hilary [trek]: part 2, boston

After spending the first three days of the week in Manhattan, we shuttled off to Penn Station, bags in tow, and fresh from our afternoon meeting with Pfizer, to catch our Amtrak train to Boston. I suggest next year's Trekkers to order train tickets in advance, when they can be bought for as little as $48 one-way, as the price can double just a few days before departure. The more adventurous "budget traveller" can take the Fung Wah Bus out of Chinatown for $15 one-way - there is no cheaper way to travel from New York to Boston. In either case, you will want to get off at the Boston South Station (BOS) near the financial district.

Our Career Director really earned his keep during this 4 1/2 hour train ride as he indulged our many questions regarding career advice. We checked-in to the Holiday Inn at Beacon Hill. I recommend this hotel to next year's Trekkers, because it's conveniently located near both the financial district, and the MBTA Red Line, which can get get you to Cambridge to visit Harvard and MIT within a 5-minute subway ride. We booked the hotel through Priceline.com for $95 per/night for a twin room, which meant that when sharing the bill, it cost us less than $50 per/night each. The hotel is located at 5 Blossom Street, and you can reach them by calling (617) 742-7630.

Thursday was our first full-day in Boston. We were scheduled to visit our MBA counterparts, and some Oxford alumni, at the Harvard Business School. As President of the Oxford Finance Club, I reached out to my counterparts at HBS, Co-Presidents Melvin and Larry, who were kind enough to host us during our trip to Cambridge. In return, we offered to host them during their London Trek in late November (during the Thanksgiving holiday). It was a great opportunity to compare notes on what activities our respective finance clubs had planned for the year. Melvin met us outside the Baker Library at 10am, and walked us over to attend our first HBS class. Professor Matthew Weinzierl kindly introduced himself to us. A wunderkind who focuses on taxation issues, the Professor Weinzierl is a hands-down student favorite who teaches the BGIE (Business, Government and the International Economy) required class to first year students.

After class we ate on campus at the Spangler Food Court. Then, we spent the rest of the day discovering Harvard University. I walked down Oxford Street, and found my way to the Harvard Law School where I sat for a while reading under the warm sun, taking everything in - it had been a busy Trek so far! Later in the evening, we met with some Oxford alumni, who were now studying at HBS and HLS, and enjoyed a nice dinner, courtesy of Oxford Alumni, at a highly-recommended restaurant, called "Upstairs on the Square."

Following a nice day of rest-and-relaxation, we visited the last two companies of our Trek on Friday. We started the day at the international headquarters for Fidelity Investments at 245 Summer Street in Boston. Founded in 1946, Fidelity grossed more than $12 billion in sales last year. The nation's largest private mutual fund company, Fidelity rose to prominence when famed mutual fund manager, Peter Lynch, averaged a 29% annual return during his tenure between 1977 and 1990. With over $20 billion in assets, the Magellan fund has now been eclipsed by the Fidelity "Contrafund," which has nearly $60 billion in assets. Each year, Fidelity brings in roughly twice the total number of assets of Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Citi Smith Barney combined. In addition to its retail activities, Fidelity also boasts a very strong asset management business. Our host Alison invited Matt from institutional research to talk with us about the exciting things that FRM is doing. Thank you both very much!

Later in the afternoon, we walked down the block to visit State Street Corp at 1 Lincoln Street. Our host Lauren organized a tour de force. Over the course of two hours, we toured the trading floor, met with the head of Talent Acquisition (Richard), the recruiter for SSgA-Global Advisors (Erin), and the recruiter for SSGM-Global Markets (Amy). They were incredibly generous with their time. The head of trading also stopped by to take us through a day-in-the-life of a new hire in the "professional development program (PDP)." Like many other companies, State Street is looking to expand its footprint, and its "global rotational program (GRP)" with SSgA sounds very promising, yet extremely competitive. Thank you for making it a spectacular visit!

Finally, I would once again like to thank Harvard University, Fidelity Investments, and State Street for making our New York/Boston Trek an unmitigated success. I hope that you were as impressed with us, as we were with you. I very much look forward to helping next year's MBA class visit again, and to include other Boston financial firms, such as Putnam Investments and MFS. Now it's back to Oxford to start Trinity term (ends July 3rd), provided this Icelandic volcanic eruption stops already!