What motivated you to pursue a Master’s Degree in Financial Engineering? And why did you choose RMI’s MFE program? Having done my MBA in Finance, I felt that this knowledge was not enough. I wanted to have a deeper insight into complex financial products. RMI MFE program was well structured and flexible, allowing me to attend the course whilst doing my full time job. What are the top three challenges faced by professionals in the financial services industry and how can one best prepare oneself to manage these challenges? The first and foremost challenge is having product knowledge. Secondly, the convergence of technology with finance i.e. automation is changing the landscape of finance rapidly. The third challenge would be the regulatory landscape and risk management in the aftermath of 2008 financial crisis. Good education, relevant experience, being adaptive to new ideas/technology would help overcome these challenges. As much as traditional jobs are being eroded by automations, simultaneously this is creating a new ecosystem and opportunities in areas like robo-advisory in wealth management, payment solutions, peer-to-peer lending etc. It has also given rise to new generation of asset class like cryptocurrencies within underlying technology of blockchain and smart contracts. What are the top five skills that you would recommend MFE students to hone before they join the workforce? First of all, I feel that product knowledge is the key to success. Product knowledge has to be applicable to the real world. One has to be a specialist and not a generalist. Secondly, one must be a team player – when you want to go fast, you go alone but when you want to go far, you go together. Thirdly, one must be open to changes because things are constantly evolving, giving rise to new scenarios. Another skill that I would consider quite important is the ability to handle stress and stay focused even under most trying circumstances. Last but not the least I would say “chase your dreams and not money”. Can you share some highlights of your career, which will help current MFE students gain some insight and inspiration for their own careers ahead? I was leading a very successful career at one of the top global broker firm with a very bright future within the company. Yet I decided to leave the broker firm and start my own business. The initial business plan failed; I had spent four years and all my savings on this failed project. I was at a pivot point in my life with family and friends being critical of me. I was not deterred by the failure and criticism. I reengineered my business plans and relaunched it. Finally, I bore the fruits of my perseverance. My total commitment and self-belief had paid off. Let your faith be stronger than your fear! If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently? The science of hindsight is perfect but in life there are no retakes. Therefore, whatever you do, give it your best shot or else you will always be saying to yourself “if only I had…”. I have pursued and lived my dreams; at times it was a rollercoaster ride but I have no regrets as my biggest regret would have been if I had not tried.
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