Pepperdine Finance Club

Over the past 9 months, we’ve been working behind the scenes to build the framework for what will become an entirely new applied learning platform at the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. At long last, I can excitedly announce that we’ve been given the green light to launch the Graziadio Student Investment Fund (GSIF)! The GSIF will offer our students the opportunity to participate in actively managing an equity portfolio. Participating students will gain exposure to each step in our analysis process (screening, research & analysis, valuation, scoring, risk assessment, and portfolio management), alongside actively managing their assigned portfolio allocations. This is an incredible new opportunity for our students, and I can’t wait to share more soon as we build our initial cohort and officially launch the fund! For current PGBS students who are interested in taking part in this project, be on the lookout for an email from the Pepperdine Finance Club. Special thank you to our development committee: Penelope C. Gallardo, MBA, Amanda H., Xibo Akers, Franklin Simmons, Leslie Semerena, Langston Sheppard, and Davide Accomazzo. Without your help, we would not have been able to get this far!

This past Saturday, Ulysse Saltiel and I officially hosted the 2024 Coastal Capital Summit. The CCS represents a unified effort of the Pepperdine Finance Community, bringing over 200 students, alumni, faculty, and experienced professionals together with the goal of advancing our finance programs, and broadening the horizon’s of the next generation of financial professionals. Through the event, attendees were able to network and learn from 27 different guest speakers, who covered core financial segments such as Investment Banking, Private Markets, Public Markets, Commerical Banking, Investment Management, and Real Estate. It’s truly difficult to find words to describe the level of gratitude that I feel here. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this event possible. Without your support, mentorship, and advice, we wouldn’t have been able to make the CCS as special as it was. (I’ll highlight everyone in the comments) We look forward to carrying on the CCS as a recurring staple event for our finance community at Pepperdine. Special thank you to my partner in crime here Ulysse Saltiel. He’s a rockstar who’s got a fantastic future ahead of him. It’s been an absolute pleasure working with him on this event over the last year.

We are incredibly excited to announce the 2024 Coastal Capital Summit, scheduled for September 14, 2024. This is a collective effort by our unified Pepperdine Finance Community, and it will provide fantastic opportunities for students, alumni, and working professionals. Through the event, we will have 4 Keynotes, 6 Breakout Guest Speaker Panels, Networking Sessions, and Full Catering! Students will be able to gain exposure to industry professionals, interact with recruiters, and learn about the various fields and opportunities within finance. More information on this incredible event to come soon. For those interested in attending, please register via the link in the post below!

At the Pepperdine Finance Club, we are thrilled to give a special shoutout to our Pepperdine Waves team, "Cultural Catalysts"?for their outstanding representation at the USC Global Case Competition last month. Congratulations to our MBA team members for their hard work and dedication: Ervin Mercado, Claudia Hanten, Xibo Akers, Carlos Simental, Damian Miodek Your efforts have not gone unnoticed and are greatly appreciated. Thanks for showcasing the spirit and talent of #GoWaves!!???