He turned 29 last week. He threw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field in Chicago for the Cubs-Padres game Thursday. But he really wanted to talk about his offseason job as a financial planning intern at Morgan Stanley, a global investment firm.

"It's just been unbelievable," Smith said.

Smith's interest in all things financial was sparked three years ago during talks with Panthers punter John Kasay, one of Smith's closest friends on the team. Smith soon was buying financial planning books and visiting Web sites.

"I wanted to absorb all I could," he said. "My wife (Angie) said it consumed me. I just wanted to feed my appetite for the knowledge of what a financial planner does, not necessarily from the investor's standpoint, but more for the fundamentals of it."

Smith is a client with Morgan Stanley, and this year he asked local First Vice President/financial planner Derek Copeland if he could get some hands-on experience.

Soon, one of the local firm's biggest clients was filling out an application and undergoing background checks.

Smith puts on his suit and goes to work two days a week. He started his internship by going on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in April and meeting with some of the company's New York executives.

Copeland said Smith was going through a standard program all new financial advisers would need to complete.

"It's a pretty tough class," Copeland said. "At the end, he has to give a presentation to a board, like a mock client presentation and run through his financial plan, speak to hypothetical clients. The board gives you a pass or fail."

Copeland said Smith's internship has been a fun experience for both sides.

"There's not many well-known athletes that put on a business suit in the offseason," Copeland said, "but people around the office really respect him. It's kind of funny. He's a large client and he's going through the internship program. Steve is an intense guy and he brings that same level of intensity into his work. It's been fun to see."

Smith's having a ball.

"It's made me want to learn more," he said. "Being an intern at Morgan Stanley and balancing your checkbook, man, there's like four worlds in between.""

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