revelations of how they opened the doors of opportunity and what makes them a different person in business or in their personal life. The best thing about the program was the personal interactions—for example, dinners with the Frankel family. Furthermore, each one of us got to see firsthand the spectrum of opportunities in the field of finance. The competition was intense to be selected for the program, and rightly so, for it provides a golden opportunity to meet with super-successful people—and by the grace of God I hope some of it rubs off on each one of us!

While earning my MBA, I had time to reflect on what I enjoy doing the most, and gained the courage and strength to believe in and be true to myself and my interests. My time spent talking with Mr. Frankel, too, helped me realize that I do not have to follow the crowd.