NUS MBA Finance Club Blog

Bloomberg Training (February 2010)

2010-04-15T15:36:00.020+08:00

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It stuck me for the very first time when I came upon Bloomberg as a requirement in some if not most of the finance-related job postings. Is Bloomberg a website, Television or what? For those who are still wondering what a Bloomberg terminal is, do not worry, as the old axiom goes, it is never too late to learn. I had my first formal training at the Bloomberg’s office on Church Street, Singapore office. (Thanks to the NUS finance club for organizing and doing justice for your existence and I am kidding of course! These guys have done amazing stuff for the student community).

We had a lady instructor who greeted us with a warmth smile and was very patience with us throughout the session, given that some of us were really using it for the very first time. The office was ‘remarkably’ beautiful and well designed especially with its reception hall, office with an open environment among the cubicles which enhanced interaction among the staff. As I walked in to the training room, I actually thought it’s a place that many would consider working in just by looking at how well the place is organized and run.

To take a step back: You probably know what a Google is, and Bloomberg terminal is something similar in the sense that it brings you whatever financial, market or related information that you need at your finger tips. It is a computer system that enables financial professionals to access the Bloomberg Professional service through which users can monitor and analyze real-time financial market data movements. Some of the most striking physical features of the Bloomberg system are the monitors and the keyboard which is very similar to the normal QWERTY keyboard but with further enhancement that help a user navigate through the system a lot faster.

The graphical user interface is less fancy but to be fair, it is rather user friendly in the sense that you would not take too long a time to find what you need if you have some of the basic understanding of the keys and commands. For example, the yellow keys on top of the keyboards allow you to get to the different asset class or market sector (i.e. Equity, Commodity, Currency etc). Never mind if you couldn’t get to where you want, there is this feature that allows you to get instant support from technical helpdesk through its messaging system. This is really helpful for beginners as you get to learn more about the system. Overall, the training was really helpful for the beginners to get some fundamental ideas about how the system works and some tips on doing basic research on specific security or market data.

Last but not least, I would like to thank the NUS finance club and Bloomberg for holding this session for the NUS MBA students.

-Chia Li

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Virtual Stock Exchange 2009

2010-03-29T14:48:00.003+08:00

The markets had reversed from their 2008 lows and the returns were very good across the world markets for the first nine months of 2009. So, what should a fund manager or investor do? Be totally invested in the market going forward or the ‘Cash Is King’ strategy is the one that should be followed? With a view to identify what the future leaders at NUS business school think, the NUS Finance club returned with its annual virtual stock exchange competition with USD 1 million as virtual cash to trade and the US stock markets as the target.

Rahul Gupta, a first year MBA student was the winner of the competition with a return of 20.18% over the 40 day period. Kirti Chopra, 2nd year MBA student followed him closely and it wasn’t till the last day that one could actually gauge who would win it. Here is what Rahul had to say about his overall experience and trading methodology.

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“The virtual stock exchange was something that I had heard about from the finance club office bearers during the briefing for the new batch in August. I had never traded on American stocks, not even paper trading. So, here was an opportunity to do so and finally we started in mid October.

To begin with I was a little sceptical as to what should be my strategy. I remember asking a few people from the senior batch about the possible strategies. I was told to stick to good fundamental companies and invest in stocks you are well read about. However, the stock market especially one which has virtual money involved gives you an opportunity to try your own strategies and so I started with my own strategy of pair trading to begin with. I choose the airline sector; choose two stocks i.e. one highly overpriced and one underpriced based on the market movements over the last few months and weeks. I shorted the overpriced one and bought the underpriced one. But then that was my analysis and the market did not think so. The stocks moved against my bet and there I was at the bottom of the virtual stock exchange competitor list. I was amused at the market movement but then that is how the market works. You believe you have a winner at your disposal and become complacent and then realize the market has again outsmarted you. However I stuck to my investment rationale and increased my position in the two stocks further. Finally, by the end of the first week I was able to make some profit but little in comparison to others.

I thought of changing my strategy and being more of an intraday trader for the competition. At that juncture the EURO was making highs against the Dollar and I felt that the dollar would rebound and so should be bought. The only way to get a position in a currency through the stock exchange without entering the FX market was through ETFs. I started reading on ETFs and finally lay my bets which proved quite fruitful. Apart from these there were a few momentum stocks from the financial services and technology sectors on which I banked upon and was rewarded.

It was a good 40 day experience wherein I understood about the functioning of ETFs and employed some of my personal strategies. It was great to win as it is always. ”

-Rahul Gupta

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2009-11-03T21:44:00.000+08:00

Our Mission is to cater to the needs of aspiring as well as experienced finance professionals, by providing them with the requisite platform, to help achieve their desired career objectives.

NUS Finance Club strives to achieve its mission through the following initiatives:

* Accumulate and dispense key information on the finance industry in general along with individual functions, in particular, by organizing various talks by successful finance professionals.

* Create a strong knowledge base among the NUS MBA Finance community. This is to enable each member to make informed decisions within their respective career choices.

* Foster strong relationships among the community, in order to leverage on the varied skill sets present in the group.

We at NUS MBA Finance Club, solicit active participation from each and every one of our members by way of your ideas and suggestions in order to make this an enriching experience for all of us.

Latest blog Fin Quiz 2009

Fin Quiz 2009

2009-09-26T20:45:00.008+08:00

What’s my key takeaway from the NUS MBA programme so far? Learning the art – or is it a science – of prioritizing. That explains this rather late post on an event that was held what seems like a decade ago.

The Finance Quiz, the subject on which I hope to engage you over the next few hundred words, happened on October 2. A decade, you might argue, is highly exaggerated, but the advantage of attending a school where there are at least three events to choose from every day, makes this one look rather distant.

Anyway, that there were less than ten teams to register meant the probability of sharing prize money worth $100 with my teammate looked attractive. After all, $50 means a dozen pints of beer at the weekend bacchanalia, the sole high point in an MBA student’s life.

The preliminary elimination round, in which each team had to answer a set of 15 uniform questions, was a breeze, or so we (my buddy and I) thought till the answer sheets were returned. We figured we’d got as many as seven wrong. That the others hadn’t fared much better lent the only consolation.

From the next round, in which teams was randomly allotted names of investment banks and bank holding companies, our team began to be called Barclays. The stars were beginning to get aligned favorably, if not for a win, at least for an honorable exit, I thought. Being called Lehman or Bear Stearns would really not have meant the ideal start. For, didn’t someone clever once say that well begun is half done!

