Andrew Rich’s Post

Sharing my experience of pursuing Masters in Financial Mathematics from United States (NC State University Financial Mathematics) 🇺🇸🇺🇸 My feelings about USA: I strongly feel that the United States is a country where possibilities seem endless, where anyone with determination and drive can make their mark. 💕💕 Here is my story: Embarking on a journey from India to pursue a Master's in Financial Mathematics in the United States was a pivotal decision 🫣🫣 The appeal lay in the promise of a comprehensive education, blending finance with quantitative skills, set in the heart of a thriving financial landscape. 😄😄 The classrooms weren't just spaces for lectures; they were hubs of dynamic discussions and hands-on learning. 📚📖📚 Professors, experts in their fields, offered insights into derivatives, risk management, quantitative modeling, and algorithmic trading. 💰💰💰 The learning wasn't just theoretical; it was practical, with projects and case studies mirroring real-world scenarios. I worked on various projects in the discipline of Credit Risk, Market Risk, Derivative Pricing, Monte Carlo, Fixed Income Modeling, Machine Learning etc.,)💹💹 Internship/Full Time opportunity at financial institutions provided invaluable exposure to the industry. 🎯🎯 The theoretical knowledge gained in class seamlessly transitioned into practical applications, strengthening my grasp of quantitative techniques and financial analysis. ✍️✍️ One of the key attractions of pursuing Financial Mathematics in the USA was the promise of lucrative career prospects. 💎💎💎 The degree paved the way for enticing job offers in the quantitative finance domain, offering not just financial stability but also opportunities for growth and advancement in the field. Upon graduation, I had 6 offers from various financial institutions.💰💵💰 The experience of studying Financial Mathematics in the USA wasn't just about acquiring a degree; it was a journey of skill development, cultural immersion, and professional growth. ⏰⏰ It offered not just academic excellence but a doorway to a world of opportunities in the ever-evolving landscape of quantitative finance. ❤️❤️ I am thankful that I have learned so much in this country and still continue to grow here. 🗽🗽🗽 PS: Speacial thanks to my Program Director (Tao Pang) and Placement Team (Patrick Roberts) for all the help they did during my Masters Program 😁😁 #financialmathematics #quantitativefinance #marketrisk #riskmodeling #unitedstates #experience #internationalstudent

This Student Spotlight is from another member of our Society's 2023-24 winning Research Challenge teams: Meet Kasra Nassirpour from the SLU 1st place team. He studies Economics & Finance, with a concentration in Financial Analysis. Outside of class, he's on the Finance club & has been his fraternity's VP of Finance for the past 2 years. 1.      What interests do you have outside of the classroom? I am an avid runner, weightlifter & do occasional yoga. I enjoy exploring the outdoors & traveling, spending time with family & friends, & cooking a good meal. I like taking on various projects as well. I am currently working on a supplement company with 2 friends of mine. Our first product launching in late Spring! 2.      Tell us about your favorite mentor? My favorite mentor was in an equity research internship. I appreciated the level of freedom I was given as an intern, to take a company, fully break it down, and then present my analysis, with no influence until we talked about it together at the end. This allowed me to follow my unique trains of thought, and then compare them with his during discussion of the company afterwards. I appreciated the ability to form my own opinions on a topic and discuss these ideas with someone who had such a high level of expertise in the field. Seeing where we aligned and where we disagreed developed confidence in my opinions and uncovered holes in my analyses. I greatly developed my skills, and he made me a much stronger analyst. 3.      What would be your ideal full-time job after graduation? My ideal full-time job after graduation would be in equity research or asset management. I truly enjoy deeply researching companies or ideas, formulating opinions based on my analyses, and then suggesting strategies to act upon them. I would appreciate a fast-paced environment that exposes me to a broad range of concepts in financial markets. 4.      What would make you more likely to attend CFA Society St. Louis speaker events & networking happy hour events? One thing keeping me from attending events was at least for myself, my initial thought was that these events were for charter holders only, but I now know that is not the case. Interesting speakers would draw me to events, and followed by a networking happy hour, I would certainly attend. I also think workshops, or learning opportunities for students taught by industry experts would attract many young professionals/students. 5.     Are you interested in volunteering to serve on one of the society’s event or leadership committees in order to work with experienced financial professionals? I definitely would volunteer in one of the society’s events, to help the society, and also work with experienced financial professionals. 6.   Is becoming a charter holder and/or a member of CFA Society St. Louis part of your future plans? Yes it is, I plan to take level 1 of the exam in August and become an active member of the Society here in St. Louis. ###

