If you ask members of the Oberlin College men’s lacrosse team who the smartest member of their team is, a vast majority would say senior midfielder, John Pierce.
The Ridgewood, New Jersey, native is graduating this spring with a degree in economics and has already accepted a job as a global markets analyst for Nomura Securities in New York City, which he will start in July.
A tireless worker, Pierce often stays after practice to get extra reps in and this attitude translates to his academics. He is notorious for arriving back at his house on Union Street around 1:00 or 2:00 AM after a long night of running regressions for his honor’s thesis. From his constant state of hard work, it is apparent that Pierce’s career aspirations are lofty.
“I like the idea of managing risk, and I like the idea of growing things,” Pierce said. “I’m trying to help Nomura grow in the United States. For me, my goal is to be in a place, 15 years down the line, where I can manage people to help make a business better.”
Pierce’s father, Greg has had a big influence on his son’s life in many aspects, including his professional aspirations as his dad has worked in the financial sector throughout his career and has shaped Pierce’s mind into thinking like an economist.
Throughout his time at Oberlin, Pierce has also been crafting out his career path and is the leader of the Finance and Investment Club on campus. As the co-Chair and lead portfolio manager, Pierce and the other club members oversee $380,000 in investments across equity and fixed income markets.
“We took the club from a few people talking about a stock that they knew nothing about to a 25-30-person group with revamped ways of looking at stocks,” he said. “This past year we hit a record with a 25 percent rate of return, which is remarkable. I take pride in giving people the opportunity to learn about finance. The school, and specifically economics professor Ed McKelvey, also provide the club with a lot of resources, giving us an edge over most finance clubs from liberal arts colleges.”
Pierce has also honed his craft away from Oberlin with a variety of internships, most recently spending last summer at Morgan Stanley as a sales and trading analyst, focusing on Institutional securities: fixed income, currencies, and commodities.
In the summer of 2016, he had an opportunity to learn more about the risk management side of the industry as a fixed-income analyst at PineBridge Investments.
“I like to be in a risk-taking role where I am helping facilitate client transactions. One day, I would like to be a sales and trading manager – running a trading team would be a long-term goal. Hopefully, in 10 years I’ve grown organically in a firm where I’m bringing in new people, and I’m helping build out a business,” said Pierce.
Pierce’s journey into the professional world has also included stops at MIAC-Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp, KGS-Alpha Capital Markets LP, and Westfield Research.
Pierce shares the same passion for economics and finance that he has for lacrosse. While his future looks bright in the post-college realm, he realizes he has been a part of something special on the lacrosse field over the last four years.
“My goal is to leave this team in a better place to compete for that ultimate goal of winning a conference championship every single year. I care deeply about this team and hopefully my contributions will last well after I am gone.”
Pierce’s leadership within the program also translates to across campus as he leads by example in all avenues of his life. He not only holds his teammates accountable on the field, but off it as well. He is more than willing to provide academic support to the team and other students on campus as he works as a tutor in the economics and mathematics departments.
With his final season nearly at a close, that all-too-familiar cliché of a bittersweet feeling is setting in for Pierce.
“This last lacrosse season means everything to me, and it means everything to all of our seniors. I’ve been playing lacrosse since third grade and it’s hard to imagine a world without playing it.”
His days of competition on the lacrosse field are coming to and end but his competitive juices will continue to burn after Oberlin in the financial market.