Yet, we were also aware that the recent wave that had wiped out the weak of heart and mind had left us to face off against tougher competition – Nomura, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, UBS and Lazard, as the other teams were christened.

As all of us quizzers settled into our rhythms, the quiz masters kept ’em coming at us.

And here’s why Barclays was not crowned the ultimate champion…

I am a Blue

Which company replaced AIG as shirt sponsor for Manchester United?

As a Chelsea fan, I couldn’t care less if Man United played without a jersey.

Right answer: AON Corp

Oh come on, that was close enough

In 1995, Barings Bank was sold to ING for ___________.

My teammate almost nailed this one, but for a minor gaffe.

Right answer: £1, not $1 as my buddy had answered

Not Peter Lynch yet

What is enterprise value of a company?

Hello, we’re just two months into our MBA, and haven’t distinguished IRR from NPV.

Right answer: Enterprise value = market cap + debt + preferred stock + minority interests – cash – investments in unconsolidated affiliates

It’s the energy trader’s problem, not ours

Historically, why does WTI trade at a premium to Brent?

Surely, it can’t be so simple. There must be something more than the following.

Right answer: WTI is lighter, sweeter and of better quality, thus more expensive

Geez, we’re students

Where did the Dow close last night?

For Chrissake, we’re extremely risk-averse students, worried only about whether our long-term investments are bearing fruit. We don’t have a trading mindset and don’t look at daily movements of the benchmark.

Right answer (then): 9509.28

That was ours

A Wharton graduate, notoriously known as “Junk Bond King”, known as America’s top financial criminal in 1980s was sent to prison on finance related charges in 1989. Who was he?

Blistering Barnacles! I swear I knew this one. But it wasn’t a direct question to our team, and some smart cookie from another came up with the answer.

Right answer: Mike Milken

I could go on endlessly, but that’ll be imprudent considering I’ve become a prioritizer. There seems to be a lot more to learn from this busy existence, and I need to run.

Sanat Vallikappen

Batch of 2011

2009-09-26T20:45:00.005+08:00

Our Mission is to cater to the needs of aspiring as well as experienced finance professionals, by providing them with the requisite platform, to help achieve their desired career objectives.

NUS Finance Club strives to achieve its mission through the following initiatives:

* Accumulate and dispense key information on the finance industry in general along with individual functions, in particular, by organizing various talks by successful finance professionals.

* Create a strong knowledge base among the NUS MBA Finance community. This is to enable each member to make informed decisions within their respective career choices.

* Foster strong relationships among the community, in order to leverage on the varied skill sets present in the group.

We at NUS MBA Finance Club, solicit active participation from each and every one of our members by way of your ideas and suggestions in order to make this an enriching experience for all of us.

Latest blog From the Horse's Mouth

From the Horse’s Mouth

2009-08-23T00:15:00.005+08:00

MBA Finance Club always has a healthy mix of members: people with strong backgrounds in Finance (The Hardcores), non-finance people who’ve worked with finance in someway at some point (The Dabblers), and people who don’t know debit from credit (The Newbies). But one thing unites them is their passion about Finance. However, only the Hardcores really know what the lay of the land really looks like. Lectures help out on the theoretical side, but when it comes to actual experience, there is nothing better than directly hearing from those who have gone there and done that.

“From The Horse’s Mouth” is an annual event which happens every first semester. It was held on August 28 and was the first event the Finance Club conducted for the freshmen this year.

What followed that evening was the sharing of extremely insightful internship experiences by second year students. We have had some very diverse and rich internship experiences in the graduating batch, in spite of the economic downturn. The list of firms they interned with is undeniably impressive: Ernst &Young, Johnson & Johnson, ING Group, NUS Investments Office, Mumbai Angels, KPMG, Citigroup, Saratoga Capital, ANZ, IDBI Capital Markets, Focus Partners.

The second year students provided an overview of entire process – not only their experience but touched on all aspects of a summer internship - the best ways to hunt for an internship, the importance of networking for getting one, ways to manage application deadlines, and setting realistic expectations about the tasks assigned. We discussed skill-sets such as financial statement analysis and financial modelling that proved to be crucial on the job. They talked about important behavioural aspects, such as being aggressive about getting the right projects, being inquisitive, asking questions until the problem is well understood, and being ready to take on any and every task assigned. We learnt about how patience is a virtue, and perseverance a must-have, on a trading floor. We found that age-old attributes like common sense, punctuality, and willingness for hard-work still held true.

The career-switchers got reassurance, support and guidance from their seniors who had similarly switched careers to finance. Practical tips were given on ways to pick up financial knowledge, develop financial acumen and construct a suitable resume out of a non-financial background.

The evening ended with some much appreciated snacks and a chance to mingle with the second year students. The concept of the event was extremely apt - the Horse’s Mouth addressed an important requirement of the new batch. The informal setting allowed a free dialogue, a rich exchange of information, and an excellent opportunity for the two MBA batches to get to know each other.

The incoming batch definitely owed it to the horses that evening.

by Mihir Mohite - Batch of 2011

Finance Club Kick-off – Class of 2009

2009-08-23T00:13:00.000+08:00

While most members of the class were still settling in to the daily routine of classes, assignments, lecture notes and everything else that one associates with a world-class business school, the finance club provided us a first flavour of the various opportunities outside our outlined course curriculum.

Briefing us on the occasion, Jaimin and Shekhar put into perspective the several broad areas in finance that the club taps into to enrich its members through deep interactions with several distinguished members of the fraternity. Of course, for those like me with very little knowledge of this hedge-maze world of IB, Advisory services, Wealth Management, Trading and what not, it was heartening to note that there’s a focus on educating the members rather than application-oriented discussions alone. I am sure that the batch is looking forward to the FinXplorer series and thereby, an opportunity to learn hands-on from the who’s who of corporate world.

Events/Activities such as the ‘Resume review sessions’, “From the Horse’s Mouth”, Virtual Stock Challenge etc were quickly touched upon before the podium was handed over to Kirti, star attraction of the afternoon by virtue of his tryst with the ‘Oracle from Omaha’ at the Berkshire Hathaway AGM. He spoke about his experience while on a funded-trip and did not stop short of flaunting the fact that he managed to get a personally signed autograph from the man himself!! J

The session was also a platform for the club to unveil its planned mega-event of the academic year, the Asian MBA Stock Pitch Challenge, an event based on a similar do at the Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management. Conceptualized by Prof Joseph Cherian and in partnership with CAMRI (Center for Asset Management Research & Investment) and reputed corporate houses, the 3-day exercise promises to capture the attention of several top B-schools in the APAC region. Over and above the technical testing ground, the event will be an opportunity like none other to rub shoulders with top honchos of the Fund Management Industry.

