Vital Stats
HOMETOWN: Trinidad
Master's Program:New York niversity (Courant Institute), Master of Science of Mathematics in Finance
Undergraduate Degree:Physics major at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I also completed three-quarters of an economics major.
Research Experience: After MIT I worked for a year doing research in econometrics at Stanford University. I also was a teaching assistant for a couple of classes.
Internships: I interned with RBS Greenwich Capital doing research and support for an interest rate trading desk in summer 2008. It involved looking at the local markets in Latin America and historical data to try to find trading strategies and backtest them.
Mentor: My high school physics teacher. It was mostly because of him that I went to MIT and ended up doing physics. He helped a lot in terms of preparing for exams and getting into college.
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Interview Conducted By Ivy Schmerken
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- Qualifications and Background
- Aspirations
- Beyond the Numbers
Advanced Trading: Why did you choose New York University's master in finance program?
Fernandes: When I was deciding to apply to the math finance programs, I wanted to work in New York. Then, among the schools in New York, NYU's Courant Institute has a reputation that precedes it for applied math -- it is ranked highly. The NYU brand is recognized in the industry, as well. It was the reputation, academic quality, location and access to the industry, but it also was the format of the program and the curriculum. It was the big picture -- it wasn't one particular thing.
AT: What is your math background? Do you have any prior programming experience?
Fernandes: I had most of the math requirements before coming to NYU. The M.S.M.F. program looks for a certain level of probability and statistics. Since I was a physics major, it wasn't too big of a jump to the master's-level math, so it wasn't a shock for me.
I'd had an introduction to basic programming in Java for engineering problem solving. In the course of my physics classes, we used MATLAB to do computational analysis. I had enough experience using structured programming languages so I was able to do the homework in the master's program. In the master's program, I learned C++ and another language called R. It's a free version of a language called S.
AT: What courses are you taking that you believe will be essential to prepare you for a career on the Street?
Fernandes: I've always liked econometrics, classes like quantitative strategies and time series and statistical arbitrage. I like that type of work, and it's more relevant to buy-side portfolio management and optimal execution. I definitely chose those courses knowing that ideally I would end up doing that type of work. And I took risk management because everybody -- especially in these times -- needs to beef up their risk management knowledge.
Another important course is derivatives, which used the book that everyone calls "the Bible" -- John Hull's options book. It's all the financial products that are traded. It was a very good introductory course.
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AT: What first interested you in Wall Street?
Fernandes: A couple of my colleagues from MIT were a year ahead of me, and they both ended up working in finance in New York. When we'd meet up for dinner and they would talk about what they were doing, it involved some work in math and statistics, some very geeky stuff. But I enjoyed the fact that they did this on a daily basis. They were getting paid for something they enjoyed, something that was intellectually rewarding and fun on a personal level. These guys were also physics majors and computer science majors. That was a strong signal that I would enjoy it as well.
AT: How would you rate your knowledge of the business of financial services on a scale of 1 to 10?
Fernandes: I would say 6 or 7. I have an average understanding of the general financial services industry compared to the students in similar programs.
AT: Discuss your training in statistics and your ability to analyze data.
Fernandes: I've done a lot of econometrics in the past. That's one of the key things you always want to do -- you want to extract correct information from the data. I've done Bayesian analysis as well as classical econometrics. So I have both schools of thought in terms of doing statistical inference. I'm currently doing time series and statistical arbitrage, so that's very relevant to finance. I've also completed a course in algorithmic trading and quantitative strategies that talked about optimal execution -- such as when to execute your trades in the market to minimize your impact and your transaction cost.
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AT: Why did you choose to pursue a career on Wall Street?
Fernandes: In terms of Wall Street, things are becoming more quantitative, and there are always interesting problems to solve. I come from a background where, since high school, I've been streamed into math and science. I enjoy having problems to solve and solving them in mathematical and quantitative ways, but I also like the fact that it's solving problems that have actual value in a real-time way. You're looking at this huge system in the markets and you're trying to extract information from it, and if you're right, you'll make money. It's an intellectual challenge on the one hand, but it also has the enjoyment of a poker game where you are testing your own strategy.
