Send us a text I often see gimmicky posts or videos about building a personal brand. It is usually about generating a lot of easy worthless content and adding professional headshots and being active in groups on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a great place to start however your brand really starts with who you are as a person. Being honest and fair at your day job will bring back much more value in promotions and job opportunities than re-posting how to do something or patting everyone on the back. Now L...
Jun 07, 2022•26 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Send us a text Hiring for any job is extremely challenging. Getting hired as an employee is also extremely challenging. Today I cover the biggest issue on why firms can't find the right candidates as well as why individuals who are fully qualified can't find good jobs. Support the show
May 31, 2022•17 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Send us a text After 8 years in the banking I quit my job. I quit my job as a quant in the risk management area. I have built, validated, audited, and implemented model across a range of financial products at a range of different banks. I have felt burnt out for a few years but wasn't sure what to do. After Covid hit the world and a bad work experience I decided to just leave and take some time to think (thanks to the encouragement of my wife). Luckily for me, my network is large enough that a f...
May 24, 2022•38 min•Season 5Ep. 3
Send us a text I quit (resigned) my job for a variety of reasons with one being an ultimatum to comply and leave. After leaving, the stress went away and I could see more clearly the rate race I was struck in beforehand. As I read articles online about the great resignation months before it seemed like people were quitting for more money and nicer teams. There was a casual sprinkling of different benefits like working from home. The real answer to this is that employees want more flexibility! Wo...
May 17, 2022•24 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Send us a text Milind Sharma is the QuantZ / QMIT CEO with a deep background in quantamental investing. His experience started with a solid education from Carnegie Mellon with the Milind Sharma is the QuantZ / QMIT CEO with a deep background in quantamental investing. His experience started with a solid education from Carnegie Mellon with the MS in Computational Finance program back in 1995 when the program was just starting. On top of that he build a great career around quantitative finance run...
May 10, 2022•1 hr 7 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Send us a text "Careers in Motion" is the fifth season of the podcast, "Talking Tuesdays with Fancy Quant." In this season I will talk a lot about career development as well as some issues going on in the finance industry. I will have a guest or two as usual and we'll talk about their careers and career advice. The career advice will specifically be on quant finance however it is typically applicable to other careers such as data science, tech, and finance. Support the show...
May 03, 2022•4 min
Send us a text As my journey unfolds I am at a cross road of firms in tech, fintech, and banking (risk quant). All of the opportunities have their pros and cons however making this decision is really challenging. Should I leave banking for another industry? Will the other industries have the rigor of banking? Maybe I can bring an academic rigor that would would really help these firms grow? Or maybe I am delusional and these firms just want to make models over and over again. Tech is very free a...
Apr 19, 2022•14 min
Send us a text How do you build a quant culture? Quants have very different needs from business professionals (specifically finance professionals at a bank). Quants operate on a high level of science and art all at the same time. Access to high quality academic and professional resources are needed to build and validate models properly. Mentors (senior quants) are needed to teach junior quants technical skills, business information, and how to operate in the firm (managing corporate politics). T...
Mar 08, 2022•8 min
Send us a text Peter Carr was a quantitative finance legend. His impact on the industry will not be forgotten through both his research and his personal mentorship to many people including myself. His departure was shocking and unexpected. The short time that I knew Peter was insightful, comforting, and inspirational. Peter took an interest in those around him by giving of his time and expertise. He was a true leader and mentor. I am very grateful to have been able to interview him twice and int...
Mar 06, 2022•14 min
Send us a text I released a quantitative finance masters ranking for 2022 and found the process very challenging. The goal is to provide transparency to students so they can see how the programs are structured, where they are placing students in the industry, and a view of program rigor. While I have a good grasp on what the industry is looking for and what it is like being a student is one of these programs, I wanted to get some feedback from a program director who understands both the academic...