Jaimin rounded off the session by underscoring the opportunities waiting to be explored. Speaking for the batch of 2011, the club surely is an effective way of bridging the gap between theory and practice. Those looking to find a foothold or to expand their knowledge of the industry will certainly grab the opportunity and work towards carrying forward the great work and vision of the senior batch. I trust we’ll stand up to (or probably exceed) the high standards set by the current team. Look forward to an enriching experience....

- Arpan, Class of 2010

Upcoming attraction

2009-04-01T00:11:00.007+08:00

Autographed by Mr. Buffet himself

Click here for a bigger image

Our Activites

2009-03-28T21:43:00.008+08:00

Fin Explorer

A series of talks by leading professionals from various industries in the financial sector. This series is aimed to help students make an informed decision in charting their career path. Structured in an informal setting these are interactive sessions , where students share their views and question the professionals about trends in industry, market practices etc

Fin N Quiz

A fun and informative brain teasing initiative gets circulated online every week, enabling club members to think and analyze the finer aspects of business. The quiz is also part of the interactive FinClub board placed in the bustling MBA Lounge, frequented by most MBA students to work on projects, snooze, catch up on the FT or just chill!

VC/PE

An exciting new initiative by the club that helps students gain a deeper insight into the process of “buying and building” deals through interactive sessions with Venture Capitalists and Private Equity professionals. The planned networking events and projects would give participants a first hand understanding of the aspects of working in this industry.

Virtual Stock Exchange

This virtual online game keeps participants awake till the wee hours, checking on the progress of their mock portfolios based on the trading strategies implemented by them. Participants create portfolios which are updated on the actual movements of the stock prices. As good as trading in the real world, without losing real money!

Resume Review

A key activity conducted during Sem1 is the finalization of resumes to articulately portray student's strengths in their resume. The initiative run by seniors involve review of resumes and providing feedback on improvisation and refinement

Bloomberg Training

Access to reliable information is critical in the world of Finance. To cater to this very need, the Club facilitates Bloomberg training sessions for interested students. A regular monthly update is also provided on their training sessions enabling students to pursue the trainings they wish to.

Horses Mouth

This in house information sharing session involves batchmates sharing their past experience. This initiative is aimed at helping members get a holistic insight and understand of the various organization structures and the specific descriptions of roles and responsibilities

Bloomberg

2009-03-28T21:42:00.013+08:00

Our Blogs

2009-03-28T21:41:00.010+08:00


Fin Explorer
	2008	October	Fin Xplorer Series - Mark Bowden (ML/BoA)
	2007	October	FinXplorer Speaker Series - IV by Mr.Andrew Kewk o...
	2007	October	FinXplorer Speaker Series III by Mr. Keith Dastur ...
	2007	October	FinXplorer Speaker Series II
	2007	October	FinXplorer Speaker Series: Mr. Yee Chia Hsing on 1...
	2007	September	FinXplorer Speaker Series-Talk#1
	2007	September	FinXplorer Speaker Series@18 Sep, 6 PM : Mr Will S...
	2007	September	FinXplorer Speaker Series
Virtual Stock Exchange
	2009	Jan	Virtual Stock Exchange Challenge 2008
Horses Mouth
	2009	September	From the Horse’s Mouth
	2009	Feb	February 5,2009; Informal Information Sharing Session
	2008	October	From Horse's mouth
	2007	September	From the HORSE's mouth
Industry Talks
	2009	Feb	"Business turnaround during an economic crisis: An American perspective".
Trainings
	2009	Jan	Bloomberg Training
Dream Trip America
	2008	July	Berkshire Hathaway AGM - The American Dream
	2007	December	Dream Trip America: Finalists
	2007	November	Dream Trip America-Registration
	2007	November	Dream Trip America-FAQs
	2007	November	Dream Trip America
Others
	2009	November	Fin Quiz 2009
	2009	August	Finance Club Kick-off – Class of 2009
	2008	December	The Fin Club Elections 2008
	2008	September	Finance Club 2008 - Kick off
	2007	September	Inviting Nominations for Club Sub-Committee

February 5,2009; Informal Information Sharing Session

2009-02-17T18:37:00.004+08:00

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!

"Business turnaround during an economic crisis: An American perspective".

2009-02-10T17:00:00.007+08:00

The finance club had the honour of witnessing Mr. Gustavo Campos speak about "Business turnaround during an economic crisis: An American perspective".

Mr.Gustavo spoke illustratively about how he managed to turn around the business of Campus Property Management, the company where he currently holds the position of CEO.

The discussion got us all hooked on as he decided to let us assume his position and decide what we would do to solve the problems, given that we were to face the same dilemmas as he was faced with.

Having discussed our inputs, he was rather impressed that they matched most of the strategies adopted by him.

He followed an organized approach to dealing with the problems on the table:

First, he ensured that primary revenue stream of the business, i.e., rental collection was flowing smoothly- this generated cash for the business, which, in his opinion was of prime importance. He strongly emphasized on the fact that, once we have cash on the table, other problems could be dealt with rather smoothly.

Next, he focused on people. He adopted the process of leading by example where he himself got down to improving his skill sets so as to execute the required tasks.

Being a family run business, he also had to face the challenges associated with dealing with the family members owning the company and yet take the right decisions to help move the business in the right direction.

Besides this, he spoke about the importance of streamlining operations and cutting out slack in divisions which did not add value or improve the overall performance of the company.

As a parting note, Mr.Gustavo motivated us to look at being "general leaders" versus focusing on narrow specializations as he believed that it would meet the need of the hour.

Overall, it was an enlightening experience to hear, first hand, how businesses get transformed! The style in which Mr. Gustavo conducted the seminar was an eye opener to one and all attending the seminar, irrespective of the background they came from- a fantastic value adding talk from all perspectives.

Bloomberg Training

2009-01-27T13:58:00.006+08:00

The current financial crisis has changed the job market. There is a huge competition for the jobs available. So what is important for the new graduates? It is clear that the need of the hour is - be fully prepared for the industry and hit the ground running and be competitive. With this in mind, on 21st January the NUS MBA Finance club organized the Bloomberg training for the MBA cohort. The training was a one hour basic introduction to Bloomberg and how to navigate through it.

