Curran Provides Life Lessons for Massry School of Business Students
ALBANY, N.Y. (March 5, 2024) — With more than 50 years of investing experience, Tom Curran has learned to take the long view on risk. Curran, the founder and CEO of Curran Wealth Management, spoke to a packed house of students at the Massry School of Business’s Center for Institutional Investment Management (CIIM) on Feb. 23, where he doled out advice for building wealth as well as life.
Curran spoke on issues of security, prosperity and how to deal with the unexpected events that will undoubtedly occur in life.
“Mike Tyson had a saying that I think is appropriate. He would say that every boxer has a plan until he takes his first punch,” continued Curran, and students should be aware that it will surely happen in life as it would for anyone who stepped in the ring with the former heavyweight champion.
But even if you don’t know when the bad news will come, Curran proposed there are skills that students can develop which will help them when the storm inevitably arrives. “Emotional intelligence is the great neutralizer,” said Curran, telling the students that remaining calm in the face of the unanticipated is what separates savvy investors from everyone else.
Curran went on to explain how developing emotional intelligence can help students build a lifetime of good habits, because if spending and saving money were simply logical matters, most people would have plenty.
Curran provided each student with a copy his book, Investing Ahead, in which he spelled out the eight investment rules that have made his clients — and Curran himself — wealthy.
“It’s a special treat for UAlbany finance students when practitioners like Tom Curran share a lifetime of investing wisdom with those who dream of following in their footsteps,” said David M. Smith, professor and chair of the Department of Finance at the Massry School of Business. “We’re grateful to Tom and Curran Wealth Management for their insights and generosity.”
"It was a pleasure visiting UAlbany and having the chance to speak with the next generation of finance professionals about investing and the lessons I've learned throughout my career as a wealth manager," said Curran. "I was impressed by how knowledgeable and engaged the students were, and by the solid foundation UAlbany is providing for them as they prepare to enter the workforce."
A graduate of Temple University, Curran received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He was a Fels Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Local and State Government.
In 2024, Curran launched the Investing Ahead Podcast, in which he distills his more than 50 years of investing experience into accessible advice for a broader audience.
CIIM was established in 2002, when a proposal developed by University at Albany finance department faculty was declared the winner of a State University of New York (SUNY) competition, providing a $1.6 million endowment.
CIIM supports basic and applied research in the field of institutional investment management through collaborative efforts among Massry School of Business faculty, finance students and financial experts while also supporting the University at Albany Massry School of Business Investment Club.
The endowed research center has three objectives:
Provide research support for data acquisition and enable faculty and students to attend scholarly conferences or stock-analysis competitions.
Support networking, and professional development and financial training opportunities for students.
Fund hardware, software and data needs for stock analysis for the student-run investment group, University at Albany Massry School of Business Investment Group.