Finance

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I’ve always had a keen interest in numbers, which inspired my entrance into engineering.   My favorite courses involve numbers, and I greatly enjoyed the project assigned to us in our Principles of Finance class, which involved analyzing future cash flows of a company and predicting the stock price. Our team chose the local athletics apparel retailer, Lululemon, for our analysis. I took on the responsibility of completing the financial analysis and creating a financial model to forecast the price of the stock.

This was one of the first times that I have worked with numbers in a finance setting.  , Developing the model seemed overwhelming at first, but I enjoyed the challenge. I found that my strength in working with numbers applies well to financial situations.  I have attached the completed model below.

Lululemon Stock Analysis

Glimpse of the Sauder MBA

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I am an ambitious professional and my career trajectory testifies to that. An Engineer by qualification, I had 4 years of professional experience with HSBC Bank. During my association with HSBC, I was with US and UK clients on different business functions, like operations, project management of multiple projects, strategy. This made me acquire global exposure and more open to accepting and understanding diverse view. Experience at HSBC was a stepping stone towards achieving my dream from my younger days to be an entrepreneur.  In fact, my decision to work with HSBC stemmed from the post-MBA goals that I have in mind. In the short-term I wish to be in a management post in a leading financial firm or bank, like HSBC or American Express. I want to be involved in strategy and decision-making for the organization, which will prepare me to launch my own startup. Armed with requisite experience of leading people and delegating tasks to them, I would like to start my own financial firm. In the next 10 years, I see myself becoming a successful entrepreneur and leading a successful financial firm.

I joined an MBA course in shoulder to gain a wholesome business education which will add dimension to my knowledge and prepare me for a flourishing business career. The Sauder School of Business, with its re-imagined program based on the pillars of being ‘creative’, ‘transformative’, ‘integrated’, and ‘global’, will give me a complete overview of the business processes in a global setting and pave the path for realizing my career goals. The five themes of the Sauder MBA emphasizing innovation and entrepreneurship are extremely aligned to my career needs.

Through MBA, I plan to gain a strong grip on all the facets of a financial and project manager, which will help me build a base which would then be the foundation for my long term entrepreneurial goal.  For this, I need an understanding of different business functions and various issues that an organization faces. This is where the MBA program is helping me to bridge this gap and shape my career.

The MBA program is enhancing my team and leadership skills and making me more organized in my work by teaching me how to approach a problem strategically and in a systematic way. The MBA course will develop the ability to think out of the box which will enable me to forge relevant responses to different situations that may arise and tackle key organizational challenges through a process-oriented approach. The Sauder MBA is also giving me a chance to study with a diverse and international student community, an opportunity to learn world-wide best practices and build a global network of professional contacts.

Thus, with all that it provides, the MBA will make me future ready to be a successful professional having requisite skills for managing a business with a holistic approach. My experience in the Sauder School of Business will surely build a sound foundation for me to become a future global business leader.

My Target Industry and my fit

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Words like Investment Banking, corporate finance were unknown to me but the essence of them, that is Finance always attracted me. A career in finance has fascinated me since my graduating days. Finance is a fast-paced and competitive sector which demands analytical approach and diligent and focused people. Finance market is dynamic and the main reason why it excites me is that it is the time value of money.  Finance aims to price assets based on their risk level and expected rate of return and thus making this sector challenging and volatile testing your decision making skill .

The growth in the economy is opening up new opportunities in the finance sector as new businesses get set up. As finance grows year to year, being accurate and up to date with financial information and financial techniques is essential when considering a career in finance. Most foreign banks and financial institutions prefer management graduates from the premier management schools This inspired me to pursue a management course from a global institute to achieve my goal.

My long term ambition is to open my own financial consultancy firm. Implementing modern market trends my clients would be assisted into budgeting, strategy, asset management and financial planning to enable wealth creation. To achieve my goal initially

I plan to take up a financial analyst role in one of the leading financial firms or a bank in the Investment Banking sector. As an Investment Banker, I would be required to assess and analyze the financial needs of corporate clients and advise them based on financial models. I will have to constantly keep myself a step ahead in understanding the needs of the fluctuating financial markets. This active profile will allow me to gain a strong grip on all the facets of a financial manager and give me valuable experience which will then be the stepping stone for my long term entrepreneurial goal. My next step would be to gain experience of a management role in a leading financial firm in its strategy and planning division. This role would enhance my decision making skills along with my risk taking ability.

Currently I see myself fit into the Investment Banking role. My strong technical aptitude and a successful 4 years experience in HSBC would help me to create and analyze financial models. My ability to crunch numbers would further support my role. My problem solving approach will help me to keep my performance up to the level in my role as an Investment Banker.

