The Ballentine Investment Institute: NYC Field Trips

As a foundation for educating students about careers in financial services, the Ballentine Investment Institute sponsors annual trips to the stock and futures exchanges and brokerage and investment banking firms in New York City. At the Institute’s request, host firms often present customized seminars for our students and offer access to the exchange floor, where students gain an invaluable and up-close look at exciting floor operations. Students are given the opportunity to speak with financial managers and analysts and learn more about the industry, in addition to their participation in a simulated trading experience.

These trips are an excellent opportunity for students to expand the financial knowledge they have gained at Whitman, helping to bridge “book knowledge” with the reality of how markets work. In Spring 2007, the Ballentine Investment Institute arranged a trip to Omaha to visit Warren Buffet at Berkshire Hathaway Inc., as well as two of his subsidiaries.