Alumni Spotlight - Clay Parks
Contact Us
Undergraduate AdvisingCOB 123
Tyler, TX 75799
Office Hours:
M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
800 UT TYLER
Ph: 903.566.7363
Fx: 903.566.7372
Soulesadvising@uttyler.edu
Graduate Advising
COB 223
Tyler, TX 75799
Office Hours:
M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Ph: 903.565.5836
Fx: 903.566.7372
Soulesgradadvising@uttyler.edu
Alumni Spotlight
UT Tyler Soules College of Business
Name: Clay Parks
Degree/Degrees: BBA Finance
Year of Graduation: 2009
Tell us a little about you.
My name is Clay Parks. I’m married with 3 children and currently living in Northlake,
TX.
What did you do right after graduating?
I graduated in the fall of 2009, into the Great Recession. I had an internship in
the spring and summer with a local wealth management firm called Bridge Wealth Management.
They liked my work and gave
me an opportunity come and work full time after graduating. I worked as an investment
analyst under the CIO, John Sokol CFA. There I gained experience working with multiple
asset classes and a variety of different financial products. It was a great role given
the breadth of experience I gained right out of school.
Tell us about your current job and what you do.
Currently I work as a corporate/municipal credit analyst for a life insurance company
called Liberty
Bankers Life Insurance Group in Dallas, TX. We have approximately $3.5bln in assets
and currently
operate as a 4 person investment team. Insurance companies are the primary buyers
of corporate
bonds.
My corporate credit coverage areas include tech, media, consumer staples, consumer
discretionary,
paper/packaging, and chemical sectors. I also cover taxable municipal issuers across
the country across all municipal sectors.
How did your Soules College of Business degree help you with your current position?
My classes helped to give me a base of knowledge that I have been building on since
I graduated. From the Principles of Finance course to Business Law and back. The skills
I learned there have been my foundation for every role I’ve had since graduation.
What was your favorite Soules College of Business class and why?
My favorite class would have to be either FINA 4310 Management of Financial Institutions,
or FINA 4330 Security Analysis and Portfolio Management. Being in school during the
Great Recession (a banking recession) was interesting as we were studying the causes
of the recession. Dr. Shin taught the banking class and I can still remember my group
presentation on the fall of Lehman Brothers.
Security analysis and portfolio management, we participated in class competition with
mock investment portfolios. The exercise was really the first time I began to study
how financial markets moved in price and value.
Any Soules College of Business/ UT Tyler memories you would like to share?
Well, I did meet my wife while attending school which has left quite a lasting impression
on me, haha. On that note, I always liked the people at UT Tyler. From the business
school to the athletes to my neighbors. I’ve been around a lot of people before and
the quality of people I met in my classes and through fellowship at student events
were something I will always be reminded of.
Were you involved in any student organizations while a student here?
When I was at UT Tyler, I was also the President of the Financial Management Association.
One of the projects we did as a student group was to help improve financial literacy.
We reached out to a local wealth management professional, who offered his time to
come and speak at our event. The event was focused on helping non-business school
students improve their financial literacy in the areas of personal investing. We also
collaborated with another group on campus, called SIFE at the time, to provide an
incentive to improve attendance (Chick-fil-a sandwiches as a surefire way to help
improve that number).
What advice would you give current Soules College of Business students?
Develop good working relationships with your classmates. Your network is very important
after you
graduate and you never know what path your future may take you. I learned how to study
while I was at UT Tyler and it really helped me after I left. Dedicate yourself while
you are there and take in everything you can. College only happens once for most of
us.
What insight do you have for Soules College of Business students that are about to
graduate on how to land their first job?
Don’t lose sight of the long term goal. As I made career decisions on jobs with different
roles and
different companies, I always asked myself, “is this going to help me get to where
I want to be?”
Don’t be afraid to take short-term pain to reap long-term gains in your career. After
graduation, I
studied for the CFA exam which took 3 years to complete. At that time, the exams were
held only on the first Saturday of June. This meant every Memorial Day weekend, my
friends all went off to enjoy the long weekend while I stayed home to study and take
practice exams. I spent more hours at the public library studying than I did in the
Robert Muntz Library on campus when I was there.
Lastly, seek out a professional mentor to help guide you and keep you on track through
your
professional career and development.
Contact Us
Undergraduate AdvisingCOB 123
Tyler, TX 75799
Office Hours:
M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
800 UT TYLER
Ph: 903.566.7363
Fx: 903.566.7372
Soulesadvising@uttyler.edu
Graduate Advising
COB 223
Tyler, TX 75799
Office Hours:
M-F 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Ph: 903.565.5836
Fx: 903.566.7372
Soulesgradadvising@uttyler.edu