A portfolio manager for Bryant’s University’s $2.6 million student-run Archway Innovation Fund (AIF) and a student entrepreneur in the cryptocurrency and business development space, Finance major Kevin Tucker ’24 strives to be at the forefront of the next big thing. At Bryant’s 17th annual Financial Services Forum, held on April 21, Tucker discussed the future of finance with some of Bryant’s most successful alumni in the field, making connections and sharing ideas on equal footing.
“So much of business is based on who you know, and part of the education we receive here is making connections with alumni that open doors,” said Tucker, who helps direct the AIF’s Digital Innovation Fund.
Financial Services Forum presentations included a roundtable on the future of financial technology (or “fintech”), a discussion about making the transition from college to industry, and a keystone fireside chat with Joe Fazzino ’02, vice president and deputy CIO of Raytheon Technologies on the state of the market moderated by Robert Schunder ’24, president of Bryant’s Finance Association and an AIF Equity Fund portfolio manager.
“The world is changing around us very quickly and that change offers opportunity. We’re at the forefront of helping students take advantage of those changes in finance,” said Financial Services Forum organizer Peter Nigro, Ph.D., Sarkisian Chair in Financial Services and Professor of Finance, who notes the day’s panels dealt with the same concepts and developments covered in the classroom. They offered students an aspirational view of what their careers might look like as well. “They get to see five years down the line, 10 years down the line, even 20 years down the line, where they might be.”
The forum also hosted the Archway Investment Fund’s spring report. During a special luncheon, representatives from the fund’s Fixed Income Portfolio, Equity Portfolio, and newly created Digital Innovation Fund provided an in-depth look at the trades they had made, the state of the portfolio, and their outlook on the future of the financial markets. During a short Q and A session, the alumni in attendance quizzed them on their stock selections, portfolio strategy, and how the fund operated.
Having the opportunity to make real trades with real money in a year beset by geo-political crisis, labor market instability, and a potential recession, argued Dylan Baker ’23, offered a trial by fire that allowed the students to test themselves under real conditions. “The times when the markets are in turmoil are the best times to learn,” Baker, a member of the AIF Executive Committee, mused. “It’s not as good a learning experience when you can close your eyes, pick a stock, and make 20 percent off of it.”
Here are some of the key takeaways from the forum:
The fintech revolution is here, and the industry is primed for new advances – and regulation
“One of the things we’ve looked at extensively is how COVID really accelerated digital transformation as a business strategy. And since that period, there’s been a lot more scrutiny on how business operations needed to change,” noted Heather Gentile ’98, head of RegTech Offerings, IBM. As part of a panel on the rise of fintech, she and her fellow alumni in the financial technology space untangled a complicated and rapidly evolving new field and examined increasingly murky regulation, a changing financial landscape hungry for new advances, and potential game changers like artificial intelligence.
New voices and ideas, suggested Jeff Mello ’08, president and CFO of Wealthbox, have led to a fintech revolution. “It’s no longer just a question of ‘Can it do what I need it to?’; now it’s ‘How efficient can I be?’” he mused. Moderator Nirbhay Kumar ’98, however, noted an eternal truth: a tool, no matter how intelligent or advanced, is useless without purpose. “You have to understand the technology is facilitating a business function. So, the tech by itself is pointless, it requires a core understanding of what that business function is.”
There’s room for debate in divining the future of cryptocurrency
Web consultant John Calabrese ’09 noted the dawning of a new age of opportunity with the rise of fintech-empowered innovations such as cryptocurrency and the ability to move beyond centralized financial institutions. He argued that freedom inspires more options for consumers as well as an opportunity to take back control and governance. “What drives fintech is innovation, which I think is important to all of us,” he said.
Fazzino, by contrast, noted that there was still skepticism in many circles regarding new advances like cryptocurrency despite the hype — a reluctance only exacerbated by the recent collapse of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. “Crypto’s tough,” he acknowledged. “I think the hardest part in the recent runup was explaining to our investment committee why we weren’t more heavily invested in it.” But by controlling their exposure, he noted, “we didn’t get caught up in FTX and ended up looking like heroes.”
It pays to take a measured approach to a tumultuous market
The idea of responsible stewardship suffused the day. In his chat with Schunder, Fazzino discussed his role at Raytheon and shared his philosophy regarding fiduciary responsibility and how it affected Raytheon’s interactions with the current market.
“For the first time in a long time, we’re being paid to be patient,” he said. “This is an environment with so much volatility, with the market going every which way. Anyone who tells you definitively that they know markets are going one way or another — that’s their job to have a view. But it’s my job to understand that no one is always right all the time.”
Recent alumni advise: Be prepared to tackle new challenges, explore new possibilities, and see multiple perspectives on your path to success
A forum on financial pathways allowed Bryant alumni to share their advice about starting a career in finance, from finding mentors to making an early mark to choosing “best fit” opportunities. “Having the courage to take risks is a big part of what companies are looking for in new hires,” Caitlin (Wray) Briggs ’17, MBA ’20, corporate reporting senior manager at Citizens, advised. “Be unafraid to speak up and reach out and take on a project that you might know nothing about; try to make a difference.”