Bloomberg can be intimidating for a person who has not been introduced to it. A different type keyboard with 3-4 types of coloured keys and two monitors it sure can confuse you. But once you get a feel of it, it is really extremely intuitive and smooth to navigate the entire system especially with its new auto complete feature. Bloomberg is easy to use yet extremely powerful.

It was quite amazing that all the MBAs started talking the “Bloomberg” language after the training. The Bloomberg University is one place that most of the students wanted to make full use of. Under Bloomberg University, Bloomberg conducts free for all Bloomberg users training sessions and talks specially directed to each stream of banking. I am sure that all the students had an extremely useful session that they thoroughly enjoyed. It is going to be of great help to all of us and most of us plan to make use of the other trainings provided by the Bloomberg University.

On behalf of the NUS MBA Finance Club, I would like to thank Ms. Sharon Lim from Bloomberg for taking time out of her busy schedule and conducting a special session for the students from NUS MBA.

- Eesh Mengi

Virtual Stock Exchange Challenge 2008

2009-01-08T17:16:00.008+08:00

With markets becoming most unpredictable than ever in 2008, it was time to test Finance Club members on their trading skills. The Finance Club organised a 45-day Virtual Stock Exchange Challenge. The rules were simple - $1 million in capital and asset class was limited to only US equities.

The volatility of markets was high and so were the rankings. At one stage, Gagandeep looked to be clear winner with return of close to 66%. However, at the end of 45 days, not anyone of us would have imagined that Shreya would earn a return of staggering 118.4% in a market where Dow Jones returned -23.7%. And she was not alone to earn such unrealistic profits in just 45 days – Omer finished second with 78.3% while Gagandeep was third by increasing her profits to 70.5%.

Shreya shares her investment and trading strategy with us below.

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The virtual stock exchange was an immense learning experience for me to develop an understanding on the market functioning in a bear scenario which helped all the participants earn extraordinary rates of return compared to previous years.

My core strategy at the commencement of the game was passive investment in long term and fundamentally strong stocks. As the game progressed, I discovered that in a volatile market to optimise return, one should not only have a basic portfolio of defensive stocks, but also trade on the market momentum on an active basis. A combination of recognising fundamentally strong stocks and timing the market is what supports an extraordinary return.

I populated my portfolio with Bank and IT stocks, however come late September and both these sectors were on a downfall. So I replenished this with Airline stocks which were doing well despite rising oil prices at the time. Simultaneously, according to the market movements I also short sold few US regional banks stocks to take advantage of their weak fundamentals and correlation with the dipping Dow Jones. I followed the news feeds and traded on the macro scenarios such as bail-outs, stimulus as well as company based news with increasing number of companies filing for bankruptcies, mergers etc. I traded on the momentum stocks whilst having basic portfolio of Pharma and Staples stocks on basis of fundamental macro view of the direction of the market. Around October end, with the Third Quarter results awaited in November, the market had started rising and I traded stocks based on different analyst views of the company results during this period published on various sites such as Google Finance and CNBC market watchers. During November, the market post results was extremely volatile with consumers and service related sectors such as IT, Real Estate and Banks being hit hardest as envisioned. In accordance of this view, I invested in banks especially regional banks in US which were on a downfall in this period and traded to take advantage of the volatility based on various news feeds. I also invested in few gaming companies in this period which were showing poor performance due to lack of governmental support and pending projects in Asia.

In a nutshell, I based my trading on a few fundamental stocks combined with active momentum trading on speculative stocks and dynamic sector and security allocation strategies based on market conditions.

- Shreya Gaunekar

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2009-01-08T17:05:00.003+08:00

The Fin Club Elections 2008

2008-12-26T16:40:00.003+08:00

November 5th, 4.00 PM – The date and time set for the much awaited Finance Club elections. Competition was heavy for the Executive Committee. Nine students contesting for three posts of the committee. Equally scarce was the competition, or for that matter wasn't at all for the post of the President of the Club. Jaimin was contesting for the post of the President of the club. Nobody in the batch could match the amount of work that Jaimin had done for the club and rightly so was unopposed. For the executive committee the contestants were Ankita, Neha, Shekhar, Tony, Swanzel, Greg, Sitanshu, Eesh and Alex.

Now for the actual turn of the events. Nevaj, the outgoing president of the club, talked about the past one year in his tenure, the achievements of his committee and the challenges faced by them. He then officially kick started the election process by inviting the candidates to present their election mandates. A Q&A session was held after each presentation.

The process started with Jaimin presenting his mandate. Then came the Q&A… Questions started pouring in from all parts of the room. It was truly an event! The finance club members would not let his journey to the president post be a smooth ride. But he proved his mettle, by tackling all the questions with ease and 'satisfied' all =)

The committee members were up next. New and innovative ideas were presented in each of the mandates and the audience grilled all! They wanted their elected representatives to be true to their promises and made sure the candidates had clear idea of what they wanted to do for the club.

After the presentations, Jaimin was officially announced the President of the Finance Club.

Then came the voting.. 9 candidates vying out for the 3 posts.. all committed and true candidates.. Tough choice it was for the members to chose amongst them..

Post the voting, the candidates were eagerly awaiting the results. Tension was building up. But finally came the results. Shekhar, who had emphasized accountability; Alex who proposed to work on the website and new events; and Greg who had promised to give the members a 'good' time were the winners.

So here were the post holders for the coming year – Jaimin as the President; Shekhar, Alex and Greg as the Executive Committee members of the club. Wish you all the best guys, and hope to see more events, more activities, and more fun from the Finance Club in the coming year.

- Kirti Chopra

Fin Xplorer Series - Mark Bowden (ML/BoA)

2008-10-15T03:26:00.002+08:00

“The Times They Are A-Changin”

I have decided to treasure most the front pages of the major financial dailies of this recent fateful Monday. The so called articles describing the culmination of the financial carnage in Wall Street. Surprisingly this was just a day before the first Finexplorer series organised by the MBA Finance Club. This half-yearly affair consists of a series of talks, which are interactive sessions with experienced Industry experts from the Finance industry.

For the first talk we had Mark Bowden - Head of Equity, Merrill Lynch with us. I can only imagine the courage of the man (whose firm was just sold the previous day) to meet a gang of wannabe bankers. Mark set the agenda very clear that his strategy would be to try his best to dissuade everybody from a career in finance. A clear case of baptism by fire to separate the gold from the tar.

One of the best things of the first Finexplorer series was that it didn’t have any fancy PPT playing, with dim lights and people nodding (read sleeping). This was a “no holds barred” session between a man who was willing to share his 20 odd yrs of experience and a bunch of inquisitive souls wanting to know everything about it.

