During my previous 6 years as a Management
Consultant, I got an opportunity to manage
some family money and began investing in
the Indian stock markets. I soon developed a
keen interest in understanding the dynamics
and analysis of stocks from different sectors
and decided to change careers into Asset
Management.
What happened from graduation onwards to
get you where you are today?
I am currently working as an investment
analyst with analytical responsibility for
stocks from various economic sectors. Over
time I have analysed a variety of stocks and
have been actively involved in discussing and
making stock recommendations to the fund
managers.
What do you do on a daily basis?
I keep abreast of all the news flow related
to the stocks I cover, continue research into
those areas, make investment decisions,
discuss ideas with colleagues and industry
specialists and report on my work to my fund
managers.
What's stood out as the biggest challenge
you have faced at work?
Working in the investment management
industry is very dynamic and knowledge
intensive. Keeping abreast of your investments
and how they stack up in a portfolio context
can be very challenging. When you make
recommendations on stocks, it is quite difficult
to detach yourself from what the market
thinks and convince your more experienced
colleagues on the merits of your investment
case. The toughest part of this exercise is to
try and bring in a fresh perspective on stocks
which your more experience colleagues have
known and followed for many years.
What are the most important qualities
needed in this job?
Apart from having an analytical and logical
mindset, I think it is very important for
people in this job to be able to look beyond
the obvious, to have an open mind and to
accept and learn from their mistakes. Patience
is also an important trait that one needs to
have because all our investment decisions are
made from a long term perspective. You also
need to be aware of what's happening in the
industry and should have the insight to spot
any changes in trends and industry dynamics
that might affect your stock holdings.
What do you like most about your job?
Asset management is one of the few areas
where you undergo a continuous learning
process throughout your career. There
is always something new about stocks,
companies, investment approaches or even
people that you get to learn almost on a
daily basis
This can be a very dynamic and volatile
area and one where your intellectual
abilities are tested frequently. This build
up your self belief and confidence and you
develop sound decision making abilities
over time
The amount of individual responsibility
that you get is quite substantial and from
a very early stage, you are responsible for
analyzing a variety of current and potential
stock holdings.
There are no strict deadlines, you are not
under any pressure to deliver within a set
timeframe and all this is due to the fact
that all of our investments are made for the
long term (3-5 years). This enables us to
develop skills to think independently and
ignore any noise in the markets.
Colleagues are really helpful and your
seniors are very approachable and are
always ready to advise you in case you
need their assistance. Most importantly,
they encourage you to try and develop
your own independent research method
and views on stocks and this helps you
immensely in looking at investments from
a different perspective.
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