The knowledge I would gain during my MBA would further help me to achieve my entrepreneurial goals. I plan to take up courses such as Capital Budgeting, Investment Theory & Asset pricing, Risk Management, Mergers & Acquisitions which would equip me of the required technical skills.

To add along this, the experience and international exposure I would be getting from MBA would strengthen my profile and provide a broader perspective to my thought process and my ability to solve a problem.

Industry Research

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I choose to look at the Investment Banking industry because this industry is related to my career and moreover I like the way Investment bankers work. As an investment banker, I will be getting a chance to work on multi-million or billion dollars IPOs, mergers and acquisitions and this would help me to give a visible impact on society and industries. Moreover when you close a multi-million dollar deal with big corporate, so the sense of power and accomplishment is not only a big motivation but also a satisfying and rewarding experience for the investment bankers.

I plan to take up a career in finance and the investment banking sector will help me to lay a stepping stone for my career. I have planned to work for few years in this sector and post that I plan to open up my financial consultancy firm. The experience I will gain working in this sector will help me to tackle a lot of such kind of deals in my career. Although it is a demanding industry but that’s the challenge I would like to put myself in so that it brings the best out of me that is how to work well under pressure and tight deadlines. Also I would get to learn a lot while working in this industry and I am sure I would get to learn something new every other day.

The recent trend occurring in the US Investment banking industry that is relevant to me is the annual growth in the industry from 2008 – 2013 despite of the 2009 global economic recession. Despite of the global economic melt-down, there was not a decrease in the growth of the industry (annual growth of 0.5%) which shows the potential in the growth of the industry. Moreover, the projected growth in the industry over the next 5 years is projected at 3.2% which is again very encouraging. Another trend that is relevant to me is the Revenue v/s Employment trend over the next few years. Fortunately over the next few years, the employment growth does not decrease and that is an exciting sign for me. The major players in the market are JP Morgan Chase & Co. (14.7% market share), Bank of America Corporation (13.1% market share), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (9.6% market share) & Morgan Stanley (8% market share).

Since the US industry is recovering from the after effects of the Global economic meltdown, I think there is a lot of opportunity to grow in this industry if you have the right attitude towards the work. With my hard work, passion to learn new things and zeal to excel, I aim to excel in this industry and contribute towards the growth of not only my organization but also for the overall development of myself. With my past experience in project management and the strategic skills that I plan to gain through my MBA I would be definitely able to add some value to my work.

Key Sources:

1)      IBISWorld

My Journey in a nutshell

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To begin with, I would like to introduce myself, I am Ashay Gupta. I hail from India, the country of diverse religion, culture, language and a rich heritage.

I graduated in 2009 from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, which is the premium institute in India for engineering courses.  For my college internship I went to Technical University of Liberec at Czech Republic for three months. It broadened my horizon as I gained knowledge through open forums and group discussions in multicultural settings.

After graduation, I joined HSBC and worked there as a Financial Analyst for 4 years in the Global Project Management department. I was responsible for governing and tracking of all the migrations happening to India. I have taken up various projects in HSBC that involves regular interaction with the business partners from all over the world, collating the data and providing analysis to senior management for strategic decisions.

During my short career, various experiences have helped in strengthening my potential and abilities. At HSBC, I was asked to make a database to track numbers using MS Access. Undeterred I developed the database with limited knowledge of MS Access within the stipulated time frame. My efforts reaped rewards as I was recommended for an out of turn promotion. An international experience of working with US and UK clients in HSBC has enhanced my intercultural know-how and my ability to accept and understand diverse views.

Moving on to my interest I am an adventures person who likes to explore new avenues. I believe in overcoming all inhibitions to live life to the fullest. On my recent trip to Macau I took up bungie jumping from a height of 764 feet to overcome my fears.

I am also an avid sports person with Cricket and Soccer being my favorite sports. Apart from these, I also play Poker & Pool.

I believe in repaying the society by doing social work. I have worked in an NGO in my leisure time teaching computer and mathematics to under privileged children.  Here I learnt how to plan and execute work to achieve desired results in varied environment.

All these experiences have contributed to my personality and have inculcated in me team work, risk taking capabilities and result oriented approach.

Post MBA, I see myself taking up a consultancy position in financial sector. I will constantly keep myself a step ahead in understanding the needs of the fluctuating financial markets. Implementing modern market trends, I will advise clients on the best investment opportunities and focus on sales of investment products to enable their wealth creation. An MBA would thus equip me with the necessary skill set required with global perspective.

My family and my friends are dear to me. I like to meet people and never shy away to help them.

I look forward to a life changing experience at Sauder wherein I can hone my leadership abilities, decision and strategy making capabilities and establish a sound foundation to become a future global business leader.