Mark first described the transformation of a dealer from the ‘supposed gentleman’ in the 80’s to the ‘shark in a suit’ by the millennium. One of the other insights he gave was that the few surviving banks had one thing in common and that was they did not have Gordon Gekkos [Wall Street (1985)] screaming “greed is good”. He advocated that the vision/mission etc of the company is not dictated by the fancy tabernacles at the corporate office/boardroom but driven by its highest officer.

Mark made the session interactive by picking people from the crowd, asking them questions and even on one occasion catching someone nodding J. The Q and A session soon followed and we had questions galore ranging from de-coupling to whether it was money alone that kept him motivated. How he overcame the initial challenges he faced in his career. He was truly inspiring and just reinforced the fact that the initial years are in no way easy. He also explained what he was looking for in his employees (surprisingly not fancy bschool degrees but only fire in the belly !! rhetoric ??).The simulating talk finally had to be wound up but that didn’t leave the students from cornering Mark over Dinner as well.

Coming back to the initial topic, I am sure many years down the line I would have someone asking me how it was during the “Financial Crisis of 2007 – whenever”. By that time it would be clear whether we were worse off than the “Great Depression” or not!! Hopefully by then my newspaper excerpts would be collectibles and selling for millions. How would I describe these years, I do not know. But I guess we all learned as kids to not bite more than you can chew. (guess as we grew, that was forgotten in the rush to buy the trendiest cars, fanciest gulf stream and the largest penthouse)

I would like to leave with an excerpt from one of Bob Dylan’s most famous songs

The line it is drawn

The curse it is cast

The slow one now, will later be fast

As the present now, will later be past

The order is Rapidly fadin'.

And the first one now, will later be last

For the times they are a-changin'.

Excerpt from “The Times They Are A-Changin” by Bob Dylan (1964)

- Alex

From Horse's mouth

2008-10-10T17:46:00.005+08:00

Finance Club kicked off its inaugural event for this academic year with the traditional "Horse's Mouth" session. The event primarily catered to the first year students focusing on the Summer Internship experiences of the 2nd year students who were just fresh out of their internship. The first years didn't let go of this opportunity ( filled up the room even before the event started !!) to get some insider information on tackling the internship behemoth.

And I'm sure none of the first years were disappointed. In fact it was a great practical insight on Internships. We had 8 speakers covering different sectors of finance. Sectors covered included Investment banking, Corporate Finance, Risk Management, Investment Management, Private Banking and Real Estate Management. Most of the speakers ran through their internship process, applications, interviews and finally the hands on experience followed by Q&A.

The two I-Bankers Rajesh and Omer gave us a reality check on Investment banking. I could sense many first years who were gung ho on I-Banking are thinking again :) As they bombarded us with questions and explained their typical day/night (or whatever I-Bankers call it !!) I realised that it was a long winding road ahead and not everybody’s cup of tea (irrespective of how much it paid). Well I guess we all read monkey business but hearing it from the HORSES'S MOUTH was just another experience in itself.

Andi and Reuben spoke on their projects in conventional banking. They covered Risk Management and Global Markets respectively. They gave valuable tips on the Interview process. Arindam spoke on his interesting experience in Corporate Finance at the highest level. After all how frequently do you get to work with the CFO ?? Lie Lina ran us through her internship experience in one of the largest Real Estate Funds and about the importance of being open to different requirements of the company. Kashif spoke about the Private Banking space and the importance of also being aware of your golf handicaps (yah.. knowing golf ..is a given !!) and the best wines. Amruta talked about her experience in the Investment Management sector and about the pros and cons of being on the buy and sell side. Guess it was a first time most of us first years would have also heard of endowment funds and the kind of assets they commanded.

Some key takeaways from the talk :

- Business newspapers are not to be only read (..but also remembered). You have to start understanding the bigger picture (macro economics)

- Well most of the speakers seemed to be career switchers (hmm...don’t know how much comfort that gives the ex fin guys in our batch)
- Start networking (the bitter pill has to be swallowed, guys !!)
-Openness to additional job responsibilities (read... getting coffee and doing mundane admin work !!)
- Keep a tab on the individual deadlines (the last thing you don't want to miss is an application deadline because you were busy studying :)

Yours truly

Alex

====================================================================

Finance Club – NUS MBA
Horse’s Mouth: September 3, 2008

"Money, get away.
Get a good job with good pay and you’re okay.
Money, it's a gas.
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash.
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think Ill buy me a football team."

These lines are from Money, one of my favorite songs from Floyd and were playing at the back of my mind as I entered CR-E which was the venue for the Horse's mouth event of the NUS Finance Club. An exclusive list of speakers and an inquisitive audience marked the occasion.

We, all first year students had been eagerly waiting for the event for begin and the wait was worth it. We received a good insight not only about the effort that one needs get an internship but to sustain it during the internship. Rajesh kicked off the event by sharing his experiences at Kotak followed by Amruta who shared her NUS Investment Fund experience. This was followed by Arindam who talked about his Corporate Finance experience at Agni Advanced Energy Inc. Kashif shared with us want he went through the course of looking for an internship and the joy of getting one almost at the fag end of the semester. Never loose hope is the mantra!

Andi gave some good interview tips as he talked about his JP Morgan experience while Lina provided a good insight of Real Estate Fund as she mentioned about her summer experience at Pacific Star Group. However, one speaker who made us do some thinking was Omer. Man! He made us do some Arithmetic when he asked us to guess how many hours he slept during his 10 week stint at Goldman. And I leave the readers (of course those were not present there) to do some guess work here! He also asked one of the most thought provoking questions to the audience and that was why all (and by that time I sure all had changed to few) of us wanted to be I-Bankers. And I am sure quite a few are still pondering to find their answers.

As I left the room, Money was again playing all over!

- Shekhar

Finance Club 2008 - Kick off

2008-09-12T22:15:00.003+08:00

Packed room, enthusiastic faces and a participative audience awaited the kick off of the Finance Club, the most happening club in NUS MBA. The meeting started off with an impressive video highlighting the various roles an MBA takes after graduation and how different it is from his expectations, in reality. It was a thoroughly enjoyable piece of video that completely captured the audience. Then, Nevaj, the Club President started with with his presentation that highlighted details on the events that were successfully held over the past year(2007) and plans for the upcoming academic semester. This was followed by Abhinav's philosophical, impressive and an elegant speech that completely captured the audience. There was then a Q&A session with questions flying all over the place. After a good discussion, snacks were served followed by the movie "Wall Street". It was a great kick of indeed!

