sara daly

It was the Spring of 2020: I had just finished my junior year at Fairfield University in Connecticut, and I needed to find an internship. But the pandemic had brought everything to a standstill. I discovered Beck Bode while surfing the web, looking for companies I may simply like. I remember being drawn in by all the talk about family on their website. At the time, I didn’t know about the Strategy, their long-term approach, or their focus on overall wellness.  

What I do know is that I love my family. My three younger siblings mean the world to me, and we have fifteen cousins who all live within a 10-minute drive of each other. This looked like a company that valued family. So many companies say they care about family. I would learn firsthand that this is a company that means it.  

I decided to write them an email and was thrilled when I heard back. Fast forward a bit, I found myself interning in a research role. I was fortunate to be assigned to a mentor who taught me so much – all I wanted was to learn. I soaked up everything.  

Soon I was doing data reconciliations, and building spreadsheets, verifying and re-verifying to make sure that all the numbers we reported were accurate. I would update aggregated portfolio performance metrics, like turnover data, top holdings, and so on. That information would go on to populate performance fact sheets.  Basically, my job was (and remains) extremely detail-oriented, requires organization and patience.  

Patience also happens to be an important component of the Beck Bode investment strategy. I love their unique approach, I love how passionate they are about it, but mostly I appreciate that it requires discipline and patience. It’s good advice for investing. It’s also good advice for life in general. Success just doesn’t happen overnight (for most people). It’s good to be reminded of that regularly. 

I decided to ask if I could step into a full-time role after graduation. They said yes! My new job is as a Portfolio Operations Associate. I work in several different platforms, creating performance reports, auditing data, making sure the numbers make sense. 

Aside from the fact that I am working in a company that’s putting my strengths to use in an area that’s interesting every single day, I am grateful to work for a company that cares about the wellbeing of everyone – team members and clients. From Wellness Wednesdays to talks about stress management or yoga at lunch, Beck Bode isn’t just a company that talks about these things to look good, they exemplify it by living this way. 

CREDENTIALS AND OTHER INTERESTING FACTS

• Outside of work I enjoy art, music, hanging out with friends and trying new restaurants.
• I recently started playing piano again – an instrument I played for eight years as a child.
• I’m looking forward to traveling again when I can.