Ever wondered how wealth management is different from fund management? Ever wondered what is the difference between a buy side and a sell side analyst? Ever wondered what role a general partner plays versus what role a limited partner plays in a private equity firm? I found myself struggling with many such questions before I attended the information sharing session organized by the NUS MBA Finance Club, wherein the club invited students from our own cohort to share their experiences from previous jobs in the finance sector.
The discussion started with Neha and Gregory sharing their insights from working in a PE firm. While Neha spoke about her experiences of working in a PE fund in India, Gregory gave an excellent comparison of how things worked in the US.
After that, Afzal, Kuruvilla, Naeem & Swanzel took the participants through the nuances of the banking industry. Their different perspectives from having worked in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan was indeed a value add.
Next in line was Ankita, who spoke about equity research. Her presentation led to an in-depth discussion on buy-side versus sell-side analysts and what their specific roles are.
Following this Shreya explained the transfer pricing mechanism. She also shared her diverse experience in terms of working with Ernst & Young, Barclays and Morgan Stanley.
Kirti shared his experience of working as an auditor. He discussed in details the statutory audit process and also an audit department’s inter-relation with the other divisions of the company.
Last but not the least, Andrew and Jaimin spoke about the thus far most coveted investment-banking sector. They talked about the industry structure, roles that we as MBA’s could expect to get, routine jobs for these roles etc.
All in all it was a great experience for all participants. Thanks to the NUS MBA Finance Club, for organizing this session and we look forward to more of such events!
February 5,2009; Informal Information Sharing Session
