Mr. Jay Carroll P'22,'25 Gives Keynote at Finance Academy

By Kevin Cummings ’22

Mr. Jay Carroll, Senior Portfolio Management Director at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, and father of John Carroll ’22 and Connor Carroll ’25, delivered a terrific presentation to the St. Sebastian’s Finance Academy on December 6, 2021. This was the Academy’s third meeting of the school year with a large crowd of over fifty students attending from grades 9-12.

Mr. Carroll began by explaining what his company, Morgan Stanley, does day to day. He described the two components of the firm: Investment Banking and Wealth Management. He first explained investment banking and the role investment bankers play in the financial services industry. He explained how investment bankers advise companies as well as helping private companies become publicly traded companies.

Mr. Carroll then discussed exactly what he does in Morgan Stanley: wealth management. He described his role as a financial advisor, who helps high-income families invest their money through building investment portfolios. He used the example of a doctor prescribing a prescription medication. The patient does not have to take the medication, but he would benefit from doing so. In the same way he and his team provide advice for their clients to achieve their financial goals. He elaborated, saying that he helps families reach certain financial goals such as renovating a house or paying for college. Mr. Carroll also described how enjoyable his job as a financial advisor is. He explained how, while he has relatively few clients and rarely takes on new ones, the ones he has are very close with him and his team and share much in common with them.

Mr. Carroll’s presentation provided an insight into the inner workings of one of the largest Wall Street firms while also giving the many potential future financial advisors in the room an idea of what the job is like. He emphasized what he enjoys about his job and why it is important to have a job that makes you happy, a valuable life lesson for every student in the room. Members of the Finance Academy were clearly enthralled by the presentation as they asked numerous questions about every aspect of his job, and we thank Mr. Carroll for sharing his time and wisdom with us.