Tag: Wells Fargo Advisors

When Wells Fargo Advisors (WFA) generously made a gift to endow and name Olin’s WFA Center for Finance and Accounting Research, it opened up opportunities for faculty, students, and the community to discover and learn. At a recent celebration of the WFA and Washington University partnership, professors and students shared research and projects that are direct beneficiaries of the WFA endowment.

WFA Chief Risk Officer Jimmie Lenz.

WFA’s Chief Risk Officer Jimmie Lenz spoke about the impact practicums have had on the Masters of Finance Students.

Matthew Ringgenberg, assistant professor of finance, spoke about the importance of research in understanding global markets and stock exchanges.

Watch this video about his most recent work done in conjunction with Olin professor Guofu Zhou and David Rapach at St. Louis University, “Short Interest and Aggregate Stock Returns.”

To learn more about WFA CFAR, please visit our website.

Tuesday, February 24 marked the kickoff for the Ellevate Speaker Series. Ellevate, previously known as 85 Broads, is a global professional woman’s network that is dedicated to the investment and engagement of women in business. President Liza Seiden, along with Vice Presidents Emily Pipes and Carly Krasnoff, founded the Washington University Ellevate Chapter this year.

A group of actively engaged women gathered to hear Kelly Ainsworth, Strategic and Counterparty Risk Manager at Wells Fargo Advisors, share her professional development timeline and advice.

Kelly earned her undergraduate degree in English Literature at the University of Michigan. She earned her JD/MBA  at WashU. Despite little experience in the field, Kelly went to work in IT, an industry that is highly male dominated. In 2008, she moved into financial services, even without a background in finance.

With a diverse career storyline, Kelly explained that she never felt the glass ceiling restriction. She successfully built her own brand and developed negotiation techniques through a strong story and knowledge of her worth. Kelly emphasized that the most important aspect in advancement is to believe in yourself. No matter what happens, there is always a learning experience. Failure is an opportunity to learn and grow.

Kelly left us with six keys to success:

1. Learn to network, and realize that it is for mutual benefit.
2. You don’t have to have the answer; you just have to have the ability to find one.
3. Have a plan, but be flexible. The plan will change, and you may be offered something you’ve never contemplated before.
4. Success is not linear.
5. Feedback is important to receive and give; it is a gift.
6. Believe in yourself and stay true to who you want to be.

This wisdom is extremely helpful in empowering and building confidence in students. Many worry about the uncertainty of the future. While it is great to have an idea about where you’re going, it’s acceptable to change your mind along the way.

Maxine Clark

We want to thank the WashU Ellevate group for inviting Kelly Ainsworth to speak. Be sure to look out for the next speaker in the Series; Maxine Clark, founder of Build-A-Bear Workshop, will be coming in on Tuesday, March 31st at 5:30 pm in Bauer Hall 210 N.

Group Photo by Margaret Muir.

Walt Galvin, former CFO of Emerson, was the recent guest speaker at the breakfast series sponsored by the Wells Fargo Advisors Center for Financial and Accounting Research. The early-morning topic was: U.S. Corporate Tax Policy.

Walt Galvin

Mr. Galvin stressed that the United States’ has the highest tax rate in the world and that fact is actually hurting the U.S. economy. He said U.S. corporate tax policy encourages U.S. companies operating abroad to keep their profits abroad or re-invest abroad.

In addition to Mr. Galvin’s comments, Olin accounting professor Tom Fields and Mary Bond, a second year MBA student at Olin, presented research studies on corporate tax policy.

Attendees were given the opportunity to ask about their own business opportunities and challenges and receive input from the speakers. Watch video from event by clicking on image above.

Photo credit: Tax books, Martin Deutsch , Flickr