Random points about MBA in Finance

"After the recent global economic downturn, there is a need for fresh ideas and innovation in the field of Finance, now more than ever" as per Prof. Anant K Sundaram. “In both its theories and in practice, the core ideas in finance are founded on a set of logically cogent ideas. There are few disciplines taught in business schools where academic research and the real world come together as remarkably well as in finance. The ideas that underpin the field not only win Nobel prizes regularly, but they also form the basis upon which billions of dollars change hands every day.

“That said, there are many questions that finance still continues to grapple with. For example: What causes recurrent financial crises? What is the role of ‘long tail’ risks, and how can they be better understood and analyzed? Why do we witness apparently predictable irrational investment decision-making by investors and managers? Why do markets and companies seem prone to herd behaviors? How can corporate governance practices and incentives be structured so as to produce value-creating outcomes for the long-run as opposed to the short-run? What is the right balance between free markets and regulation in enabling the best outcomes for society-at-large? “Finance education, which includes some of the top MBA programs, continues to make exciting progress on all of these important questions.”

MBA in Finance will benefit individuals seeking employment in:

• Corporate Finance
• Commercial Banking
• Financial Planning
• Investment Banking and
• Other sectors.

Specific job titles commonly held by graduates of MBA finance programs include:

• Financial Officer
• Credit Manager
• Finance Manager
• Management Consultant or
• Senior Financial Analyst.

M.Fin. ---> Master of Finance Degree is offered by Rotman & Schulich Schools in the GTA.

Useful links:

• http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/mfin/
• http://www.schulich.yorku.ca/client/schulich/Schulich_LP4W_LND_WebStation.nsf/page/Master+of+Finance!OpenDocument

Broad Finance topics to know

• Public Finance
• Investment Finance
• Business Performance
• Corporate Finance

Public Finance

• Public finance is the study of how money interacts with and circulates within government. Some common public finance concepts include determining tax rates, studying central bank operations and investments, and investigating monetary reform. A example of a project is a country comparison, in which the student investigates the effectiveness of another country's monetary policies toward the U.S. Such a project is common in international MBA programs.

Investment Finance

• Investment finance is the study of how public markets gain and trade money. Concepts such as stock markets and global currency markets fall under this category. Projects typically involve a study of broad financial measures. For example, a project can be an analysis of the Dow Jones Industrial Average during the past five years, which might include a chart of the quarterly Dow results and a study of how different factors, such as booms and recessions, significantly affected the trend of the index.

Business Performance

• Sometimes considered as the indicator of investment finance, business performance is the study of how a business increases its profitability and value. Fundamental concepts include balance sheet analysis and determining financial profitability ratios. These factors are commonly used by potential investors to determine fluctuations in a company's stock value. MBA students can do the same in their projects. For example, they can research the trend of a company's past stock prices and current company performance to predict the company's growth rate and future stock price.

Corporate Finance

• Corporate finance involves how businesses make investment decisions. There are multiple topics included in corporate finance, such as working capital management and determining financial risk. MBA students can focus finance projects on the completion of return on investment analyses. Completing ROI forms is a required skill in corporate decision-making settings. An example assignment is to evaluate the effectiveness of a project proposal. Given a real time or simulated project proposal, the student would conduct a thorough analysis of different factors, such as cost and opportunity, and decide whether the proposal is worth the investment.

From the link: http://www.ehow.com/info_7977528_topics-mba-finance-projects.html

Popular MBA specializations or MBA specializations in demand. (Demand for Finance has declined a bit & demand for Entrepreneurship & others like Int Bus., Proj. Mgmt. has increased)

This is not a comprehensive list. And there is no specific answer to this question. Popularity of MBA specializations vary from time to time. There is no right or wrong choice. It is up to the individual. However, it has been found that the demand for MBA Finance has decreased by a little and demand for other fields like Entrepreneurship has increased.
As per one survey conducted,  these were the Top 5 popular choices (totals do not add upto 100%):

• General Management (52% of respondents found it important),
• Strategy / Consulting (50%)
• International Management / Business (47%)
• Finance (38%)
• Entrepreneurship (30%)

More excerpts from the link above:
“Governments have come to the view – rightly or wrongly – that their influence on their economies is greatly weakened in a globalizing world and now put great emphasis on business start ups and entrepreneurship to generate jobs and growth. Not surprising therefore that entrepreneurship has a higher profile in business schools.” "There has been a shift in the way business schools see their role in society. business schools for a time seemed to be content at being good at providing management education. Increasingly they seem to be thinking that their role in society is to make the world a better place. We increasingly see graduates interested in social entrepreneurship.” 