Berkshire Hathaway AGM - The American Dream

2008-07-09T22:02:00.002+08:00

My flight to Omaha was delayed. I was stuck indefinitely at Denver airport. A long-winding chain of angry passengers stood in front of the United Airlines customer service counter. In front of me was a smartly suited man in his 30’s, busily typing into his Blackberry. He asked where I was heading.

“I am going to an AGM in Omaha. It’s a company called Berkshire Hathaway,” I said, hoping he would know the company.

“They call it the Woodstock,” he said.

“What?” I gave him a quizzical look.

“It is not any AGM. It is the Woodstock of Capitalism,” he reminded me. I nodded in acceptance.

He was a serial entrepreneur who was going to meet some Venture Capitalists in the sides of the AGM. He represented a microcosm of the diverse set of 30000 people who were to descend upon Omaha.

The BH road show started on May 2nd with the cocktail dinner party. There was a carnival atmosphere with millionaires and billionaires coming from across the globe. It amazed me that these people were down to earth and eager to converse with students like us. Each snippet of conversation was a pearl of wisdom. A live band added to the extravaganza.

May 3rd was the day of the AGM. Our group of seven left for Qwest center (where the AGM was held) at 6.30 am. We were surprised to find a spiraling line nearly ½ km long. The earliest people had arrived at 1 am. Considering how cold Omaha was, it was a miracle that these people hadn’t become statues!

The gates were opened at 8 and the main arena was filled to capacity in half an hour. I was awestruck by the size and grandeur of the arena. It transported me to the Roman ages and made me believe that I was in the Great Colosseum waiting for my hero to arrive.

A charming video presenting a snapshot of the BH companies was the curtain raiser. Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger (his partner) made a muted entrance to the stage. A six hour Q & A ensued. Warren Buffet was asked about every topic possible, ranging from sub-prime, investment tips, Chinese Olympics and a little girl asking what she had to do to become the next Warren Buffet. To which he answered, “Read the newspaper everyday.”

There were many lessons I learnt that day. The biggest of which was seeing a couple of 77 and 82 year olds, gulping their Cokes (which they happen to own!) and enjoying what they do after so many years. That was the secret of their success.

It was a weekend I will remember all my life. The lessons I learnt will follow me like a shadow. I thank everyone at NUS, from students to the people at the MBA office, for facilitating the trip. I conclude with Warren Buffet’s two famous rules in life.

“Rule no 1: Never lose money. Rule no 2: Never forget rule no. 1”

- Suraj Ramasubramaniam

Dream Trip America: Finalists

2007-12-06T17:05:00.001+08:00

Dream Trip America-Registration

2007-11-20T13:38:00.000+08:00

Application Deadline: November 25th, 2007

Applications to be sent to MBAFinanceClub@nus.edu.sg

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Name:
MBA Program & Year (Ex. MBA FT 2007, MBA PT 2006 etc):

Essay Question 1:
What has been your contribution to the MBA Program and MBA Club activities so far? (including but not limited to MBA Club, Finance/Consulting/Marketing Club/KM/Sports Club, Cerebration etc). Please also list some of your significant achievements which may have brought goodwill to NUS B-School. (100 words max.)

Essay Question 2:
What is your motivation for this trip? (100 words max.)

Incomplete applications will not be entertained!!

Dream Trip America-FAQs

2007-11-20T13:32:00.001+08:00

Trip Overview

1. What is the objective of this study-trip?
A.In keeping with its objective to facilitate learning beyond the prescribed coursework, a study-trip to United States of America has been organized by NUS MBA Finance Club, under support and guidance of MBA office, for the benefit of all MBA students. NUS MBA has a strong Asian focus and with this trip, it aims to provide a window to the West. The idea is to learn best practices from leading business houses, business wizards and business schools from the west. The highlight of this trip is the meeting with Warren Buffet in his hometown, Omaha.
NUS Business School is proud to be one of the first and only business schools in Asia to have secured a date on Warren Buffet’s calendar for their MBA Students. We will also be visiting leading companies of America, meeting up with their business celebrities and venture capitalists. For more details on itinerary, check the Itinerary section of this document.

2. What is the duration of the trip?
A. The trip is being organized from 23rd February to 2nd March, ‘08.
Registration & Selection

3. How do I apply to be part of the trip?
A. Please check Registration

4. What is the last date for registration?
A. November 25th, 2007.

5. Who all are eligible to be part of this trip?
A. The trip is open to all NUS MBA program students (including MBA PT students).

6. Are there a limited number of seats for the trip?
A. In order to facilitate a fruitful learning experience for the participants of the trip, and for logistical reasons, the number of MBA students going on this trip is limited to a maximum of 20.

7. What will be the selection criteria in case there are more applicants than seats available?
A. Since the seats are limited, each application would be evaluated based on its merit. Among other things, the students’ contribution to the school and NUS MBA program activities will be an important criterion for selection.

Sponsorship & Expenses

8. What will be the approximate expense of the trip?
A. Based on cost estimates, the total expenses work out to be in the range of SGD 4500-5000. This includes international and domestic travel, food, accommodation and local transport.

9. Is there any sponsorship/funding available for those going on this trip?
A. The MBA office is committed to assist its students in this endeavour and so is glad to partially sponsor the MBA Full-Time current students going on this trip. The sponsorships amount is SGD 2600 per student. Additional expenses will have to be borne by the students themselves.

10. Is this sponsorship valid for all MBA Students?
A. This sponsorship is open to all current MBA Full-Time students only.

11. Any pre-condition/requirement to be met for this sponsorship or as part of the group going on this trip? Can I help in the organization of the trip?
A. All sponsored participants shall be committed to assist the school in any upcoming activity planned. The participants should also be willing to assist the school in generating any media or follow-up publicity associated with this trip.
You can still help us with various tasks related to the trip. In fact, this is one of the pre-conditions for school-funding.

12. Do I have to make any payment immediately after selection?
A. Those selected for the trip will be required to deposit a non-refundable amount of SGD 500 with the MBA Office as a token for their firm commitment. This amount will be adjusted against trip expenses thereafter.

Management Practicum

13. Will I be getting credits for attending this trip? Do I need to submit any report regarding the subjects/topics covered on this trip?
A. This trip shall count towards 2-credits as part of Management Practicum module. The participants will be required to register for the course with the MBA Office before they embark on the trip. As part of this course, participants will be required to submit a detailed report at the end of the trip, within 2-weeks of return, and will be evaluated on the same. More details will be shared at a later date with the selected participants.
Miscellaneous

14. Can I attend only part of the trip? For example, only the meeting with Warren Buffet?
A. One of the conditions, to all the participants of the trip, is to be together with the entire group during the entire duration of the trip. The objective of the study trip is to ensure an excellent learning experience for all and this will only be possible if everyone contributes equally to make it a success. Therefore, each student has to be part of the entire trip.

