Wall Street Panel Emphasizes Changing Opportunities

The word on Wall Street is: don't go to Wall Street, go to China or North Dakota, said Robins School of Business Dean Nancy Bagranoff when she concluded the panel discussion "The Word on Wall Street" on Nov. 29 in the Ukrop Auditorium.

The panel consisted of Rob Blandford, president and chief information officer of Spider Management Company, LLC, Alan Breed, president and portfolio manager of Edgewood Management, LLC, and Timothy Berry, a partner of Private Advisors, LLC. It was moderated by Paul Queally, co-president of Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe. Breed and Queally are also on the Board of Trustees at the University of Richmond.

Discussion among the panel touched upon opportunities in Asia and in areas with growing businesses. Questions from the audience called attention to what the "fiscal cliff" and the state of the American economy meant for college students, including the idea presented by Breed that Wall Street is no longer a growing business.

America's the most innovative country in the world, Queally said. Richmond students are unique because they're the top one percent in education. But students have to think about what's the next thing out there. There's a great opportunity for young people today to go into management.

Berry said: "I wouldn't worry about the 'fiscal cliff. I would invest in yourself."

When asked about the best financial investment for college students to make, Breed said he believed that individualized medicine would become popular in the coming years and that the biggest company in the world would be a gene sequencing company.

Berry, Breed and Queally each emphasized that there were opportunities in the U.S. for college graduates.

"Keep your head up, look around you, find interesting things," Breed said. "Don't let all this 'fiscal cliff' stuff get in the way."

Queally said he enjoyed moderating the discussion because he loved the University of Richmond and loved bringing terrific people in to speak. He said he had wanted students to ask questions and to be able to learn from the event.

This is the second consecutive year "The Word on Wall Street" has been held at the Robins School of Business as part of the Robins Executive Speaker Series, said Andi Minor, special events manager for the Robins School of Business.

In an interview after the panel discussion, Queally said he had no comment regarding the soccer and track cuts. He also had no comment regarding whether he was the major donor toward the lacrosse program. Before and after the program, track and field athletes quietly stood at the entrance to the business school commons, holding signs and handing out fliers with the slogan "bring back track."

Contact reporter Chrissy Wengloski at christine.wengloski@richmond.edu