After leading a successful career in investing for 10 years, Jeff Macke '91 has taken to offering advice - free of charge - to students at the Tuck School of Business. But Macke doesn't offer his expertise by visiting Hanover for seminars or guest lectures; Macke talks to students and other viewers of CNBC's financial television show "Fast Money" via webcam on national TV.
Macke, known on the show as the "Lone Wolf" because of his tendency to contradict popular opinion, closed his hedge fund in 2004 and teamed up with a pack of four other Wall Street veterans to launch the show in June 2006.
Macke said that his success in the business world did not stem from any specific accomplishment but from years of hard work.
"You have to live it," he said. "You need to do something you enjoy enough to develop a passion ... there's no key to success, it's just putting in the hours."
He highlighted his work ethic in his advice for students wishing to pursue a career in the financial sector.
"It's work," he said. "Everyone views it as a sexy, high paying career, but you have to put in your hours and put in your years. The best thing for students to do is start learning about the market now. Put a little money at work and follow the market."
Macke said his favorite part of doing the show is "hanging out with the guys," his co-hosts, but said that the show also offers challenges.
"The challenge was coming up with the format," he said. "It's also difficult to come up with the ideas day after day and to be able to translate those ideas into a mass market."
Of the show's six segments, Macke said that Face-to-Face, the portion that invites viewers to go on the air and ask a question via webcam, is his favorite.
"It is the best chance to talk to the folks who are watching, touch base with them and remind us why we're here," he said.
Some of the most frequent webcam inquisitors are Tuck students. A Tuck spokesperson said that a Tuck student usually appears as one of the three webcam questioners on the show every one or two weeks. Monday night, second-year Tuck student Sonali Aggarwal appeared on the show and asked the experts about buying entertainment stocks in anticipation of the blockbuster movies scheduled to be released this coming summer. Aggarwal said she became interested in appearing on the show because one of her friends had done it the week before.
"I heard that a few of my friends had done it earlier in the year, but I didn't really know the procedure," she said. "I found out one of my classmates did it last week, so I contacted the [public relations] office and they got me on this week."
According to Aggarwal, most Tuck students have heard of the show, and many are regular viewers.
Macke attended business school at Stanford University after earning his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth. In addition to appearing on "Fast Money," Macke contributes to the financial website Minyanville.com and currently serves on the board of directors at variety retail chain Duckwall-Alco.
Macke, a brother of Bones Gate fraternity, has returned to Hanover once since his graduation, for homecoming in 2000. He is married and has two children.
