Internships benefit agencies, students
By John Eckberg
Cincinnati Enquirer
Some internships offer a golden opportunity to fetch carry-out lunches for partners at the firm. Others bring unforgettable memories of getting lost in traffic or scrubbing up a meaningless report that's headed for the bottom drawer of a back-room file cabinet.
Internships can bring a volatile Molotov cocktail of endless cold calls, obtuse marketing theories and hands on a wall clock that move with the speed of a parking deck emptying after a football game.
None of that happens at Cincinnati-based Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel, an investment firm for high net-worth individuals and institutions that has $3 billion under management and 25 employees.
"Our interns allow us to explore projects and ideas that we want but, perhaps, don't need," said Matt McCormick, vice president, principal and portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor.
Hebron, Ky., native Dustin Alvey, 21, a junior at the University of Cincinnati, agrees.
This fall, he's learned about the risk/reward factors implicit in investing and why futures on pork bellies might not be a good fit for some eight-figure portfolios.
A Lindner Plus Program member and finance major, Alvey also is a catcher for the Bearcats baseball team. He sees some similarities between the stress of being behind the plate during a college baseball game and investment portfolio management:
"But if the batter is not expecting it, there's a much bigger reward," Alvey said.
McCormick would not hesitate to advise companies to take on interns. But the tasks they're given must have meaning.
"Most college kids are taught theory," he said. "They get practice here — and in some cases practice ahead of theory. We are big believers in guiding them through the process of a career — to expose them to the opportunities that are out there."