This week I had the pleasure of hosting an alumni panel event for finance cluster students. We're really lucky at Bayes Business School and City, University of London to have in-curriculum career and industry experience modules built into our degree programmes. This event was delivered as part of our Critical Thinking and Business Skills module. It was attended by 250 first year finance students who asked brilliant questions and gained some incredible career insights. 🌟 Huge thanks to our fantastic panel Daniel G., Andrei Rata, Sabrina Fuchs, Jaanki Thakrar, Chirag Pandya, Parsa Shahab for their time, authenticity and insight. Your contributions have left a lasting and inspiring impression on our students based on enthusiastic and impromptu feedback so far! Thank you also to Nayeem Afridi and Anna Sagredou AFBPsS for all your help organising and running the event 😊 🏦 A few takeaways for those interested in working in finance: 💡 Be open-minded, adaptable and curious || Learning shouldn't end with your degree, bring a learning mindset to your whole career. Don't stop asking questions! 💡 Work on being the most confident version of 'you' || Make yourself heard, have impact and be able to sell (ideas, products, on behalf of clients). But, be nice... be someone people want to work with. 💡 Challenge yourself at Bayes Business School || Take the tough modules, attend events and study hard. But, remember to have fun and enjoy being a student - you won't necessarily have the same balance once you're working. 💡 Soft skills matter || The panel unanimously agreed that a successful career in finance requires strong communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills. 💡 Work experience is important || If you can, work whilst you study or do an internship or placement. However, our panel mentioned that some of the best work experience that prepared them for their roles was not finance-related, e.g., selling kitchenware, student ambassador roles, or working in customer service. I'm sure I've missed some so feel free to comment below if you attended 💙

Learning how to invest in stocks is a valuable skill for high school students. Use the summer break to enhance your knowledge and add it to your resume. 💎 https://lnkd.in/efKNdfr5 https://lnkd.in/efKNdfr5

Check out the article in the QU Chronicle talking about my summer fellowship!

🎓 Introducing South Bank University Sixth Form - a pinnacle of technical education excellence. Find out more about how SBUSixth is shaping future leaders in Science, Engineering, Health, Business and Finance. Click here to read more: https://lnkd.in/ehaec8Ye #SBUSixth #FutureOfEducation #TechnicalEducation

I attended an event at one of our City Colleges of Chicago locations this past evening and shared with a future #finance student from the Pilsen Neighborhood of #Chicago how "finance is the language of any organization". You know the numbers, you know how they will respond or what matters to them. What I also shared with this future Rachel Ruggeri type from Noble Street Charter Schools was that a liberal arts education can compliment that Finance academic study, because success in finance--at any major corporation-- depends on things that go outside of knowing the numbers: the ability to cast a broad net and to understand and stay open to events and developments in all areas of the economy. And to see and understand the interconnections between and amongst them. It's what keeps Starbucks at the forefront of the Fortune 500 and its what propels most non-profits forward in their mission and purpose. Over 10 years ago, Starbucks and the team led by Richard Lautch realized that the company had a big exposure to dairy-to milk. Most people would assume that coffee was the largest risk to their profit-margin, but it actually was the latte portion of the cup that was the most troubling. They didn't have a means of fixing the price with the suppliers, which is a pretty volitile proposition. He and former SVP of Finance Louis Jordan worked on ways of coming up with a solution-- an engineering major from University of Bath and a political science major from a public university. While you are probably thinking "coffee," is the biggest cost to the equation it is actually the latte part of the cup that the team worked on first. That required a lot of thinking that was outside of the scope of numbers and formulas. Skills that come with critical thinking, asking the right questions (and to the right people), along with understanding impacts and implications were a key part of finding the solution. You won’t find the answer in the Computer Science department. As important as programming skills may be, they are also becoming a commodity. Everyone knows a little Python these days, right? The differentiator – is rooted in the oldest part of academics, the Liberal Arts. Below, you will find one of our programs at University of Illinois Springfield that I share with students, parents, and schools that provides young minds with the skills of critical thinking, fundamental communication and writing skills, and makes them a willing participant in this thing we call "society". Take a look and share with future leaders like the ones I listed above. Thanks for reading! https://lnkd.in/gYMR7Jay