15. What about Visa to USA?
A. Participants will be required to have a tourist visa to USA. The organizers shall only guide on the procedure. Visa expenses have to be borne by the participants.

16. What about accommodation and food arrangements?
A. The food and accommodation will be taken care of as a group. Therefore, for this reason too, it is required that all the students be together at all times.

17. I am interested in attending the Connexions ’08 event held by NUS Career Services in the month of February. Will I have to miss the event due to the trip?
A. The MBA office is working on rescheduling the Connexions ‘08 event around the USA Study trip to ensure that participants of this trip do not miss the benefit of this event. Therefore, this should not be a deterrent to take part in the trip.

18. Will I be able to make time for any personal meetings during the trip?
A. As mentioned, it is essential that all students be part of the group at all times. [Please check Q14 also]

19. I still have a query. Whom do I contact?
A. Please write to MBAFinanceClub@nus.edu.sg for all any query you may still have.

Dream Trip America

2007-11-20T13:22:00.001+08:00

Trip Itinerary

FinXplorer Speaker Series - IV by Mr.Andrew Kewk on Wednesday 31st October 2007,6.00 pm @ CR B

2007-10-30T10:08:00.000+08:00

About the talk
Fund management is one of the sectors in the financial industry that the government is actively promoting. What are the challenges facing the industry? What are the jobs in fund management that will be in demand? Mr. Andrew Kwek, the Honorary Secretary of the industry body, the Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS) and also an industry veteran, will share his insights on this exciting and vibrant area of the financial industry.

About Mr. Andrew Kwek
Mr. Andrew Kwek is finance professional with over 25 years of work experience, half of which was in the trading, investment sales and marketing of foreign exchange and derivative products. Subsequently for over a decade, he has been involved in business development for private banking and asset management activities.

Currently, Mr. Kwek is the CEO of Deutsche Asset Management, Singapore and the head of Institutional Sales at Deutsche Asset Management (Asia).

Mr. Andrew Kwek is the Chairman of the eFSTC (eFinancial Services Technical Committee). He has held various positions in the Investment Management Association of Singapore and h as been running the Secretariat of the IMAS for the last two years.

Mr. Kwek received his MBA (Finance) from the City University Business School, UK and BSc from the National University of Singapore.

FinXplorer Speaker Series III by Mr. Keith Dastur on 23rd October 2007 at 6.00 pm @ CR E

2007-10-22T20:15:00.000+08:00

FinXplorer Speaker Series II

2007-10-17T12:56:00.000+08:00

The Finance Club activities resumed post mid term examinations with second edition of FInXplorer Speaker series. This week we had Mr. Yee Chia Hsing, Director of CIMB- GK securities in Singapore, providing his insight on the world of Investment Banking and Corporate Finance to the Finance club members.

As mentioned in our previous post, Mr. Chia Hsing has worked in numerous equity transactions like IPOs, rights issues and placements. Mr. Chia Hsing initiated the discussion with the brief reflection on his professional experiences. He started his career with Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) in 1996. After 4 years in DBS, he moved to Vicker Ballas Co ltd before joining CIMB – GK securities in 2002.

Mr. Chia Hsing illustrated the operating model of CIMB – GK securities and the role it’s playing in regional South East Asian market especially in China. CIMB – GK securities has been aggressively involved in assisting mid and small size Chinese corporation in public listing and IPOs. They have assisted in restructuring several Chinese companies and has become top player in regional universal bank group.

In his operating model illustration, Mr. Chia Hsing gave an in-depth perspective of three critical divisions of an Investment Bank- Origination, Execution and Distribution. As Mr. Chia Hsing explained, Origination division of an I-Bank is typically involved with helping banks getting deals, assessing deals, filtering the deals under what kind of deal has to be picked and what not and most importantly networking with the clients. He particularly emphasized on the role of business contacts that plays in making or breaking a deal. He listed the importance of inter personal skills and awareness about the market as one of the critical skillsets in this division of I–Banks.

In Execution division of I-Bank, Mr. Chia Hsing stressed upon how the team is involved in IPOs and M & As. The team has to be highly competent in documentation, rules and regulations as per the industry standards. The team at Execution division works in coordination with other professionals in assessing the viability and options for a particular deal. To succeed in Execution division one needs to be high proficient in Technical skills.

The discussion then moved to the Distribution division of an I-Bank where the team adopts sales strategies like helping firms organize roadshows in coordination with institutional salesman. Distribution team at CIMB – GK securities assesses Eligibility to List (ETL) criteria for deals in Singapore Stock exchange and pitches the equities in capital market.

Mr. Chia Hsing concluded his discussion with comparative studies of Foreign Houses like CitiGroup, HSBC and Local Houses like DBS, OCBC and CIMB. He segregated the Local Houses structure into Banks, Stock Brokers and Boutique firms and elaborated on functional and business dynamics involved in working of each of these segments of Local Houses in Investment Banking industry.

Like its previous edition on Trading and Sales by Mr. William Shropshire, this talk on Investment Banking and Corporate Finance by Mr. Chia Hsing proved highly insightful to club members and took them to another journey of Financial World. The club members are eagerly waiting for the next talk on Private Banking by Mr. Keith Dastur on 23rd October 2007. Meanwhile the financial quotients triggered by Mr. Yee Chia Hsing talk flowed into Oktoberfest that evening where discussions on Investment Banking world brewed up over the glass of beer.

Posted by Adarsh Abhineet -MBA 2007 cohort

FinXplorer Speaker Series: Mr. Yee Chia Hsing on 12th October 2007 @ 3.00 pm.

2007-10-10T00:40:00.000+08:00

Speaker Profile
Mr Yee Chia Hsing is a Director of CIMB-GK Securities Pte. Ltd. (Investment Banking), based in Singapore. Chia Hsing has worked on numerous equity transactions such as initial public offerings, rights issues and placements. To-date, Chia Hsing has successfully launched more than 10 initial public offerings.

Prior to joining CIMB-GK, Chia Hsing has worked in the corporate finance groups of the then Development Bank of Singapore (now DBS Bank Ltd) and Vickers Ballas & Co. Pte Ltd. Chia Hsing joined CIMB-GK in June 2002.

