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THE STERN OPPORTUNITY

Covid Journals: Winter Break

The Oppy is continuing to publish submissions from members of the Stern community about how the Covid-19 Pandemic has impacted their experiences in and out of the program. If you wish to write about your own experience, please e-mail us at oppy@stern.nyu.edu

By Lauren Marinaro

What to do, what to do… I am sure if many of you felt this sentiment during our month and half long winter break in the middle of a pandemic.

I, myself, could often be found twiddling my thumbs, trying to keep busy so my otherwise idle mind wouldn’t dwell on my long lost DBI and plans to travel Australia and Southeast Asia… maybe Japan?…

This time, it’s different

By Nicolaus Schmandt

The image for this article shows the cycle of human emotions as the stock market goes through booms and busts. Investors should never forget it, especially as we are moving towards the “euphoria” peak, with speculative bubbles growing in tandem. Each time this happens, the bubble comes with a narrative as to why stocks should be so much above normal valuations, or why the rules don’t matter anymore. In the years leading to 2008, everyone was moving to the sunbelt and their properties and mortgages would never go down in value. In 1999, the internet was going to fundamentally change the world in such a way that normal valuations simply wouldn’t apply.…

Index Fund Millionaire

By Kyu Kim

In our Foundations of Finance class, we all learned about modern portfolio theory. In this brief article, I will summarize this famous theory we learned and how it’s implemented in the real world. I hope Sternies can understand this concept more practically, as it is essential for early retirement plans for young professionals.

According to modern portfolio theory, developed in the 1960s by Harry Markowitz, a Nobel Prize winning economist, risk-averse investors can create an optimal portfolio by holding both risk-free securities as well as risky assets. Given that higher risk is an inherent part of higher reward, this method maximizes expected return based on a given level of market risk.…

Dear Oppy: February 2021 (Valentine Edition)

We are proud to continue our agony advice column, Dear Oppy: B-School Advice for the Everyday Sternie.

Oppy can be quite Stern at times but is here to answer the queries and qualms of all MBA students so send them his/her way at oppy@stern.nyu.edu.

Dear Oppy,

Valentine’s Day is coming up and I don’t want to spend it alone. The pandemic has made dating tougher than it already was. Do I swipe right on a dating app? Try to slide into the DM’s of my cute classmate? Is it even safe to meet up? I don’t know. Any advice on how to find that perfect someone in time for Feb 14?

Competitive MBA 2021

Joline Huntemann was looking forward to starting her MBA at Stern in the fall of 2020, a step she felt she was taking at the right time in order to advance her career. However, Huntemann, who lives in Colonge, Germany, decided to defer a year due to visa complications and restrictions brought on by the pandemic.  

Like many of her fellow incoming MBA students, Huntemann decided it was best for her to continue work for another year in order to return next year and get a more complete MBA experience.

Following a steep drop in full-time MBA applicants for the fifth year in a row, the trend has suddenly reversed in 2021 with experts suggesting this year could possibly be the most competitive year for full-time MBA programs. …

Students give thanks to essential Stern staff

As our student body looks back on this year, and the myriad of challenges that the Stern community has overcome in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to acknowledge those who have done so much to keep us safe and healthy in the Stern building itself.  

Without the hard work and commitment of the Public Safety officers and the staff from Facilities & Construction Management and Collins Building Services, who worked tirelessly to adapt to new safety, technology, and cleaning protocols, we would not have been able to have in-person classes this semester. Thanks for checking our Daily Screeners, for keeping our classrooms clean and sanitized, and for ensuring that our in-building experiences were as high-quality as ever, even with the current COVID-19 precautions. You…

A Rapper and a Businessperson Walk Into a Bar: How Warren Buffett and Drake are on the Same Wavelength

Rappers catch a lot of flack. They’re misogynistic, violent, and [insert demeaning adjective masked in racial overtones here] … yeah, I said it!  But what we don’t hear often is how wise some rappers can be. If you take a moment to assess their lyrics, you’ll start to notice the commonalities between the second verse and second chapter of that business “how to” book you’ve been pretending to thoughtfully read on the subway.

Don’t believe me and need a rich white guy to validate my thoughts? It’s cool, so do rappers. That’s my point.

If you’re still reading this, during finals no less, I’ve taken it upon myself to offer you something far greater than the elusive Stern A –– perspective (just breathe and take the guaranteed B).…

Tackling the lottery with numbers on your side

By: Ben Sellitto

Ben Sellitto is a second-year Langone student and employee at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where he has worked since 2016. Ben enjoys brewery hopping, eating anything that is fried, and ballin’ on a budget.

Course selection is always a stressful and daunting task, where Sternies decide how to invest thousands of dollars with a few clicks of a button. As an undergrad, each student at my school was pitted against one another for one random day of the semester, selecting courses at the exact same day and time – causing stress, anxiety, frustration – you name it. I appreciate Stern’s lottery system approach, giving each student ample time to conduct research and select courses without the added pressure of a real-time brawl.…

Give Back

The end of the year is a time of reflection. This year, especially, we have a lot to reflect on. At the risk of stating the obvious, here are some issues which come to mind: the ongoing effects of the pandemic, responding to social justice issues, the election, the health of our family and friends, job security. There’s also been a lot of loss. The loss of loved ones, of jobs, of our daily routine or of “life as we knew it.” I don’t want to be a total debbie downer, because there have been some bright spots such as outdoor restaurants and open streets and those magical couple of months when you could buy take-out cocktails everywhere and walk around with them (especially during the 7pm cheers for healthcare workers).…

Micro-lessons for your family’s not-so-micro holiday aggressions

No number of vaccine tweets can stop the inevitable: we’ll be riding out 2020 in a pandemic. And now, in early December, the cruel and unusual twists of COVID-19 are on a crash course with more routine holiday traditions: cooked birds, kitschy gifts, and squabbling with relatives over politics. Even in the best of times, we all know to expect the occasional screaming match between the navy blue and burgundy red branches of our family tree. The toll of the virus is likely to make the usual suspects even more… spicy? 

Rest assured! Here are a few tips from the Oppy for how to approach those potentially table-clearing debates.…

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