Path to Wall Street

Investment Banking Interest

I became fascinated with investment banking when I opened my own brokerage account at the age of fourteen. I had no clue as to what part of investment banking I would to pursue. Having grown up in Hong Kong, I had schoolmates whose parents were international investment bankers. All I knew was that it involved various disciplines such as research, sales, managing assets and trading. There is one thing I do know though: I want to work for Goldman Sachs. I’m aware this may seem cliché or unrealistic. I’ve studied the profiles of numerous high-achieving investors and financiers and have observed that a stint at Goldman Sachs is often a common denominator.

I focused on expanding my knowledge of investment banking over the past four years and have narrowed my horizon in terms of a career goal. Everything finally clicked when I worked as an intern at HSBC’s London Headquarters on their equity and securities trading floor. The sheer exhilaration was amazing. The constant chatter and trader highs and the lows was something I also wanted to experience. Leaving HSBC that first day on the job, I knew I wanted to be a trader. It also clicked because my favorite hobby is researching investment opportunities and trading within my brokerage account.

A key reason I want to be a trader is the responsibility and risk they assume. I have always been decisive and I’m not afraid to take smart risks. That’s what trading gives you, the ability to make the final decision and take responsibility for the results. It is truly is a love/hate profession. When you’re successful, everyone loves you; but one slip and you’re crucified. That’s where self-confidence kicks in. If you truly believe in your abilities and have confidence in your instincts, you will be successful. If you can make money on Wall Street, then you’ll have a job for a lifetime irrespective of temporary pitfalls.

I also aspire to become an emerging markets trader. Growing up in Hong Kong, living in the United States, and traveling across Europe and Africa has given me an international perspective I’d like to apply as an emerging market trader. I’ve observed that many people are myopic and limited in their knowledge of global economics and international market dynamics. I believe there is a strong future for internationally oriented investment professionals with an objective grasp of emerging markets and their potential for generating high returns on investments.

Trading also offers the potential for financial security, but not without risk. There’s a perception that you must have an Ivy League degree to work at top investment banks. I believe this is a fallacy. While Ivy League graduates may benefit from affluent resources and networking, my philosophy is that those schools offer nothing that cannot also be found at W.P. Carey. The qualities of a great trader go far beyond anything that can be gleaned from a textbook. I know I have the right mix of qualities, risk orientation and instincts to be an outstanding investment banking trader.

The Reality of Summer

The time dwindles on as I await my trip to London. What have I been doing over summer? Well compared to my jam packed schedule during the semester at ASU, nothing. So far throughout this summer I have had too much free time. It can be a hard task to grasp but it is a true reality and results in a lot of unproductive wasted time. I feel I am the kind of individual who works best under pressure and in the heat of the moment, something which will bode well for when I eventually trade on Wall Street. So what does my daily schedule look like? Well wake up and sleep times are constantly changing some days I wake up at 6 AM somedays its 12 PM. Usually though on a daily basis I workout, trade, read an array of articles throughout the web, analyze every page of the Wall Street Journal, do some accounting homework, couple emails part of my networking strategy, play video games, and post on my blogs. Yes exciting life but thats what summer for relaxation and preparing my self both mentally and physically for the challenging semester awaiting ahead. As for that life is pretty basic right now, main thing I have to do now is study for my accounting test today so for now goodbye.

Summer Plans

Freshmen year at Arizona State finally came to an end after a stressful week of finals. Overall a success though I am excited to have a break yet have high hopes for next semester. Now that schools over however I have a few weeks to relax before I'm back to work. This summer I will have the fun of taking summer school to get ahead of credits. To add to this I have the exciting opportunity of interning on HSBC's Trading Floor in Canary Wharf, London. I am enthralled to have such an opportunity and am preparing myself to exceed expectations. As a result, I have been networking across Wall Street talking to various individuals involved in Finance from firms such as Citadel Investments, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo to gain insight on the expectations of interns and how I should go about preparing myself. Gauging from the variety of answers, the census was not to over prepare but just go in with and open/modest mind and be willing to give 110%. I plan on following the FILO philosophy of first in, last out and try to add as much value as a Freshmen possibly can. Adding to this note throughout my information interviews I came across some of the best advice applying to trading. "It's not the winning trades that make you great but the losing ones and how you go about the adversity and learn from your mistakes. Even Warren Buffet makes mistakes he just doesn't ever make the same mistake twice." This came from a trader at Citadel Investments and when you think about it there is a lot of logic behind his reasoning. I was lucky to be adversed to this at a young age within my personal trading. For long periods I felt as if every stock I bought would go up and had no defense system protecting my risk. All my funds were allocated into risky stock picks and then when the markets crashed I suffered the losses. This is where I truly learned the values of trading and created my own system to combat risk.

