{"id":8885,"date":"2012-10-05T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-10-05T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T18:18:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T18:18:38","slug":"how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/","title":{"rendered":"How Johnson Provides a Unique Platform for the Development of Passionate, Skilled Investors"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<\/head>

by Christoper Kissane, MBA ’13<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Christoper<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Chris explains why matriculating at Johnson has been the best investment he’s made to date<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I applied to business school to begin a transition. I would enter as an accountant and hope to emerge just two years later as an investor. I started the process by enrolling in Johnson, and it’s the most significant investment I’ve made to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investors (I’m told) care about return on investment. And economically, the value proposition of a Johnson MBA is simple: 1) Arrive at school; 2) Receive diploma; 3) Double your salary (give or take). But, in the long run, employers don’t pay for degrees; they pay for talent, skill, and work ethic. They pay for human capital. And that is where Johnson adds value – by providing a unique platform for the development and nourishment of passionate, talented, and skilled investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ll give you a glimpse of what I mean. At Johnson we get started fast – as a member of the Investment Management Club, I pitched a stock to a roomful of forty people just weeks after arriving on campus. We get real-world experience – as a first-year sector analyst for the Cayuga Fund<\/a>, I covered the transportation industry, pitched new stocks into the fund, worked with state-of-the-art financial technology, and received mentoring from second-year portfolio managers. And we get high profile exposure – as a contestant in the 2011 MBA Stock Pitch Challenge<\/a>, I presented in front of world-class portfolio managers, recruiters, journalists, and prominent alums. And that was just my first semester.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the spring, I entered the CMAM immersion. After a January tour of major banks, hedge funds, and mutual fund shops in New York and Boston, we returned to Ithaca to begin a deep dive into valuation techniques, financial modeling, financial statement analysis, and portfolio management. The CMAM Practicum prepared us for our internships in two ways: first, through a series of guest lectures from practitioners on topics ranging from economic theory to investment philosophy to day-to-day life as a distressed debt trader; and second, through a performance-learning<\/a> component wherein every CMAM student was assigned an industry to cover for the Cayuga Fund. We were responsible for monitoring the fund’s holdings; pitching new investments; and discussing market developments, strategy, and risk management in class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After nine months filled with hard work, challenging courses, and smart classmates, I left Ithaca in May to begin an internship as a fixed income analyst at a mutual fund. My first year at Johnson had transformed me from a relative novice into a capable, conversant, skilled professional. I was able to contribute immediately and spent the summer analyzing leveraged loans and high-yield bond deals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a second-year student, I am serving as a Cayuga Fund portfolio manager, covering consumer cyclicals. The Cayuga Fund program mimics the functioning of an actual hedge fund. Our team of 16 portfolio managers meets in a seminar style class to discuss performance, open or close positions, and review relevant academic papers on valuation, quant strategies, and finance theory. In what time I have away from the fund, I take a full set of classes, serve as an officer in the Investment Management Club, mentor first-years, and enjoy life as a student.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With every week that passes at Johnson I feel that I am growing, learning, and developing as an investor. In May, I hope to leave Cornell for a full-time buy-side position, my transition complete.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Christoper Kissane, MBA ’13 Chris explains why matriculating at Johnson has been the best investment he’s made to date I applied to business school to begin a transition. I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":8886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[161],"tags":[199,200,180],"ppma_author":[],"class_list":["post-8885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-posts","tag-graduate-student","tag-immersions","tag-two-year-mba"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow Johnson Provides a Unique Platform for the Development of Passionate, Skilled Investors - Cornell Business Centers & Institutes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"by Christoper Kissane, MBA '13 Chris explains why matriculating at Johnson has been the best investment he\u2019s made to date I applied to business school to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Johnson Provides a Unique Platform for the Development of Passionate, Skilled Investors - Cornell Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Christoper Kissane, MBA '13 Chris explains why matriculating at Johnson has been the best investment he\u2019s made to date I applied to business school to\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Centers & Institutes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-10-05T04:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-14T18:18:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/Kissane_Christopher_2958725.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"144\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"144\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachel Cherry\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rachel Cherry\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rachel Cherry\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/483887a306c16ef5516d1fbccd06df98\"},\"headline\":\"How Johnson Provides a Unique Platform for the Development of Passionate, Skilled Investors\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-10-05T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-14T18:18:38+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":583,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Kissane_Christopher_2958725.