Peter McAniff '85 returns to campus for PolyConnect Lunch

Peter McAniff ’85, accompanied by his son, Jack ’28, visited the Upper School campus to share his insights on investing and life at last week’s PolyConnect lunch. In describing his path to the room full of students, he emphasized the importance of being open to opportunities.

 

Peter attended Holy Cross in Massachusetts, where he swam, played tennis, and was involved in campus activities. Peter stressed to students, “If you’re involved and you do well, opportunities will come to you.”

 

After college, Peter returned to Los Angeles to work in the office of Ronald Reagan shortly after President Reagan left the White House. Peter then spent time abroad, living in Salamanca, Spain, something he encouraged Poly students to consider: “Education with a capital ‘E’ is a holistic concept and that includes traveling.” After returning from Spain, Peter attended UCLA law school with the intention of following in the footsteps of his father, a lawyer. But, by the end of his first year, Peter realized his interest in business was greater than his interest in law so he adjusted course, applying to the business school and eventually earning both a JD and an MBA from UCLA.

 

Peter began his investment career working in Mergers & Acquisitions advisory first in Los Angeles, then in New York City for Lehman Brothers and later J.P. Morgan. After 9/11, Peter and his wife, Jerilyn, decided to take a sabbatical. They spent this time writing two books about investment banking, "The Practitioner’s Guide to Investment Banking, Mergers & Acquisitions, Corporate Finance" and "The Recruiting Guide to Investment Banking," the latter of which set out to even the playing field for young people interested in investment banking careers who lacked the advantage of knowing someone on the inside.

 

Peter currently serves as an equity research analyst for Poplar Forest Capital in Pasadena, where he is involved in the recruitment process and often interviews potential new hires. He provided the students with several valuable lessons from his observations in this role, encouraging them to have exceptional levels of integrity (“Integrity is not a fungible concept”), to focus on how they can help rather than what they hope to learn from a position, and to be enthusiastic: “It is impossible to overstate the value of enthusiasm.”

 

In response to a student’s question about the impact of artificial intelligence on the investment industry, Peter noted that while cost of index funds might drop, there are still many facets of investing that humans can do and machines can’t. “There will always be a demand for people who are the best,” he shared.