NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Girls Who Invest (GWI), a non-profit organization that prepares undergraduates at U.S. colleges and universities for careers in investment management, today announced that 150 students from GWI’s 2019 cohort are completing six-week paid internships at some of the top investment management firms, including Vista Equity Partners, PIMCO, The Baupost Group, BMGI, Farallon Capital Management, Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, and TPG.

The internships followed four weeks of rigorous on-campus studies at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Pennsylvania, where scholars learned the core tenets of investing from leading academics and industry professionals. Now in its fourth year, the highly coveted program is designed to encourage undergraduate students to explore career pathways in investment and to level the playing field for all students who are interested in the industry.

“Each year, we raise the bar in terms of the quality and breadth of experiences we provide to our scholars, and 2019 was no exception,” said Janet Cowell, Chief Executive Officer of Girls Who Invest. “We’re incredibly proud of our team and grateful to everyone who continues to make this program a success: our host academic institutions, our partner firms, and most of all, our scholars – 150 exceptionally smart, talented individuals who undoubtedly have bright futures ahead of them.”

Through the academic program, scholars are equipped with the industry knowledge and financial, technical, and soft business skills required to excel during their internships. The Summer Intensive Program features a speaker series with investors from asset management firms including BlackRock, PGIM, Blackstone, and GCM Grosvenor, and visits to public companies like Under Armour, McDonald’s, and Comcast, where scholars learned first-hand about company valuations. Scholars also completed capstone presentations on the companies visited, leveraging skills developed from the academic curriculum to share recommendations based on financial models, analysis of market data, and observations from the site visits and other research.

The academic curriculum was co-developed by Girls Who Invest. Lead instructors included Bilge Yilmaz and Burcu Esmer, professors of finance and private equity at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and Carl Ackermann and Shane Corwin, professors of financial management and personal finance at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza School of Business.

About the Scholars

The 2019 cohort of GWI Scholars will enter their junior year of college this fall, but their similarities end there. The 2019 cohort comprises students from 63 colleges and universities, including Yale University, Harvard University, the University of Southern California, Georgetown University, and the University of Virginia. Nearly a quarter (23%) attend public universities, nearly one in five (19%) are historically underrepresented minorities, and 23% indicated that they come from an economically disadvantaged background. This year’s scholars have 50 distinct majors and, outside of class, are varsity athletes, dancers, volunteer firefighters, and photographers, among other passions and pursuits.

GWI Scholar Isabella Reynolds, a political science major from Duke University who is interning with Adage Capital, said of the Summer Intensive Program, “I truly believe there is no opportunity comparable to the Summer Intensive Program. The most surprising thing that I’ve learned is that you can really do anything you want to do. It’s about getting your foot in the door and getting that first job, which Girls Who Invest has given us, and that is such an invaluable opportunity. If we want to do this, we stay committed, and we continue to put in the hard work, the industry is more than accessible and welcoming.”

For scholars interested in joining the 2020 Summer Intensive Program, the Early Action application deadline is September 30, 2019, with the Regular Decision deadline following on November 4, 2019 for semester schools and November 15, 2019 for quarter schools. Applications open today, and additional information about the application process can be found here.

About Girls Who Invest

Girls Who Invest is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in portfolio management and executive leadership in the asset management industry through education, mentoring, and internships in an inclusive, supportive environment. The organization’s Summer Intensive Program (SIP) enables college students to explore investment management careers through four weeks of education at elite universities followed by a six-week paid internship at one of nearly 100 elite investment management firms. In addition, Scholars receive support and career guidance from a community of partners, mentors, and alumni. Girls Who Invest’s vision is for 30% of the world’s investable capital to be managed by women by 2030. For more information, visit girlswhoinvest.org.