Logan Gewin
Vanderbilt MS Finance Class of 2007
Porter, White & Company – Financial Analyst
Birmingham, Alabama
My New Career
I will be working as a Financial Analyst at Porter, White & Company, a regional investment bank headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Porter White has two main lines of business: investment banking and investment management. For their investment banking business, I will doing valuation, modeling and due diligence work with corporate and government clients. For their investment management business, I will help in managing portfolios and managing risk for institutional and individual clients using value-at-risk techniques I learned at Owen. I will also author or co-author "white papers" as needed.
The Right Fit
It is exactly the type of job I was looking for. It was important for me to find a position that would push me and challenge me. This position will be a great opportunity to take on a lot of responsibility. The offer met my expectations.
Prepared to Succeed
At this point in my life, my #1 objective is to learn as much as I can and get some great work experience. I am not sure where I will be in 10 years, but I know that through the learning and tools I have gained at Owen and will gain through my work, I will be prepared to take on or pursue whatever comes.
Landing the Job
I would not have even gained an interview with my company if I applied straight out of undergrad. Porter White is not large enough to train their own employees, and the knowledge, experience and tools needed as an analyst (to operate as a full-time analyst doing both investment banking and portfolio management work) is certainly too much for a month-long bank training program. The knowledge, experience and tools I gained through my MS Finance classes were a must coming in to my position.
The Owen Community
Faculty were instrumental. They were always available to help - whether it is with classes or job-search advice. The MS Finance class, in some respects, is like a team in itself - everyone generally supports each other in their search, whether through advice, feedback or cluing others in to new opportunities that pop up. Administrators in Career Services are instrumental in the process. Outside of classes, their expertise and the tools that they provide for the job search are the BIG difference between the MS Finance and any undergrad experience. The trips, contacts and online databases they oversee and maintain are unbelievable. And they are always available for one-on-one interview and/or resume feedback.