Freshmen year at Arizona State University

To pursue my career on Wall Street I decided to take a leap of faith and attend Arizona State University. My reasoning behind this was the great weather of Arizona, unlimited networking opportunities, and the W. P. Carey School of Business which has vastly moved up the ranks in recent years. During my first semester I was very driven with grades and everything yet did not feel I took advantage of the networking opportunities in which I originally came to ASU for. As a result, I had a whole new outlook for my second semester. Continuing with my Finance degree I added a certificate in Small Business and Entreprenurship and decided to become very involved on campus. During the first couple weeks I became an active member in various organizations such as the Financial Management Association, Sports Business Administration, and Student Economics Association. Continuing this theme I became involved in student government and decided to join Greek Life by rushing Sigma Nu. These were all great additions however the icing on the cake was when I was accepted to become a member of the Investment Banking Industry Scholars or what we call IBIS. IBIS is a competitive program for 20 faculty selected students preparing for investment banking careers. Throughout the course we are trained through rigorous bi-weekly sessions in excel capabilities, business valuation, and financial statement analysis. We also engage in weekly discussions with investment banking professionals to understand industry expectations and challenges. The course has been a great resource to help build myself for the Financial world. It has helped me outline my strengths and weaknesses and given me the tools necessary to succeed. Now after finishing up my Freshmen year of college I will be off to London to intern with HSBC. This decision came late as originally I planned on working for some small capital management firms in San Francisco yet decided after working for a large Investment Banking previously it would look bad going back to a small shop. Anyways, it should be an exciting summer and check back in for updates throughout.

Career Decisions and which Path to Follow

As you know so far, my dream in life is to work on Wall Street mostly notably for Goldman Sachs. This pursuit began when I was thirteen years old. After collecting McDonalds shares on an annual basis as birthday presents I decided I could get a better return so as a result I opened up a brokerage account with Scottrade. I still can remember the day the excitement of making my first trade which was the purchase of Google at around $250. Since then I have become an avid trader learning the ins and outs of the game. I have had both my ups and downs and overall my risk tolerance has grown even though I become strategically smarter as time passes. Even though my brokerage account started as a mere form of amusement it has stimulated my passion for finance. Going throughout High School I was confused on what part of Finance I wish to pursue, for a long time I thought I wanted to be a Financial Advisor. This career seemed perfect and I was so sold that during my Junior year I emailed around and landed an internship with two financial advisors who managed around $200 million for Ameriprise Financial. Going through the year long internship I realized this was nothing close to what I wanted to pursue as a career. The job of a financial advisor was very dull and mundane, very little involvement among the markets more of a babysitter who is there to please customers and preach to them that their money was safe. Throughout the year my two advisors would ask me for stock tips and I wowed them with my individual performance within that year as my portfolio grossed 79%. Anyways now I was on a new mission to find a new career. Now I felt that I needed to work for an Investment Bank after hearing the lucrative bonuses that were being handed out. Growing up in Hong Kong I was able to network around with some high-profile individuals, one of which was the Global Head of Equity Capital Markets at HSBC. After a few sent emails I set up a spring externship with HSBC in their London headquarters. I was thrilled and instead of going on a Senior Spring Break trip I headed off to London to explore the world of Investment Banking. I can remember walking into the 50-story headquarters wowed me with the amount of traffic going on, a completely different world compared to the 20-man office i interned for at Ameriprise. During the internship I started off on ECM, meeting and shadowing all the people getting a feel of the industry. This was great and all yet on my third day my trip was made. On this day I made it up to the trading floor. The shear excitement of trader yelling and the constant chatter seemed a perfect fit for me. Leaving London I had a complete new sense of the financial industry and had a destined career in mind.