Kick-Off Meeting Tuesday, September 29, 2015
OUTLINE Officer Board Introduction About the Org Events Planned Speakers + Career Opportunities Becoming a Quant
Officer Board Brian Zhou Co-President James Kim Co-President Contact us if interested in leadership position
ABOUT SMF Goals: Connect and educate students with quantitative backgrounds who are interested in quantitative financial applications, specifically those interested in either academia or a potential career. list: Copy of Presentation will be posted to the group after Events: Speaker Events Company Info Sessions Admission Events (Grad. School) Trading Competition (?) Contact me: or
Speaker Events Past Professor Brown (Finance) – Momentum (tax-incentives) Professor Zhang (Statistics) – Concurrent Declines of Stock Returns Current Plans Professor Linderoth (I.E) – Portfolio Optimization Jonathan Welburn (PhD I.E, Co-Founder) – Eurozone Crisis Professor Brown (?) Any recommendations?
Financial Careers (Undergrad) Sales & Trading J.P. Morgan Citigroup Prop. Trading + High Frequency Trading Optiver Akuna Capital Belvedere Trading “Front Office” Positions (IB, AM, ER) Networking is KEY “Heard on the Street” – Book for Interviews (Personally have it)
Current Opportunities BuckyNet JPM, M.S., G.S. etc. Goldman Sachs Information Session Friday, October 2 nd, 2:00 PM in Grainger 1100 Akuna Capital (Union South, 9/30/15, 11:00 – 4:00) Intern + Full-Time (Trader + Developer) BlackEdge Capital (Union South, 9/30/15, 11:00 – 4:00) Intern Belvedare Trading Intern + Full-Time Join Google Group for info Be prepared for mental math tests for interview
Mathematical Finance (Grad. School) Mathematical Finance is also known as Quantitative Finance Financial Engineering Financial Mathematics Computational Finance
HISTORY Came into existence in the 70’s Was not an actual field until 90’s Today, academic programs train specifically for MF Used to be mostly PhDs in Math/Physics entering Finance Quants have significantly changed the financial landscape
Mathematical Finance Field has been growing exponentially (Risk & Gov. Regulation) Growth in educational programs (Masters) Berkeley was able to place 95% of it’s 2015 MFE Master’s class in full-time positions
WHAT DOES A QUANT DO? Use/make mathematical tools to model uncertainty in financial markets as well as price products such as options and derivatives Job Titles: Quantitative Analyst, Equity Derivatives Structurer, Model Validation, Portfolio Strategist, Credit and Portfolio Risk Manager
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A QUANT? Expertise in math, finance, computer science, and statistics Excellent at analyzing and solving problems Enjoy a fast-paced and high pressure environment Quants come from many different backgrounds Not aimed at a typical M.B.A candidate
WHAT KIND OF TOOLS DO QUANTS UTILIZE? Math Stochastic Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations (Partial), Numerical Analysis Stats Probability Theory, Statistical Inference CS C++, OOP, Artificial Intelligence, Data-Mining Operations Research Stochastic Processes, Simulation, Optimization Finance & Econ Investment Theory, Asset Pricing Theory, Derivative Securities, Fixed- Income, Econometrics
Types of Programs Masters (New York) Berkeley – Financial Engineering Columbia – Financial Engineering + Op. Research Carnegie Mellon – Computational Finance Baruch – Financial Engineering Cornell – Financial Engineering Etc. PhD Physics, Math, Engineering, CS
Resources James -> He is applying for these Reading List Liar’s Poker When Genius Failed More Money Than God How I Became a Quant The Big Short Nerds on Wall Street Recommendations?
Conclusion Events planned Speaker Events Company Info. Sessions Admission Events Trading Competition (TBD) Please join our list: and feel free to come talk to me about any concerns, recommendations, advice.