Mar 01, 2022•1 hr 16 min
Send us a text After conflict at the new job I have decided to take a break from the banking industry. I will be spending more time on generating content around quant finance and data science. The R video series will get new videos and I will try and add some more traditional finance videos around topics like options, stocks, and bonds. I also feel like no one really understands risk management so I might take that on as well. I need to get this channel off the ground financially so there may be...
Feb 20, 2022•8 min
Send us a text The question on what I think of De-Fi (decentralized finance) has come up often over the last year or two. I have avoided the topics as I don't view myself as a de-fi expert however after watching a presentation on the topic I figured I needed to speak up. While De-Fi's goal is to eliminate a centralized system I predict we will end up in the same system we currently have just a few new players will get added. To be clear today's financial system is not very centralized. Banks all...
Jan 11, 2022•41 min
Send us a text Oddly enough I get asked a fair amount about marriage on my quantitative finance channel. It typically comes from young men who are trying to plan their lives and want to know when they should start looking for a spouse. I have also been asked to talk about marriage because I was married fairly young at the age of 20. I do believe marriage plays an important role in developing a career but more importantly a fulfilling life. In this episode I will also briefly discuss having kids....
Jan 04, 2022•19 min•Season 4Ep. 12
Send us a text "What does a quant career look like?" The simple answer...they are all different. The long answer has to do with understanding goals and deciding whether or not you want to stay an individual contributor or become a manager. The higher up the corporate ladder you go, the less quant work you'll do. I'm trying to do both but at times I feel like I am being torn in half. Not to mention quants have been going into new areas like data science, crypto currency, and defi. Careers for qua...
Dec 28, 2021•24 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Send us a text As Christmas is just around the corner and we passed Thanksgiving a few weeks ago, I figured I would talk about my struggle with gratitude. For me gratitude is a very hard thing. I want to be more grateful as it would make me a better person and I would be much happier however it is hard. I have really been thinking and working on being more grateful especially since my grandma passed away last year. She was always very grateful and was also a very big fan of Christmas. I think on...
Dec 22, 2021•12 min
Send us a text Academics and industry professionals alike seem to think their field of study is correct while others are outdated or wrong. I completely get where the frustration comes from as there has been a lot of hype in many fields which is being pushed by people who aren't really apart of any field. Kaggle and towards data science come to mind however there are a long list of textbooks as well. The frustrating part though is the lack of understanding in what unifies all of us which is the ...
Dec 21, 2021•22 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Send us a text "What does a quant career look like?" The simple answer...they are all different. The long answer has to do with understanding goals and deciding whether or not you want to stay an individual contributor or become a manager. The higher up the corporate ladder you go, the less quant work you'll do. I'm trying to do both but at times I feel like I am being torn in half. Not to mention quants have been going into new areas like data science, crypto currency, and defi. Careers for qua...
Dec 07, 2021•19 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Send us a text Often we focus on models so much that we forget they aren't perfect. There is a strong need for a validation team to check the work of model development. However this leads to disagreements between teams. There are many factors that play into this which include technical limitations, limitations of employee education and experience, usage limitations, and ego. Quants make their money based on their intelligence. It is hard to admit you either made a mistake or do have the knowledg...
Nov 30, 2021•21 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Send us a text I'm excited to have a long-time subscriber and friend, Andres Rossi on the podcast! I have watched him mature and grow from an undergrad student into starting his first job as an actuary after his masters degree in quant finance and actuarial sciences. In our discussion we talk about actuaries vs quants, actuaries in Italy, education, quant finance, data science, and risk management. I was very impressed with Andres' English as he took a few classes in school but really taught him...
Nov 23, 2021•1 hr 20 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Send us a text Quantitative finance has a marketing problem in almost all areas. The academic institutions have spent very little time and money and defining what they truly offer students. To be honest I don't think many of them know what they are offering besides a piece of paper saying you graduated. Programs should be designed for a specific type of incoming student and train them for a specific job afterward graduation. This problem is also seen in the industry. Companies either don't care ...
