He came to UConn not entirely sure what he wanted to do with his life. However, the path that Michael J. Carino ’94 took through UConn’s Stamford campus helped him discover economics and then enter a successful investment career that today takes him around the world, working with the pressing financial issues of our times.
As the co-portfolio manager and chief compliance officer, Carino helps guide investment strategies for Greenwich-based AlphaBridge Capital Management. He has now given back to UConn by making the first outright gift to a new general endowed fund that has been identified as a strategic priority for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Carino believes that his UConn economics coursework helped pave the way for his current success in business.
“I had a very positive experience in Stamford,” he says. “My professors came to class with real-world experience to share with us, and their perspective and knowledge were definitely an added value to my degree.”
After spending his last semester in an internship at a leading hedge fund, Carino left UConn with practical experience that made a transition to the world of investments much easier. He immediately found employment at a firm that was guided by industry legends.
He says that his gift to support a general CLAS endowment is an act designed to show support for the University and trust in the institution to steward his support wisely.
“Day to day, I’m not in a position to know where the priorities are for the College, or where funds are best allocated year-to-year. I didn’t want to dictate how my gift should be used on a very specific basis. Giving to start this endowment is a meaningful and rewarding way for me to give back,” he says. “I liked the idea of a general endowment that was being guided by the leadership who have ‘feet on the ground’ and know where the necessities are in the college that may not be provided for by other means.”
Dean Jeremy Teitelbaum of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences says that the kind of broad support offered by Carino’s gift offers the most flexibility to build the College.
“Each year brings new, unanticipated opportunities to develop educational programs, to invest in technology for research and education, to provide financial assistance to students, and to support our faculty’s research,” says Teitelbaum. “The general endowment will equip future deans to make the best investments they can to keep CLAS strong over the long term.”
For Carino, who says he did not remain in close contact with the University after graduation, the gift is hopefully just the start of a renewed relationship.
“I think most people want to give back, but may not have the means to do so. I found that I was in a much better position to make a gift, and I hope my career continues on a path where this contribution can be built upon in the future,” he says. “My education at UConn gave me the building blocks for a great career. Time is fleeting and scarce. I feel good about helping the college with an endowment that provides its own building blocks that will grow, in a way that the College can prioritize itself.”
