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The Rise of the New Kings of Wall Street: How Quant Firms Are Redefining the Financial Landscape and Their Impact on College Students

The Rise of the New Kings of Wall Street: How Quant Firms Are Redefining the Financial Landscape and Their Impact on College Students

AndreyKrav via iStockPhoto For decades, the financial world was dominated by traditional investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JP Morgan. These institutions were synonymous with Wall Street success, wielding immense power and influence over the financial markets. However, a significant shift has taken place over the past decade, and a new breed of trading firms—Susquehanna International Group, Jane Street, and Citadel Securities—have quietly usurped the old guard. These firms, known as “quantitative trading firms” or simply “quant firms,” have transformed Wall Street by leveraging cutting-edge technology and data-driven strategies. They dominate the market through high-frequency trading (HFT)—a method…
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A Guide to Investment Banking at Vanderbilt University

A Guide to Investment Banking at Vanderbilt University

Photo credit to Patrick Weissenberger on Unsplash The Fast-Paced World of Investment Banking Recruitment at Vanderbilt At Vanderbilt University, the pursuit of a career in investment banking (IB) begins long before graduation. For many ambitious students, the journey starts as early as freshman year, with the recruiting process often kicking off over a year in advance for coveted summer internships. The timeline for investment banking recruitment is notably accelerated. Undergraduates typically find themselves in the thick of recruiting for junior year summer internships during the spring of their sophomore year. This early start can catch many off guard, emphasizing the…
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The Art of College Startups

The Art of College Startups

Annie Spratt via Unsplash By Nathan Park Embarking on the journey of entrepreneurship in college has become an increasingly popular pursuit for many students. With students fresh out of high school and ready to begin their new lives in a completely different environment, colleges serve as the dynamic hubs of creativity. Here, young students are given the chance to experiment with their lives and figure out who they are, what they like, and what they want to do through numerous amounts of trial and error, thus creating the perfect environment for entrepreneurial ventures. The intersection of education and innovation provides…
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A Freshman Perspective: September Jobs Report and What It Means for Our Careers

A Freshman Perspective: September Jobs Report and What It Means for Our Careers

jacoblund via iStockphoto By Nathan Park The September U.S. Jobs Report was recently released on Oct. 6 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and it blew expectations out of the water. It reported a whopping increase of 336,000 in the U.S. Job Report Non-Farm payroll, which was far above the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 170,000 and was the biggest increase since January. Regarding the different sectors in which these jobs have been added into, jobs in leisure and hospitality rose by 96,000, jobs in government by 73,000, and jobs in health care by 41,000 (compared with the average…
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