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For three weeks in January, Justin Esposito ’07 (Bear, Del.) scoured the world news seeking the latest updates about domestic and foreign markets. The market reports he presented each Friday and subsequent discussions he facilitated were his primary responsibilities during his internship with Lydian Wealth Management in New York City.
While the weekly market report was Esposito’s main task during his internship, it was far from his only one. In fact, history graduate Jamie McLaughlin ’76, managing director of Lydian’s New York office, made sure Esposito experienced the true essence of being a wealth manager. This included preparing for and attending meetings and conference calls with major clients.
“During the internship, I worked as what can be considered an entry-level analyst,” explains Esposito, an economics and business major. “A majority of my work was preparing for different meetings we were going to have during the day. This included research and observing meetings with many prominent lawyers and accountants.”
The internship was designed to benefit both student and employer.
“We framed the mission statement for Justin’s internship around three major assumptions,” explains McLaughlin. “The first was oriented toward what we needed to have done, which was to have a fully immersed employee. This was not a shadowing experience, where he would just show up and observe; this was an experience in which Justin rolled up his sleeves and did actual work. He also had two distinct learning experiences.”
Esposito learned the business of wealth management, both locally – via the New York office – and nationally – through McLaughlin’s role on the firm’s executive committee. Esposito also learned about wealth management from a client’s perspective.
“I wanted him to have knowledge of the client experience,” says McLaughlin. “Students at many elite colleges and universities are not learning about the basic investment methods and mechanics from the perspective of a private, wealthy client. These students learn investment and capital markets theory. They have a variety of corporate finance and accounting courses, but there is no school that is teaching the applied knowledge required to serve a wealthy client family.”
To get the true experience, Esposito joined McLaughlin on his normal docket. They had a lunch meeting with the senior managing partner of one of the nation’s largest accounting firms and several senior accountants. They also worked in conjunction with Lydian managers and lawyers in other cities on an issue that arose for a major client. In this situation, Esposito helped organize the case, perform analysis, and determine a solution for the client.
“The most interesting aspect of the internship was learning how major figures in the business world are connected,” Esposito says. “There was not a single day that we did not have a meeting with either an associate or a prospective client. Working with Jamie was a great experience. He took time out of his schedule to explain everything he did and why he was doing it. The work environment he was able to cultivate made going to work every day seem easy.”
McLaughlin believes that Esposito is easy to work with, has good judgment, and is a diligent worker.
“For instance, the market reports that Justin was responsible for were one hour, and he led the discussion,” McLaughlin explains. “I treated him like any other analyst, critiquing his analysis and making suggestions. By the third week, his report was head and shoulders above his first market report. Justin possesses a really strong skill to synthesize – he can recognize patterns. He demonstrated that he’s very intelligent.”
Esposito would like to work in finance, with a focus on consulting. He chose his major after taking a course with Leslie Muhlfelder ’81, Lafayette’s general counsel and vice president of human resources.
“She made me realize you have to like what you’re doing in order to really learn,” says Esposito. “I cannot express enough how vital Professor Muhlfelder has been to my achievements. She was the one who introduced me to Jamie, and she has helped me out ever since I took her course. The professors at Lafayette are incredible. They have so much knowledge and are willing to share it, which makes learning easy.”
Esposito is a member of the men’s soccer team.