Category: Problem of ‘Choice’

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Problem of 'Choice'

Coffee Chat with Prof Lakshmanan Shivakumar – Third time lucky!

I had a coffee chat with Prof Lakshmanan Shivakumar this afternoon, after having been unable to keep up my appointment with him over the past two weeks due to unavoidable circumstances. He was very kind to accommodate me in his schedule for today.

He handled the course ‘Security Analysis & Financial Modelling’ (SAFM) during Spring 2013. SAFM caters to the needs of those students who want to better their understanding of security analysis and those looking to strengthen their financial modelling skills. Professor Shiva’s sessions deal with theory that are paramount to the preparation of the final project for the course. I had one of the best teams and we chose ‘Piaggio’, an Italian two and three-wheeler manufacturer focused on the markets of EMEA, Americas, Asia Pacific & India. Final project consists of a presentation and a report (of course, the excel model too!). The course has valuable takeaways on the nuances of analyzing a company including understanding its profile, markets, business model, industry and competition.  It also makes you delve into the depths required for projecting the financials of the company for the next several years.  It lets you glimpse into the practical issues and concerns normally encountered while valuing a company and helps you overcome the same with reasonable assumptions. I have also heard astounding reviews from my peers who had enrolled in his other course ‘Financial Statement Analysis’.

Meeting him this afternoon has put me at ease. Based on his advice, I have been able to introduce an element of objectivity in handling my dilemma. I could effectively compartmentalize the issues. Hopefully staring at such a structured break-down of possible scenarios over the next few weeks ends up steering me in the right direction. When the big picture gets a bit hazy, ‘one step at a time’  is the way to go. I thank him once again for his time and interest!

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Problem of 'Choice'

Words of Wisdom from Steven Mitra, Partner at LNG Capital LLP

From an Investment Banker to Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager at a Hedge Fund, a sneak peak into ‘Steven Mitra’ as a Partner, Trader and the Lord of Internships 😉

It was by chance that I met Steven for an internship at his hedge fund, which though small in size compared to many of its peers, has been the best performing credit fund in Europe in the last 4 years through the crisis.

After graduating in Mathematics from Imperial College London, Steven started his career as a Fund Manager in RAB Capital then moved onto Bear Stearns as Managing Director – Principal Strategies prior to setting up his own fund with his partner at LNG Capital LLP. His philosophy is simple – he says to accumulate wealth in the trading world, ‘Buy Low, Sell High’ is the way to go. His first and only love is Leveraged Finance. His passion is clearly visible whenever he is part of any conversation centred around ‘high-yield’ and ‘trading’. While trying to ‘soul search’ with Steven, I always get the feeling that ‘sky’ is the limit for achievements in life. Steven comes across as a charming, pleasant and calm person, one who always welcomes you with a smile. His advice to students is to go after something which is soul stirring and makes you smile even when the going gets tough.

Whether everyone has the luxury of going after such passions despite personal commitments and circumstances warrants a momentary thought. However, maximizing happiness within a set of constraints is of course within our hands and some of us can live with it!

Last few months at LNG Capital as a Credit Analyst (fundamental analysis of issuers of fixed income securities) has been the best learning curve for me in London. I appreciate Steven’s efforts at keeping his cool during my internship, though I’m sure I’d tried hard to make him lose his patience with me 😉

I would gladly acknowledge this as one of my best internship experiences!

The Cool Boss
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Problem of 'Choice'

How did a career switcher from London Business School make it successfully to the job of his dreams during the peak of the financial crisis?

Do you think it could have been a smooth ride? Sairam Kamath shares his experiences of elation, reality check, anxiety, hope and elation; a whole circle!

His background briefly – he started off at Satyam computer Services as a Senior Systems Analyst and thereafter moved to Bear Sterns and subsequently to JP Morgan as a consultant in the technology vertical.

Just like how most of us constantly perform a review on where we are and where we want to go, Sai went about conducting  a gap analysis and decided he wanted to switch career. He dropped out of CMU Masters in Quant course dissatisfied with the path he had chosen, only to join Masters in Finance at London Business School (LBS) the next year (2010).

Through his networking efforts while at LBS he understood that a favorite place for quant guys in the financial industry would be hedge funds as opposed to the general consensus that points to bulge bracket banks. Funds that needed building models (trading platforms) which required a combination of software skills and functional knowledge of finance soon became his target! He had done his MiF project on building his own trading platform and had made a slide deck on the assumptions and VaR performance numbers as part of explaining the model. Once the model was ready he contacted recruiters and kept the slide deck along with cover letter ready. Massive effort followed on meeting industry people to explain the model. Though the model needed fine tuning to suit actual industry it was adequate to convince employers that Sai meant serious business. Soon after, he joined Observatory Capital Management, an established credit fund founded in 2004 that trades predominantly in credit instruments including a variety of bonds and credit default swaps.

When asked for advice to students aspiring for a career change within the finance industry, he says ‘they should have directly transferable skills and ‘marketability’ is key. Mark-to-Market your career situation regularly during the course of your lifetime to assess career progress, redefine and redirect if you find you are unhappy’. 

It has indeed been a pleasure meeting, knowing and interacting with Sai Kamath. He took interest in mentoring me at a time when I needed it the most! 
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Problem of 'Choice'

Expectations Management: Are B-Schools truly sought out for Academic Nirvana?!


Prospective students have their own reasons for seeking education at B-Schools. Though ‘Academic Nirvana’ is somewhere on the list, getting a ‘dream job’ is by far the most popular reason. While this may be a compelling reason, it would help to remember the following:
  • Job market buoyancy depends on macroeconomics cues 
  • It also depends on Immigration Rules (visas) for those requiring work permit in a specific geography
  • Networking – though does not guarantee jobs – goes a long way in understanding industry culture and making good first impressions to those from the industry

B-Schools, of course supplement the journey towards ‘Dream Job’:
  • Provide an academic background required to appreciate and contemplate on all career options available – Banking/Private Equity/Asset Management/Consulting/Industry
  • Organize networking events (seminars/guest lectures/recruitment events) to meet and interact with industry experts
  • Pride themselves on their ‘Career Services’ that acts as a ‘Mentor’ to help set realistic goals while treading the path of ‘Dream Job’

So what is a student’s responsibility?
  • To do the homework on choice of B-school and Programme in cognizance with career goals
  • To take advantage of the supplementary role played by the School to find a ‘Dream Job’. There would be situations where you are discouraged and demotivated by feedback from various people – career services/industry experts etc. However, keeping reality in mind and going with ‘Where there is a will, there is a way’ is the right attitude that would accelerate your journey towards your ‘Dream Job’!


MBA vis-à-vis MiFs @ LBS

MBA is a more general programme – a pool of people from diverse backgrounds who are looking to switch careers; hence their career options subsequent to graduation are innumerable. They have the choice of specialising in general management, finance, PR, marketing and/or a combination of these. They also significantly outnumber the other programs at LBS. 

Those applying to MiF are the ones who have a background in finance (majority) and are keen on a career in finance – looking to gain international exposure, shift geography or shift areas within the finance sector. Obviously it is a specialized program for people with focus in the niche area of finance. Recently it has been made a 10-16 month format to introduce an element of flexibility to the students relating to the course pace.

Comparing MBAs and MiFs would be like comparing apples and oranges!!! Which course suits an individual is completely a personal choice based on various factors.


Hope this article throws a reasonable perspective on reality.