Nov 17, 2021•23 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Send us a text I quit my job at Santander working in model risk management. It was 6 fun years where I learned a lot however due to some corporate restructuring and a better opportunity where I would have more responsibility, I am moving on. In this episode I talk about interviewing at other firms as well as how to view different offers. How much money you are being paid is usually a main driver but don't forget to think about responsibilities. Building a resume with new skills can help you late...
Nov 13, 2021•32 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Send us a text Time is ticking and when you turn 30 years old it seems life changes. More realistically, sometime around the age of 30 as we are all unique. The biological clock is ticking away for having kids and finding a spouse. This life change can have a large impact on one's career, especially in quantitative finance. I am currently struggling with this as I am very career driven and am the personality type that needs to be busy and productive constantly. About a year ago I had a daughter ...
Nov 09, 2021•17 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Send us a text The decision to work in the industry vs academia is a hard one to make. Years into a career in the quant finance industry and I still wonder if I should go back to academia. My passion for education, training, and research is still strong and often the industry seems to be against these three ideas. Making money and focusing on the business takes precedence over education and learning even when the long-term profits would be lower. Making money in this very moment seems to consume...
Nov 02, 2021•23 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Send us a text Back to office non-sense in banking has been sad. Many industries are also struggling with this however without using actual logic, you won't get employees to back your efforts and decisions. The banks on average have been looking at flex working where we will work in the office a few days a week and then work from home (wfh) a few days a week. Many of them behind closed doors are having department or team specific decisions though which are pushing for more days in the office tha...
Oct 26, 2021•9 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Send us a text Welcome to Season 4 of Talking Tuesdays with Fancy Quant! I'm really excited to be back here on the podcast and back on YouTube. While I was taking a mental break from content creation I ended up finding an amazing job offer with some unique risks. I ended up not taking the offer due to legal risks however when valuing a new job there are a lot of different angles to consider from the dollar value of salary and bonus to the equity options and benefits (healthcare, PTO, working fro...
Oct 19, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Send us a text I wish managers took the time to really get to know me and other employees. This is a reflection as an employee and as a manager. People have relationships that go unleveraged. It is often easier to use relationships to help develop better connections across a business and make working together much easier. Another issue is that managers often don't get a full view of your skills. They hired you to do one job however they fail to realize the wide range of skills employees have and...
Jun 08, 2021•15 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Send us a text The whole third season of the podcast has been about working at a startup. I have seen the highs and I have seen the lows over an eight year period with sideline views for a few years after. In this episode I share four pieces of advice I wish I would have known before or during my time with this startup. If you enjoyed this episode check out the other episodes where I discuss dealing with failure, the joys of a startup, as well as many of my experiences in manufacturing. Video Ve...
Jun 01, 2021•12 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Send us a text Coping with failure is hard however coping with the failure of a business is even more challenging. Your life from money to time to ego all get slowly drained over time with a failing business however the final bankruptcy is the hardest part. It is the final nail in the coffin meaning there is no hope left. There is a lot of self reflection and doubt in failing. What if I would have done things differently? What if I would have had more help? What if I would have fixed a very spec...
May 25, 2021•12 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Send us a text While working with family has a lot of issues, there are some benefits of working with family for me. My dad worked a lot of hours and still does. An 80-100 hour week is considered a normal week for my dad. This work ethic and passion for business was a bonding activity where we had hours of just driving across the country and talking. I never once thought about my dad being gone on the road as a negative as it was his job. I knew that if I wanted to spend time with him we could d...
May 18, 2021•17 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Send us a text Data and the analytics needed to extract useful insights is really lagging in most if not all industries. I know many people watching and listening will disagree however there is no solid metric where we can see that things are working well versus slightly working better than no analytics. It isn't until you witness a great quant or analyst that you realize there is a lot of room for improvement in all areas of analytics including quant finance, data science, and business analytic...
May 11, 2021•15 min•Season 3Ep. 8
