Nittany Lion Fund students are immersed in the market. Starting with their hour-long classes held three times weekly in the Rogers Family Trading Room, members constantly discuss portfolio performance, market trends and next steps.
"Because we do have outside investors, and it is their money, working on the fund teaches us real responsibility," explained Zheng, who spent her final year with the fund as president and director of investor relations. "We feel real accountability; you can see it all over our fund managers' faces when we're on the wrong side of a trade. I think that sets us apart and makes us very attractive and employable candidates on the job market."
"Any time a team on a particular industry sector wants to make a trade, they have to present a pitch to the entire fund," said Zheng. "We don't actually act on an idea until we vote on it."
Alumni on Wall Street
In addition to her Nittany Lion Fund experience, Zheng gives credit to the Penn State alumni network for helping connect her with her summer internship with Goldman Sachs, where she worked in the Investment Banking Division within the Financial Institutions Group.
After her summer on Wall Street, Zheng was offered a full-time position with the company, to begin in 2015. She'll be joining a growing contingent of Penn State Nittany Lion Fund alumni working on Wall Street.
Major institutions such as Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch target Penn State students for recruitment, according to Randy Woolridge, professor of finance. "We have about 200 students who have graduated from the fund; about 95 percent of them get jobs on Wall Street," he said.
The Penn State experience
Zheng credits the totality of her Penn State experience for what she's learned and will carry with her as she begins her career at Goldman Sachs.