Even Wharton students greet terms like enterprise value, P/E ratio, junk bond and convertible security with silence and blank stares.
The desire to understand such business jargon drove over 100 rain-soaked Penn students to Huntsman Hall on Tuesday for "BIZ 101: Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Business But Were Too Afraid to Ask."
Despite the heavy rains and flooding of Locust Walk, the group of mostly Wharton freshmen was eager to learn the basics of business.
The panel, which featured three Wharton alumnae and one male MBA student, began the session by reassuring the audience that there is no such thing as a stupid question about business.
Aside from demystifying basic business terms such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds, the panel also touched on just what it means to work in corporate finance and equity research.
One of the few School of Arts and Sciences students present at the lecture asked if a liberal arts undergraduate background, rather than a strictly Wharton education, is considered to be a disadvantage in the business world.
The question was fielded by graduate student Andras Forgacs, the only panelist present who studied liberal arts before attending Wharton.
"I'm personally a firm believer in you learning something that you really enjoy, that will make you deeper as a person, that will make you think about the world critically, that will open your eyes," Forgacs said. "That's what college is all about."
The other panelists chimed in, expressing their agreement and encouraging students to "feel free to branch out to liberal arts" while they can.
The panel wrapped up the discussion by offering four keys to success: communication skills, being a "people person," being an effective salesperson to sell your skills to potential clients and maintaining business ethics, such as always putting the clients' interests before your own.
In addition to Forgacs, panelists included 2001 Wharton graduate Eliza Hay -- who now works for JP Morgan Chase -- as well as Jessica Lee, a 1996 Wharton graduate and Morgan Stanley financial adviser, and 1998 Wharton graduate Jennifer Wong, who works for the investment-banking firm Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin.
The informal panel session was sponsored by Wharton Women.
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