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Graduate Student\",\"Immersions\",\"Two-Year MBA\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog Posts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/\",\"name\":\"How Johnson Provides a Unique Platform for the Development of Passionate, Skilled Investors - Cornell Business Centers & Institutes\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Kissane_Christopher_2958725.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-10-05T04:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-14T18:18:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/483887a306c16ef5516d1fbccd06df98\"},\"description\":\"by Christoper Kissane, MBA '13 Chris explains why matriculating at Johnson has been the best investment he\u2019s made to date I applied to business school to\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Kissane_Christopher_2958725.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/6\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/Kissane_Christopher_2958725.png\",\"width\":144,\"height\":144},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/2012\\\/10\\\/05\\\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Johnson Provides a Unique Platform for the Development of Passionate, Skilled Investors\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/\",\"name\":\"Centers & Institutes at Cornell Business\",\"description\":\"Cornell SC Johnson College of Business\",\"alternateName\":\"C&I\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/business.cornell.edu\\\/centers\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/483887a306c16ef5516d1fbccd06df98\",\"name\":\"Rachel Cherry\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Johnson Provides a Unique Platform for the Development of Passionate, Skilled Investors - Cornell Business Centers & Institutes","description":"by Christoper Kissane, MBA '13 Chris explains why matriculating at Johnson has been the best investment he\u2019s made to date I applied to business school to","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Johnson Provides a Unique Platform for the Development of Passionate, Skilled Investors - Cornell Business","og_description":"by Christoper Kissane, MBA '13 Chris explains why matriculating at Johnson has been the best investment he\u2019s made to date I applied to business school to","og_url":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/","og_site_name":"Centers & Institutes","article_published_time":"2012-10-05T04:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-14T18:18:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":144,"height":144,"url":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/Kissane_Christopher_2958725.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Rachel Cherry","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rachel Cherry","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/"},"author":{"name":"Rachel Cherry","@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/#\/schema\/person\/483887a306c16ef5516d1fbccd06df98"},"headline":"How Johnson Provides a Unique Platform for the Development of Passionate, Skilled Investors","datePublished":"2012-10-05T04:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-14T18:18:38+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/"},"wordCount":583,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/Kissane_Christopher_2958725.png","keywords":["Graduate Student","Immersions","Two-Year MBA"],"articleSection":["Blog Posts"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/","url":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/","name":"How Johnson Provides a Unique Platform for the Development of Passionate, Skilled Investors - Cornell Business Centers & Institutes","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/Kissane_Christopher_2958725.png","datePublished":"2012-10-05T04:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-14T18:18:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/#\/schema\/person\/483887a306c16ef5516d1fbccd06df98"},"description":"by Christoper Kissane, MBA '13 Chris explains why matriculating at Johnson has been the best investment he\u2019s made to date I applied to business school to","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/Kissane_Christopher_2958725.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/06\/Kissane_Christopher_2958725.png","width":144,"height":144},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/2012\/10\/05\/how-johnson-provides-a-unique-platform-for-the-development-of-passionate-skilled-investors\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Johnson Provides a Unique Platform for the Development of Passionate, Skilled Investors"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/#website","url":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/","name":"Centers & Institutes at Cornell Business","description":"Cornell SC Johnson College of Business","alternateName":"C&I","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/#\/schema\/person\/483887a306c16ef5516d1fbccd06df98","name":"Rachel Cherry"}]}},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-11 03:58:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"authors":[{"term_id":11,"user_id":33,"is_guest":0,"slug":"rc827","display_name":"Rachel Cherry","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/291dad291c2985a6fc76cb92e0239bbbc34eece546f5b984ef6c12566f40598a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"","exclude_author":"","first_name":"Rachel","last_name":"Cherry","user_url":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8885","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8885"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8885\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13091,"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8885\/revisions\/13091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8885"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8885"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8885"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=8885"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}