Daniel Barile

Daniel Barile was given a chance and he ran with it. In 1999 Daniel was enrolled at the Academy of Finance at Tottenville High School in Staten Island, New York. He was given the opportunity to be an intern for Salomon Smith Barney, working on their trading floor. Daniel built on that experience and today is a Vice President at Skybridge Capital, after having worked at Merrill Lynch as an analyst.

"This was the greatest experience a 16 year old could have," says Daniel. "After that internship I knew I wanted to be in finance somewhere. That was the summer of 1998 when there were some market problems due to the Long Term Capital Management Crisis. It was cool to be on the trading floor for that."

After finishing the AOF program Daniel went on to Binghamton University and received a BS in management and finance.

"I was really excited when I found out my internship was going to be a job working on the trading floor," said Daniel. "When you’re a kid that’s the only image you have of Wall Street. At that time I think I was on the fence about whether to go into finance or not. I was very interested in finance but I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to do it as a career. The internship definitely crystallized my desire to pursue it as a career. It pushed me in the direction of majoring in finance in school."

Daniel points to the fact that just being in the financial atmosphere and getting comfortable around professionals is really very important. He talks about developing these "soft skills" such as how to act and how to dress as vital to a student’s long term success and career building skills.

"The Academy of Finance is great because it gives you an opportunity early on," says Daniel. "It makes you confident in yourself that you can handle the corporate environment."

Daniel now follows and writes research on broker/dealers and asset managers. "I know the asset management business especially well having worked for Merrill Lynch Investment Managers as a corporate strategy analyst before joining Fitch," he says. "At Merrill Lynch he was involved in evaluating other asset managers as potential acquisition targets, competitor analysis, and new product development. Daniel has remained involved with the AOF having served as a "buddy" to an AOF team from Paul Robeson High School competing in the Federal Reserve Challenge.

One piece of advice that Daniel would give someone in the Academy of Finance program: "If after the internship, or when you’re done with the AOF program, you genuinely like the industry then stick with it. It’s a true meritocracy. Work hard and you’ll be rewarded. Plus, the industry loves young folks."