Introduction
Greetings! My name is Bill Cui, and I am from Beijing, China. I graduated from Dartmouth College with a double major in Economics and Quantitative Social Science. Currently, I work in the finance industry as a fundamental analyst. Outside of work, I enjoy watching and playing soccer; recently, I have also been trying to learn how to play the guitar on my own.
At college, I took various courses on both macro- and micro-economic analysis, and I completed my Economics major requirement by completing a research project at the intersection of international trade and global geopolitics. I also served as a teaching assistant for an advanced econometrics course. Outside of academics, I was active at our school’s investment club. As an Investment Committee member, I worked with small groups of peers to develop pitch ideas in the public equity market. I was also involved in our club’s philanthropy practice, as one of our goals is to donate investment profits to on-campus charities and student organizations every year.
During my junior summer, I interned at my current company. After graduation, I returned for a full-time role. As a fundamental analyst, my primary responsibility is to identify potential catalysts that can change people’s perception of the fair value for a stock or commodity. I can then try to trade a range of assets to express my opinion on fair valuation.
Finance Fellow
career options
The financial industry presents a wide range of career options for students to choose from based on their areas of expertise and interests. Here are some of the common paths that new graduates tend to consider:
Finance Fellow
skills
What are the main hard skills you use on a daily basis in your current job?
Modeling a company’s financial statements is crucial to coming up with a good valuation for a stock. Financial data can be extracted from a company’s SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) filings, which are required by government laws and regulations, and investor presentations. Assumptions are then needed to project a company’s future performance. I learned financial modeling from various classes back in college as well as through my experience in the student investment club.
When conducting analysis, we often encounter large datasets that need to be cleaned and studied. Some examples include macroeconomic time-series data and a company’s order trends over time. I learned how to use various tools such as Python and R through college courses in econometrics and statistics. I often try to understand and make inferences from data studies to help strengthen investment theses.
Cross-asset inferences are becoming more important in today’s financial world, as different assets are often related and can offer insights from different angles. For example, while a company’s debt can help investors gauge the market sentiment on its financial stability, an equity option can showcase how much volatility is expected around specific company events. I often look at various financial assets to get a more comprehensive picture of a company’s well-being from different dimensions.
What are the main soft skills you use on a daily basis in your current job?
Once an idea is formulated, communication becomes a key part, both for yourself and for the broader team. For your own sake, being able to condense your idea into a short summary shows a clear direction and an easy way to evaluate whether your thesis has played out after making a specific trade. At the same time, making others easily understand your thoughts can potentially help the team monetize the idea better in related financial assets.
Generating an idea and putting on initial investments are only the first steps of the investment process. More importantly, the ability to constantly reflect on whether your ideas are playing out as new information becomes available is crucial to a successful result. When necessary, that could mean admitting your errors and adjusting your initial ideas. In our day-to-day work, this is very important, as you want to maintain the mental flexibility to be able to either double down on your ideas or cut the position when needed.
Collaborating with teammates usually results in better outcomes, as others might be more experts on specific topics than you are. At the same time, having a fresh perspective on your investment ideas can also expose some of the inherent biases you ignored when coming up with the analysis by yourself. Teamwork can be practiced through group projects at school or at work, and it is a valuable skill no matter what career path you ultimately choose.
Bill
’s personal path
Tell us about your personal journey in
Finance Fellow
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Back in college, I always knew that I would want to be in a role to make investment decisions based on my analysis of a company’s fundamentals. At the same time, the reality is that these roles are rare for new graduates, and the more common path is to join a sell-side firm (i.e. an investment bank, a boutique equity research firm, etc.) for the first few years while recruiting again.
Acknowledging this, I applied to no fewer than 100 roles for my junior summer internship (no exaggeration here) and was fortunate enough to be selected for some interviews. Initially, I was weak on financial “technicals” so I was not able to secure an offer early on. I kept practicing and asked some upper classmen who had been through the same process for advice. After a painstaking journey of a few months, I was able to get an offer for junior summer internship from my current employer.
Networking with previous interns and preparing for the internship by learning relevant skills were also important, as a return offer was anything but guaranteed these days. During the internship, proactively reaching out to teammates for general advice and specific feedback on work projects was also important.
What would you tell your younger you regarding building your current career?
Be open-minded and do not be afraid to try new things, and these things do not need to be related to your future career path! You will have a lot of time in college to take random courses and try out new hobbies; when you have the chance, make sure you do that. If you have the privilege to study abroad or travel to different places during college years, do that as well! You will also have classmates that are pursuing different paths than you, so be sure to take the opportunity to meet them and learn a bit about their passions.
Final thoughts & tips
A career in finance can be rewarding but also intense at times. There are numerous possible paths that you can explore if you want to break into this industry, and a wide range of skills can be applied in these roles, so it will likely not be an issue to discover a specific area that you would like to pursue. The more important thing, in my opinion, is to maintain an open mind and a constant desire to learn new things.
Resources to dig in more
The Wall Street Journal
For anyone interested in a career in finance, it is important to stay on top of ongoing macroeconomic trends and company developments that can affect the financial markets. WSJ is one of the best sources to keep a tab on these things. Many colleges also have free or discounted subscriptions available, so definitely take advantage of these while you can!
Options, Futures, and Other Derivatives
This book offers a great introduction into various financial asset classes that are perhaps a bit less intuitive than common equities. As you navigate the complex financial world, it is extremely helpful to have a basic understanding of these relevant asset classes, even if your day-to-day job does not involve trading these. Basic questions about some of the common derivatives can also come up during job interviews.
Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco
This book details one of the most famous acquisitions in history and the power struggle that unfolded behind the scenes. This book can be a light read to get you familiarized with LBOs, introducing you to dealmaking and the various roles involved such as bankers, PE investors, etc.