Chia Hsing graduated from the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore with a Bachelor of Accountancy Degree (First Class Honours) and has been involved in corporate finance work since 1996. Chia Hsing is effectively bilingual in English and Mandarin.

About CIMB
CIMB Group is Malaysia's second largest financial services provider which is listed on Bursa Malaysia through Bumiputra-Commerce Holdings Berhad (BCHB). In 2004, CIMB began the process of creating a strong and competitive universal bank anchored by Commerce International Merchant Bankers (CIMB), the region's largest investment bank.

In just 2 years, CIMB transformed itself from Malaysia's no. 1 investment bank into a regional universal banking group. CIMB Group has grown from a staff strength of 1,000 in Malaysia to 24,170 in 12 countries while our market capitalisation has increased from RM6.3 billion to RM19.5 billion. The Group's total assets grew from RM14.7 billion to RM155 billion with a further RM18 billion being third party funds under management.

CIMB believes that customers want comprehensive and seamless service which meets the entire spectrum of their financial needs. Hence CIMB Group now has a full range of financial products and services, both conventional and Islamic, enabling us to serve everyone. Our customers come from all walks of life in Malaysia as well as throughout the region - large regional corporations, domestic listed companies, entrepreneurial start-ups, high-net worth individuals, pensioners and children.

CIMB connects to our customers through 3 brand entities - CIMB (investment bank), CIMB Bank (consumer bank) and CIMB Islamic (which operates as comprehensive parallel bank within the Group). CIMB's new tagline "Forward Banking" conveys the business philosophy and brand promise of their new universal bank to create value for their customers through forward thinking.

For more on CIMB Investment Banking, visit http://www.ib.cimb.com/index.php?tpt=1

FinXplorer Speaker Series-Talk#1

2007-09-19T16:59:00.001+08:00

The NUS MBA Finance Club Activities kicked off to a rousing start for the Academic Year 2007-08 with its marquee event FinExplorer Speaker Series. The Finance Club invites industry experts as part of this series to share their career experiences and current industry trends with the students. Mr. William Shropshire, Head , Derivatives Structure & Sales- JP Morgan, Singapore, was generous enough to spend one such evening , talking about his fifteen years of experience as a derivatives trader across a range of asset classes, with aspiring I-Bankers and number crunching FinKids.

Mr. Shropshire’s talk was sprinkled with interesting anecdotes right from the days when he hit the trading floor in 1992 at Midland Banks in London. Over the fifteen years period he has monitored Trading desk in London, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Singapore. He talked about his experiences dealing with the Energy Derivatives in New York particularly during the Enron Fiasco. He later moved to JP Morgan in Structure and Sales for Asia in Foreign Exchange. Mr. Shropshire recollected his challenges about the JP Morgan’s sub optimal performance in Forex market until that point and the Asian Financial Crisis that gripped the ASEAN countries.

Mr. Shropshire succinctly illustrated the coherent working style of Trading, Sales, and Structuring Desks at JP Morgan. He emphasized on the dynamics and at times the frictional forces that work between the trading and the sales team. He gave an overview to the students about how the rapidly changing market forces govern the impromptu decision making and uncanny knack of a trader in making or breaking a deal.

Some of the interesting queries from the Students that drove the discussion further were the motivation factor besides money that drives trader, Opportunities for non- quantitative people in Structuring Team and comparing exit options for a trader to that of a corporate finance professional. Mr. Shropshire pointed out “Passion to see immediate results” as paramount driving force that kept him going in this profession. He further referred to the team bonding and camaraderie that goes in entire deal making process as another motivation in this profession. He was forthright in his opinion that indeed a Trader is always a trader unlike Corporate Finance professionals who can explore diversity in their profile.

Towards the end he summed up his passion for Trading by stating,” If I wouldn’t have been a trader in a suit and a tie, I would have been trading in a fish market.”

Mr. Shropshire was accompanied by Ms Cynthia Tan, Vice President, Forex Structuring and Sales at JP Morgan, Ms Janet and Ms Jessica, both HR Executives from JP Morgan, to have offline discussions with students. The talk was followed by light refreshment cum interaction sessions where students could put forth their career related queries and gain insight on JP Morgan culture. The talk was highly appreciated by the NUS MBA Finance club members. It was a refreshing break from the tread-of-the-mill recruitment talks. Not often does it happen that you have such highly placed executives from reputed investment banks come to talk to a small group of students about their career-journey and personal experiences. We are already looking forward to the next-in-the-series talk by Mr.Vijay Sivaram of Citibank who heads the Distribution Strategy and Expansion Team there.

Contributed By: Adarsh Abhineet, MBA-2007 Cohort

FinXplorer Speaker Series@18 Sep, 6 PM : Mr Will Shropshire (J P Morgan)

2007-09-17T10:47:00.000+08:00

FinXplorer Speaker Series

2007-09-17T10:42:00.000+08:00

Inviting Nominations for Club Sub-Committee

2007-09-11T11:14:00.000+08:00

All NUS MBA Finance Club members,

Hope it's been a fruitful learning experience for you all as part of the Finance Club so far.

Soon we will be kicking-off our "Career-Focus Series" where we shall be inviting industry-experts for career-related talks on various areas within Financial Services & Banking Industry. There are other initiatives and activities being planned too. Needless to say, for all this and more, we need your active help and support.

Towards this, we now invite nominations for the Finance Club Sub-Committee. The sub-committee shall comprise of three teams broadly - Outreach, Resourcing & Nerd. Attached below is the description of teams, responsibilities and preferred team-size.

Please send in your applications to MBAFinanceClub@nus.edu.sg by 11:59pm of Sunday, Sept. 16th in the following format:

1. Name:

2. Sub-Committe team applying for (outreach/resourcing/nerd):

3. Question I: Which other NUS MBA Clubs are you a member of?

4. Question II: Where do see yourself, professionaly, five years from now?

5. Question III: How can you be a value-add to the sub-committee team you are applying for?

[Hint: The more specific you are, the better - like particular skills you posses or how resourceful you are or can be. If you have contributed to any Club activity so far (Finance Club or otherwise), it will help mentioning that]

A few but motivated, driven and smart individuals who are willing to put in time and effort, and believe in team-work to steer the Club's functioning, is what we are looking for.

Thanks for your attention and involvement so far. As always, keep your ideas and suggestions pouring in.

Sharpen your FQ!!!

--NUS MBA Finance Club

From the HORSE's mouth

2007-09-04T11:12:00.000+08:00