Newhouse’s Very First FICE Benchmark Trip

As a public relations student enrolled in the Investor Relations course this semester, I was fortunate being able to participate the Financial & Investor Communications Emphasis (FICE) Benchmark Trip to New York City before the Thanksgiving break.

The FICE program, a collaboration between the Newhouse School Whitman School of Management, was launched in April 2016. It was started by Professor Donna Stein, who has served on the executive committee of the Financial Communications Section of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for several years. Professor Anthony D’Angelo, who has just been elected as the chair of PRSA for 2018, is the academic coordinator for the FICE program, which is meant to prepare students with interest in financial communications for future job opportunities.

During the benchmark trip, we visited different kinds of organizations, corporations and agencies that focused on financial communications or have their own financial communications department. We have talked employees at all levels and stages in their careers. The trip was nothing like the investor relations course, which offers  an overview of financial communications and educates you the importance of investor relations. Though the benchmark trip, I truly fell in love with financial communications.

The FICE program is supported by the Gary Kaminsky Family Foundation, which also funded the trip. On the first day, Mr. Kaminsky hosted a round table with Susan Krakower — the producer and director of Mad Money, Fast Money and Wall Street Week — and David Faber — a financial journalist and a co-anchor of CNBC. They talked about their work and experiences, and gave insight into the financial industry. The discussion was really informative and inspiring.

During the trip, we visited agencies that operate financial communications for clients, and companies that have their own financial communications teams. They provided us real case-studies which gave a clearer picture of what we may encounter in a career in financial communications. It was fascinating to find out that they work closely with the CFOs as well as people on Wall Street.

But, their daily work was not much different than traditional public relations practitioners, though the press releases they wrote about were about the financial status of publicly traded companies. Many of the people we spoke to mentioned the importance of using social media in financial communications. Though it is still new for the field, many have already experimented with communicating financial information using social media platforms.

They also mentioned the 2016 presidential election, which directly affected their industry. Some agencies have sent letters to their clients to demonstrate how they would help them to survive the transition after the new policies are launched during the next four years. It is not hard to see that financial communications is a fast paced career, as every tiny move in the industry or society may affect a publicly traded company’s financial status.

We also visited the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and saw tons of gold bars lying under ground. We even got a bag of shredded money as the souvenir.

The trip has granted me a new perspective in communications field. I was fascinated by the content of this career path and it made me reconsider my career choices. If you have an interest in both finance and public relations, FICE would be a really nice program to enroll in. It not only prepares you for a career in financial communications, but also inspires you with information you may have never considered. Just don’t forget to sign up for the benchmark trip, it will be a life-changing experience!