In order to further my applied maths skills before starting my actuarial apprenticeship, I studied a course in applied calculus from Harvard university. Having already studied CS50x and CS50p through HarvardX, I was already familiar with the high-quality teaching and excellent lecturers that define these courses. This was a fascinating course, covering a wide range of applications from how derivatives are used to calculate point price elasticity and how this is used to price a product to maximise revenue, to how Lotka-Volterra's coupled differential equations can model predator-prey systems and allow us to analyse bifurcations in them to provide context for new laws and regulations. Of course, there were also topics centred around integration, such as how Reinnman sums are used in the iterative reconstruction of attenuation maps in CT-scans and how probability density functions can be used to gauge regional income inequality. My favourite section was on the use of Taylor series to approximate the Lorentz factor in Einstein's mass-energy equation. The reason why I loved this topic so much was because it was a perfect demonstration of the rigour and connectedness of physics, showing how the classical formula for kinetic energy theorised in the 1700s is an approximation of the relativistic formula developed 200 years later.

For Fall 2024 Intake, so far, we have 20+ admits from Boston University - How? You strategize and crack the code exactly targeted to Boston!👩💻 If you are a student wanting to study at Boston University - This should be your strategy! 1. Recognize Your Exact Interest: If you find yourself disinterested in your field of study despite excelling academically, it's crucial to acknowledge this throughout and explore other areas that ignite your passion related to target course. 2. Research and Accumulate Experience: Take the time to research and accumulate relevant work experience in your desired field. This can involve internships, part-time jobs, or even personal projects that demonstrate your commitment and skills. Boston invests in a mature cohort. 3. Leverage Your Academic Background: Even if your undergraduate degree is not directly related to your desired field of study, you can still leverage the skills and knowledge gained during your studies which help you in target field and highlight that in essay and interview. For eg - If you are an engineer, highlight how your academic background has equipped you with problem-solving, analytical, and technical skills applicable to finance. 4. Understand Admission Requirements: Investigate the admission requirements of your target programs. Some courses at Boston have GRE waiver on grounds of such as high academic performance or relevant work experience. Apply early for GRE/GMAT waiver. 5. Seek Support and Guidance: Consider seeking support from professional services like AceMyPrep for guidance on the application process. They can assist with essay editing, interview preparation, and strategic planning tailored to your dream of studying at Boston! 6. Emphasize Transferable Skills: Showcase transferable and employable skills such as management, leadership, and finance-related competencies in your application materials. Highlight any certifications or plans for further education, like intention to pursue a CFA Level 1. 7. Prepare Thoroughly for Interviews: Interviews are part of the admission process, invest time in preparing thoroughly. Practice with mock interviews, both written and live, to refine your responses and boost your confidence. 8. Set Clear Goals: Identify your major targets, like Ananya from Ace My Prep aiming for Boston University's Questrom School of Business for an MBA specializing in Finance and she made it with 25000 USD scholarship. Having clear goals helps focus your efforts and allows you to tailor your application accordingly and show maturity and focus of your candidature.

#SUERFpolicynote “‘Tribal clique’? What about the class barriers and class ceilings? The lack of socioeconomic diversity in economics and the financial sector and what Europe can do about it” by Robert Anderton (University of Nottingham) The information on socioeconomic diversity in Europe is limited, but under-representation of those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds seems greater in economics and finance compared to many other disciplines and professions. Dismantling class barriers and class ceilings would enable firms and institutions to harness the abundant talents across the whole of society - rather than limiting the talent pool to the more privileged sections of our populations. This could enhance both productivity and policymaking in economics and finance, benefitting all. After summarising and synthesising the findings of various studies on the lack of socioeconomic diversity in economics and finance, this note suggests that this is a crucial issue which European institutions, firms and organisations could consider addressing by better understanding their class mix and advancing socioeconomic diversity through appropriate recruitment and promotion policies, internships, summer schools, proactive remedies and targeted outreach programmes. https://lnkd.in/dqUJz8j2 #SocioeconomicDiversity #Economics #Finance #Productivity #Policymaking