Balyasny Asset Management LP, Chicago, is hosting its second year of college freshmen in a program that provides underresourced students with up to $20,000 of tuition per year for four years of college, paid summer internships and "last-dollar" scholarships to pay for additional tuition.
Students are recruited for the four-year program in Chicago, New York and Teton County, Wyo. Dmitry Balyasny, co-founder, managing partner and chief investment officer of the eponymous firm, has personal connections to Teton County.
The program is administered by Chicago-based ATLAS Fellows Inc., which was founded in 2021 with assistance from Balyasny.
In 2021, the program's inaugural year, Balyasny had 17 interns — 10 from Chicago, five from New York and two from Teton County. This summer will have 26 freshmen, with 10 from Chicago and 16 from New York.
Among the 2022 participants, 73% identify as first-generation college students whose family income is an average of about $51,000. The breakdown of the scholars by race is 31% Latino/a, 31% Asian, 27% Black, 15% white and 4% other. Some students identified with more than one race.
Balyasny will continue to host the freshman class of interns while other financial companies will provide internships for the scholars' remaining three years of college.
In 2022 and beyond, two money managers — Robert W. Baird & Co., Milwaukee, and Bridge Investment Group Holdings, Salt Lake City — and investment bank and financial services provider Jefferies Group LLC, New York, will be providing sophomore, junior and senior students with summer internships.
"While there are great scholarships and internship programs doing incredible work, there hasn't previously been one that combines four-year scholarships with internships at top financial firms," said Mr. Balyasny in an email.
Balyasny had $15.7 billion in assets under management as of May 1.