After the financial crash [at the end of the last decade] the finance sector was offering fewer career opportunities to MBA students and this is likely to be the case for some time as banks and other institutions come under greater regulatory control.” As a result of reportedly fewer jobs available in finance industries, MBA applicants have chosen to pursue careers involving entrepreneurship as a more realistic option.

“There have been fewer opportunities for MBA graduates to move into have the financial services sector recently”. “This has meant that students have looked at other sectors and have chosen electives such as entrepreneurship or project management which may fit their career aspirations, perhaps for some, better than Corporate Finance.”

What is a Consulting Analyst designation? ---> It is an Analyst who does not work for a company, but does Analysis for them as an External Contractor or Consultant

What Is a Consulting Analyst? -- powered by ehow

A Consulting Analyst is a person with a pretty specific job description. Details are provided by an accomplished consultant, financier, and marketing expert in this free video clip.

How to become a Financial Analyst? ---> VERY strong Maths background, Quantitative Analysis skills, Statistics & Excel skills, Be very detail oriented (+ Undergraduate degree in Finance or Commerce, if possible) + MBA completion + CFA designation.

How to Become a Financial Analyst -- powered by ehow

To become a Financial Analyst, get a Finance degree, a CFA designation and an M.B.A. Financial analysts must have a strong background in mathematics. This is a video by a portfolio manager.

Factors affecting MBA salaries + sample salaries for 2006.

From the link: http://www.mymbacareer.com/mba-facts/mba-salary.html

• Your school's reputation
• Post-MBA role
• Geographic location
• Industry you are employed in
• Cost of living
• Pre-MBA experience
• Undergraduate major

Here is some info about salaries of first-year MBA graduates in different career fields. The average 2006 base salaries plus additional compensations were as follows:

• Health Care – $111,477
• Finance – $103,122
• Consulting – $101,736
• Energy/Utilities – $100,263
• High Tech – $98,621
• Manufacturing – $98,417
• Products/Services – $94,558
• Non-Profit/Government – $73,125

The potential employee has to make a choice:

• A higher base salary or
• A lower salary + bonuses & perks (Annual bonuses, car allowance, tuition reimbursement, relocation costs etc). 

Final year MBAs have high value in the Marriage Market! Just a matter of converting the intangibles to tangible assets!

As the MBA students near the end of their education and get close to starting their internships or jobs, their value is bound to rise in the marriage market! This is in regards to those who are single / unattched and looking for a life partner.

At this stage, the MBA has begun to transition from a spender to an earner and having almost completed the business education, has a huge potential. The individual's net worth increases because of the intangible assests - knowledge of business management. The intangibles convert to tangible assests within a matter of weeks or months after graduation - signing bonuses / good pay packages / good job offers.

So for all the single girls and guys out there looking to get married, here is a secret or a tip ---> Find a nice final year MBA student with good background, good character & integrity, good academic record and lots of ambition. You just can't go wrong, LOL. Yes, we are in the midst of an economic slowdown. But you know what is good? The next boom shall be here in less than a decade. MBAs are paid well. And the hiring frenzy and big bonuses will comeback. In any case, no matter what the external factors, the smart ones shall always find a way to thrive and succeed!

Of course, there is the drive to make the world a better place. But career success is huge for MBA students and there is nothing wrong with people wanting to be successful.

Cheers!
Gerry Som.
Blogger @ www.gerry.in
Toronto, Canada.

TIMING is EVERYTHING ! + The WISDOM of LOSING.

The secret to riches is the same as the secret to comedy - TIMING!

From the movie "A Good Year". (This is in regards to buying and selling in the stock and bond market). The opening trading scene from this movie is a Must Watch for MBA students. What a pleasure to watch and learn, for ALFs (Aggressive Little Flunky) on the trading floor.

More wisdom from the movie:

• A man should acknowledge his losses just as gracefully as he celebrates his victories.
• A man learns nothing much from winning.
• The act of losing however, can elicit great wisdom.
• It is inevitable to lose once in a while. The trick is, not to make a habit out of it!
• Once you find something good, you have to take care of it; You have to let it grow!

