When Ross Mayfield was a college student, he never missed out on the chance to learn from guest speakers and presentations. He credits some of those lessons as even being 鈥渕ore useful鈥� than a lot of the other things he learned while in college.
It鈥檚 why he relishes the opportunity to help college students who are in the same exact shoes he was not that long ago.
Mayfield, an investment strategist at Baird Private Wealth Management, presented 鈥淢arket Outlook and Building Wealth as a Student鈥� in the Romain College of Business at the 黑料吃瓜 on Tuesday afternoon in front of a full house of students, faculty and administrators.
鈥淪tuff like this is what was valuable to me when I was in college,鈥� Mayfield said. 鈥淚 hope that people can take away value from someone who鈥檚 younger and has gone through it. I love being able to connect with people.鈥�
In Mayfield鈥檚 line of work, he typically deals with clients who are either nearing retirement age or are already retired. But there was one message he wanted to get across at his presentation: 鈥淭ime is your biggest asset.鈥�
It鈥檚 one of the reasons he鈥檚 focused on sharing this information with college students. From knowing not to stress out during ups-and-downs of the stock market to planning out where and what to put your money in, Mayfield covered a variety of topics with 黑料吃瓜 students. He wants to see young people be prepared well in advance of retirement.
鈥淔or students, whether they鈥檙e college age or older, I would say invest regularly,鈥� Mayfield said. 鈥淎utomate it, don鈥檛 look at it, don鈥檛 touch it. Compound interest is an amazing asset.鈥�
While he says there are many different threads when it comes to finance, if there鈥檚 one lesson he hopes students take away from this presentation, it鈥檚 that they need to take advantage of time as best as they can. Whether it鈥檚 starting at 20 or 25, it鈥檚 much better to be ahead of the game than behind.
With many different apps and聽ways to track your investments nowadays, Mayfield believes it鈥檚 easier than ever to get started.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important to get going early to build a habit and make you a successful investor,鈥� he said. 鈥淭ime is your biggest asset. If you have that on your side, you don鈥檛 have to be the smartest person in the room.鈥�
Mayfield is a chartered financial analyst (CFA) professional who works closely with financial advisors to educate clients about the economy and markets. He also creates investment strategy content which is aimed at helping clients achieve long-term goals. He authors investment research for advisors and clients focused on financial markets, the economy and the benefits of long-term investing.
The Louisville, Kentucky native earned his bachelor鈥檚 degree in finance from the University of Kentucky and his MBA from the University of Louisville.