Finance and Business Insight – Vanderbilt Business Review

Jan

20

2025

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By Nathan Park

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

All Posts, Analysis, Finance and Business Insightbusiness, finance, jobs, park, student jobs

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…

Jan

08

2025

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By Owen Liu

Four Generations, One Workforce: How Gen Z’s Values Shape Career Paths

All Posts, Analysis, Finance and Business Insighteconomy, jobs, liu, vanderbilt, work

Image generated using Midjourney AI Today’s labor force spans four unique generations, creating challenges for companies to address the varied needs of employees, from retirement benefits to cultural values. Where does our generation of college students fit into this landscape? What priorities guide us when job hunting? How do we choose between a large corporation and a small startup? This article explores the current workforce dynamics, with projections extending into 2030. What does it mean to have four generations in the workforce? According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Millennials (born between the 1980s and late 1990s) and Gen X…

Dec

16

2024

By Ben Nelson

Investing at Vanderbilt

All Posts, Analysis, Finance and Business Insightbusiness, finance, investing, Nelson, vanderbilt

tadamichi via iStockPhoto The stock market is a staple of American life. Movies like The Big Short or the Wolf of Wall Street have become elements of pop culture, and the Wall Street Journal currently has over 4 million subscribers. This global phenomenon is currently present in many different facets of our lives. In fact, there is an entire sector of jobs that are based on reading and predicting the stock market for other people. All of this is to say that the stock market has become a global phenomenon over the years. Better yet, it provides everyday people like…

Nov

18

2024

By Nicolette Tolitano

Coke vs. Pepsi: The Battle for University Soda Machines

All Posts, Analysis, Finance and Business Insight, Industriesbusiness, industry, tolitano, vanderbilt

Nutthaseth Vanchaichana via iStockPhoto The age-old rivalry that has long divided the nation: Coke vs. Pepsi. Some claim they taste the same, while others say they are incomparable. Those with a strong preference for one of the two find themselves in unfortunate situations when the waiter replies, “sorry, we don’t carry [preferred cola drink], just [undesired cola drink].” For the consumer who enjoys both Coke and Pepsi alike, this poses no real inconvenience. But for consumers on either end of the spectrum, the lack of their favorite cola turns day into night. Now imagine a die hard Coke-lover coming to…

Nov

10

2024

By Brenna Tucker

How Nashville Businesses Market Themselves to College Students: Student Deals and Discounts

All Posts, Analysis, Finance and Business Insightbusiness, deals, nashville, tucker, vanderbilt

csfotoimages via iStockPhoto When you ask someone about Nashville, “college town” will probably not be their chosen descriptor. With its incredible music scene, fabulous restaurants, and all sorts of attractions, Nashville is often known for its tourism, drawing people from all over to experience the city’s unique culture. One might think that tourists are then the main focus of local businesses, but the greater Nashville area is also home to roughly 9 colleges, making college students an important market for Nashville businesses. But how do businesses attract these college kids? And, likely most important to you, which businesses do this? …

Mar

30

2023

By Claire Chen

Fund No Harm: Stopping the Financing of Unlawful Organizations

All Posts, Finance and Business Insight

By Claire Chen iStock Photo by Andrii Yalanskyi (2019) Vanderbilt’s latest Greek-life controversy saw the suspension of Sigma Chi due to “accountability issues.” Though this explanation provides little insight into the fraternity’s inner workings, to say nothing of the timeline for potential reintegration into campus life, the consequences of the suspension are clear: for the time being, Sigma Chi will no longer have the privileges of a Vanderbilt student organization. These range from dull logistical details such as branding and room-renting in addition to the existentially significant matter of financial estrangement, and Sigma Chi can no longer look forward to…

Nov

22

2022

By Brian Zhao

Changing the Game: Blockchain’s Role in the Future of Finance

All Posts, Finance and Business Insight

By Brian Zhao (Image: creative common license) Most of us remember Bitcoin’s crazy upsurge in 2017, when its price jumped by over 2,000 percent, going from about $1,000 at the start of the year to nearly $20,000 by December. This dramatic shift, along with many success stories of ordinary people becoming millionaires overnight, has generated immense interest in the digital currency. Cryptocurrencies have remained in the spotlight since 2017, and much discussion has centered on what the relatively new form of monetary transactions could mean for the future. Although around 4 percent of the world’s population, which is about 300…

Nov

05

2022

By Claire Chen

The Informal Economy: Case Studies Within America’s Ethnic Chinese Diaspora

All Posts, Finance and Business Insight

By Claire Chen The universal status of Chinese food is perhaps the most iconic symbol of Chinese diasporic success. Even three years and five hundred miles out of the house, I can still find the dishes of my childhood when I walk down the streets of Nashville. No doubt you’ve ventured to these same businesses as well to chase that late-night fried rice craving that only Chinese takeout can fix. But the public-facing businesses catering to the American palate are just the surface of community innovation. The fried rice you trust is made by workers with W-2s in a kitchen…

Nov

01

2022

By Shane Mumma

A Conversation with Vanderbilt Senior Ash Rai, Co-Founder and CEO of Fin-Tech Startup Feather

All Posts, Finance and Business Insight

By: Shane Mumma Editor’s Note: Shane and Ash are good friends. The following in-person interview has been edited for clarity and length. Shane: So, hello Ash! Welcome to this interview with the Vanderbilt Business Review—we’re happy to have you here! Basically, we’ve heard that you’ve launched a bunch of businesses during your time at Vanderbilt, and we’d love to hear about them. So, if you could tell me about your current business Feather—what it is, how you got the idea, and what the timeframe for it actually being available is. Ash: Sure, great! So yeah, I’m Ash. I’m a senior…