Business Student looking at Quantitative Finance, is there a chance?
Hey guys,
I am currently in my second year of a master in management degree with a finance major and starting two consecutive IB internships soon. However, I am working on a portfolio theory topic for my thesis and growing an interest for Quant Finance topics in general.
So here I need your opinion: Is there a way into Quant Finance in a bank/fund for a business student without academic math/ statistics background and if so, whats the most likely way, e.g., any licenses/ extracurricular programs that are actually worth the money and effort?
Thank you for your opinions.
Cheers
Hey leipzig, what a lonely thread. I'm here since nobody responded ...so maybe one of these discussions will help:
More suggestions...
You're welcome.
This is pretty much the path I went down. The answer is yes, but you're going to need to study. At a minimum, you need to learn a scripting language (Python and/or R) and develop a basic understanding of statistics. It's worth noting that the quant universe is somewhat heterogeneous and some roles require more technical knowledge than others.
In a perfect world, your best bet would be to get a Masters in Financial Mathematics / Quantitative Finance, although I'd note that they normally have about half a dozen classes as prerequisites (Calc I/II/III, Probability/Statistics I & Programming I).
The CQF is generally not all that well regarded.
Thanks a lot jackwestjr for your reply.
If I may add one more question: Do you have any recommendations on specific positions for internships which would particularly increase my chances to get a more quantitative analyst position? I have at least one more possibility to do an internship late next summer and could imagine going for something trading/ research related.
Cheers
I would learn Python as fast as you can and look for roles where they list Python as a nice to have. Financial Firms are often terrible at managing data. Juniors with programming skills can often write scripts that save the business a lot of time. It's a great way to add value, and will probably give you exposure to teams with an IT, Quant and/or Data focus, from who you can learn a lot. At least, that's basically what I did.
What is your current role and in what kind of a firm? For a profile such as described in the OP (assuming at least OK programming abilities), what kind of roles and in what firms would be a good starting point for finding opportunities/positions? Asset managers? Actual quant funds? Banks? Something else?
I worked in the quant field, MMF (Master of Mathematical Finance) is definitely helpful as someone mentioned. We hired a lot of people from the MMF program, PhD in math or physics as well. At the end of the day, you need to be really good in calculus and statistics. A lot of the theories in quant, like DV sensitives is based on calculus concepts.
After the math skills, next most important is programming, aside from R/Python as someone has mentioned, Tableau is also good to know. Some people even have C/C++/Java for more sophisticated programming with quant libraries. Also, get yourself familiarize with the bloomberg terminal, like looking up data etc.
lastly, as a quant, you need to know how to value various financial instruments, such as bonds, swaps, options etc. You are unlikely to learn this as a business student but you can take some investment courses or do the CFA.
Unde perspiciatis praesentium voluptatem voluptas ipsum animi ratione et. Hic quia ea ea perspiciatis culpa molestias laboriosam dolor. Qui impedit rerum laboriosam quidem omnis. Odit sint tenetur ut et. Et dolor fugiat ullam sequi qui commodi dolore voluptatem. Distinctio eveniet vitae in.
Omnis ipsa vel itaque alias. Est cupiditate odit perspiciatis. Qui sit animi non vero qui consequuntur impedit. Error sunt voluptatem rerum voluptates quis cumque ipsum.
Et magni soluta quia molestias sed. Eaque sit tempora dolorem quam quia. Est deleniti officiis nihil natus est est enim.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...