AT: In what type of role would you like to start?
Fernandes: In general, I've been looking at quantitative analyst roles. If it was on the sell side -- working with the trading desk, doing some research and eventually getting to trade. On the buy side, it would be portfolio management and risk management, but as a quantitative analyst as well. It would be managing the risks of the portfolio and doing a lot of data analysis and trying to figure out how to execute optimally in the market so you get good returns.
AT: What do you see yourself doing in two years? In 10 years?
Fernandes: In two years I would like to be more involved in the actual trading -- be an actual trader/quant/analyst. I'd like to get the bigger picture of the markets and the global marketplace and be a little bit closer to running the business.
In 10 years I'd like to have a bigger picture of how economics and the global marketplace work, and I'd like to be a director of a group that is not particularly restricted to one asset class. In general that involves more macroeconomics and getting the bigger picture. To interweave the economics and the finance -- in general, that would be an ideal experience for me. It's what I want to get out of a long-term career -- to bring together everything that I've studied.
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AT: Name three firms you'd like to work for.
Fernandes: Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, and a dream job would be a hedge fund such as Renaissance Technologies. I know they hire mostly superstar Ph.D.s, but I'd like to see the work that goes on there because they do some higher-level stuff.
AT: What sets you apart from other quant candidates?
Fernandes: I'm an outgoing, friendly person, given my background growing up in the Caribbean. It's a stereotype that quants are these introverted people; it's not necessarily the case, but statistically they are a bit more reserved and quiet people. I'm not like that at all. I grew up in a big family and went to public school in Trinidad. My personality will allow me to look at roles that also involve more interpersonal interaction rather than sit in the back office doing models all the time. I work well with people, be they team members or clients.
AT: What three questions would you ask a prospective employer?
Fernandes: What have been the career trajectories of past employees in the role? What is the growth potential of the position? On a day-to-day basis, how do the requirements of the role change? How do the people on the team get along together? What is the work environment like in terms of team camaraderie?
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AT: Do you trade at all? Have you ever built any algorithmic models for trading?
Fernandes: Prior to the program, I really didn't have any experience in the finance industry. I'm new to the field. Because of that, I don't have any experience to do any trading. Aside from some algorithmic trading and quant trading strategies in class, I haven't had practical experience in that area. It was like a very broad introduction to algorithmic trading. We'd learn how to construct algorithms for optimal execution and to minimize transaction costs.
AT: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Fernandes: I write a little bit of poetry and a little bit of comedy. That's my mental catharsis. But I also really like soccer. This fall I'm trying to play in one of the city leagues, and I'm trying to play intramural sports at school because athletic highs are a great feeling -- especially after doing academics all day.
AT: Name one thing you did this summer for fun.
Fernandes: I went skydiving for the first time.
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AT: Describe one of your personal goals beyond a career on Wall Street.
Fernandes: I come from a big family. I was able to attend very good colleges. I have three younger sisters, one of whom is already in college here. I want to make sure that the rest of them have the opportunities I did. My long-term goal once I get settled is to be a mentor and to give them advice that I didn't necessarily get -- I figured out a lot of stuff on my own here. I want to pass on that knowledge. I want to be a mentor to younger people.
AT: Is there anything else you feel is important that you would like to mention?
Fernandes: I think it might not be obvious how dedicated I am. A lot of people might come to Wall Street because of the promise of lots of money -- that is part of it. But I took a year to figure out what I wanted to do. I wanted to come here. I just didn't follow the crowd. And I'm doing it on my own; I took out loans as an international student. This is a risk I'm taking to work on Wall Street.
AT: Choose one word to describe yourself.
Fernandes: Well-rounded.
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