FTG 0029 – Developing Leadership Skills as a Scholar with Asset Manager Ari Rosenbaum ’91

Overview:

Ari Rosenbaum ’91 Liberal Arts is a Principal and Director of Financial Advisors Services at O’Shaughnessy Asset Management. Ari shares his experiences adjusting to the rigors of college, the value he found in getting involved on campus – specifically through joining a fraternity – and how he uses his English degree in the financial services industry. He shares insight any Scholar can use on making the most of the Scholar experience to gain transferrable skills through campus involvement and leadership. He also explains his non-quantitative role in finance and insights from a lengthy business career that can be helpful to any Scholar. You can read Ari’s full bio and a more detailed breakdown of the episode topics below.

Guest Bio:

Ari Rosenbaum ’91 Liberal Arts is a Principal and Director of Financial Advisors Services at O’Shaughnessy Asset Management, a Registered Investment Advisor, in Stamford, Connecticut. O’Shaughnessy manages equity portfolios for institutional investors like pension plans and high net worth individuals through their financial advisors. Ari has worked in financial services for most of his career after brief roles in the fraternity consulting and advertising industries. He earned his BA in English with Honors from Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts in 1991. He served as Chapter President of the Sigma Phi Epsilon (“SigEp”) fraternity at University Park. Scholars can connect with him on LinkedIn.

Episode Specifics:

In this episode, Ari shares his insights on:

·  Picking Penn State with the intent to transfer later, but then deciding to stay

· The benefits of picking a Liberals Arts major like English

· The positives of joining and leading a fraternity

· How an English thesis on Mark Twain is useful to a financial services professional or other careers

· Working for a national fraternity organization right out of college

· Getting into a finance career without a degree in finance

· The value of taking calculate risk in your career and in business

· Learning business and relational (“soft”) skills through campus involvement

· Developing your team leadership skills

· A hiring manager’s thoughts on additional skills for Scholars to invest in

· Developing non-work interests throughout life and as a parent

· The criticality of choosing a good life partner (if you choose one)

· Reflecting on the numerous decisions you make in a career

· Resilience in the face of setbacks

· The value of taking feedback, especially in a mentoring dynamic