What do you consider Citi's competitive
edge?
Citi's long-term success has provided the Firm with a vast
network of resources to achieve both knowledge and historical
perspective. As a result, the training environment that is provided
for younger employees is unparalleled in the industry. In addition,
the sheer size of the organization allows for numerous
opportunities for cross-marketing, drawing on the expertise across
divisions to create unique products for the increasing number of
sophisticated investors. In just my experiences as an analyst and
associate, I have worked with a number of other departments in the
firm to expand the services we can provide to our customers.
How would you describe your team and the people you work
with?
Enthusiastic and incredibly driven, the people I work with
provide a supportive and motivating environment to learn and grow
in this business. My colleagues come from different degrees and
training programs, supplying a diverse set of knowledge and varied
opinions. In my average day, I will not only learn something new
about finance, but also about different cultures, music, and even
foreign sports.
What other groups do you liaise with regularly within
the Firm?
As a part of the municipal derivatives group, I most often
communicate with the municipal institutional cash business and
municipal retail business. On a regular basis, we also work with
the taxable fixed income sales force to roll out products across
divisions, as well as other financing desks to expand our product
reach. In addition, I have used the contacts I made in my first
year in the Markets Quantitative Analysis department to trade
information back and forth in order to create more advanced
analysis in my second role as a trader in Municipal
derivatives.
How do you apply your degree to what you're doing
now?
I had a dual degree in both Finance and Computer Science as an
undergraduate. Besides having a theoretical advantage from my
finance background, my computer science degree was incredibly
helpful in creating advanced tools and analysis in both my strategy
and derivatives trading role. An engineering skill set is
increasingly useful in finance as the market becomes more
technically advanced.
What do you enjoy doing outside work?
Since I have moved to New York City, I’ve explored different
activities after work, ranging from book clubs to cooking classes.
I’ve recently developed a love for improvisational acting, taking
classes at different theaters and performing with a group on the
weekends. The best part about this city is that for any interest
you have, you will always find a host of other people that will
share in it with you.