Finance alumnus named to Forbes 30 under 30 list

Since 2012, Forbes has recognized the brightest young entrepreneurs, innovators and game changers who are transforming business and the world on its 30 under 30 list. The list contains 600 individuals across 20 different industries, many with inspiring stories, impressive backgrounds and Ivy League educations.

This year, the 30 under 30 list in finance was made up of a similar group of people. One, however, was not exactly like the rest. Peter Gylfe (BSBA Finance ’09, MSF ’10) was the only individual on the list who was educated at a U.S. public institution – that institution being the University of Florida.

“The relationships I formed in the Master of Science in Finance (MSF) program [at UF] have been really important,” he said. “We all shared a common bond of going from the University of Florida to Wall Street, which wasn’t a common path.”

Gylfe recalls spending weeks prepping for interviews with his peers and taking advantage of every networking and speaker opportunity the MSF program provided.

“There was a lot of grit instilled in us in going through the MSF program at UF,” he said. “Coming from that different path, we had to work harder, be more prepared, you had to have a lot of passion. Having grit instilled in us was one of the best traits of the program.”

Gylfe’s grit and passion for finance not only helped him secure a job at Citigroup upon graduation, and his subsequent positions at Millennium Management, Balyasny Asset Management, and Hutchin Hill Capital, but also start his own $150 million long-short equity hedge fund, Bay Street Capital Partners.

“I like that the job is competitive,” he said. “You’re graded every second of every day, you get instant feedback, and you’re always learning something new.”

For Gylfe, learning isn’t something that stopped when he left the UF Warrington College of Business. It’s something he does every single day.

“One of the core principles you learn in undergrad finance is compounding,” he said. “You can apply that same concept to knowledge as well. Think about compounding knowledge. You won’t see gains a day, week or month from now, but if you have the discipline to consistently iterate and improve, you’ll see huge gains over time in your process.”

For Gylfe, though, being named among the top young finance professionals on the Forbes’ 30 under 30 list is just the beginning.

“I’m incredibly humbled and honored to be named,” he said. “But this is just one step in the journey. The race is just starting, so now let’s go run.”