Heard of "C-Level Decision Makers?". But what the heck is C-Level or C-Suite in Management terms? (Hint: All starting from C :)

I had an interview recently, where I was discussing the importance of Social Media with the person interviewing me. While I stressed that Social Media is extremely important, the interviewer's opinion was that it was not relevant in their case, since they mostly dealth with C-Levels. I paused for a moment, thinking, "What the heck is C-Level?" I had no clue. I had to actually ask the person "What is C-Suite?" The person explained to me, and the interview continued. But I felt mildly embarassed.

I am writing this blog post below, so that you do know what C-Level means and so that you shall not be embarassed in an interview.

Info from the links:

• http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/C-level
• http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/c-suite.asp#axzz1qgTXpaFy

C-level: is an adjective used to describe high-ranking executive titles within an organization.C, in this context, stands for Chief.

C-Suite: A widely-used slang term used to collectively refer to a corporation's most important senior executives. C-Suite gets its name because top senior executives' titles tend to start with the letter C, for chief, as in chief executive officer, chief operating officer and chief information officer. 

More about 'C-Suite': The C-suite is considered the most important and influential group of individuals at a company. Being a member of this group comes with high-stakes decision making, a more demanding workload and high compensation. As "chief" titles proliferate, however, job-title inflation may decrease the prestige associated with being a member of the C-suite. 

C-level titles include (among many other possibilities):

• CCO (Chief Compliance Officer)
• CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
• COO (Chief Operating Officer)
• CTO (Chief Technolgy Officer)
• CIO (Chief Information Officer)
• CFO (Chief Financial Officer)
• CKO (Chief Knowledge Officer)
• CSO (Chief Security Officer)
• CMO (Chief Medical Officer)

"Mine is bigger than yours!" - Competition for jobs amongst MBA students.

Now that the batch is nearing the completion of the MBA program, there is competition for internships and jobs among students - whether implicit ot explicit.

What else did you expect, will happen, bro? A large pool of MBA students shall be competing for a limited pool of jobs. It is like a pack of hungry lions all attacking that one poor deer by the lakeside, LOL.

I have heard of MBA starting salaries from way low to way high. This is general talk, but I have heard of MBA grads unemployed for a while or doing odd jobs at $11 / hour while waiting to get a full time job in a suitable industry. At the same time, I have heard of MBAs with major in Finance being offered big salary packages of upto $300,000 per year (including all bonuses) - a starting salary offer made by Deutshe Bank for a position in London to an Indian IIM (Indian Institute of Management) graduate majoring in Finance! So, there is a whole spectrum of salaries.

Now, who gets what?

•  Effort is directly proportional to result (or at least that is how it ought to be!) More job applications = better chance of finding jobs
• Those who start job hunt early have better chances
• Those with strong networks may be able to find positions faster
• Those who are good at promoting themselves have better chances
• Those with suitable under graduate education (that are favourable to the job market) may have better chances of employment than those whose UG degrees are not in demand.
• More soon...

- Gerry Som.

BComms & BBAs are competition to MBAs !!! or "BComms & BBAs are a threat to some MBA jobs !"

The business school where I study has the largest undergraduate business program in Canada! Our school building is filled with new students and fresh young faces everywhere! There is so much energy, joy and laughter in our school everywhere - the alleyways, the elevator, the student hang out areas, coffee shops - everywhere! (At the same time, it is no secret that our UG business program gets more attention and care as compared to our Masters programs).

However, it is these very innocent looking fresh faces that are a HUGE threat to us MBA students, when it comes to jobs, LOL :) A lot of Consulting Companies and Banks hire BBAs and BComms as Analysts and Associates. They are ok to be paid lesser than MBAs, they work hard and they are eager to learn. A lot of Auditing companies as well as retail companies hire undergrads.

MBAs are unwelcome for some entry level jobs, for some reason. Perhaps the employers think of us as prudes. MBAs have arrogance / confidence and will not be satisfied with lower paying jobs. Why? Coz we just dropped a significant amount for our MBA education and need to recover our expenses or investment - any way you look at it.

So it is sometimes the case of the cat stealing all the cream. Of course, there can be debates about who the jobs "really belong to". And who is taking whose jobs away. The reality? The jobs don't belong to nobody, bro! It is a free market. Anyone who qualifies and fits the job requirements, WINS!

- Gerry Som.

Random Job Strategies for Final Year MBA students

Debt, dependence & dead-end jobs! All this due to unemployment after graduation. Who needs the trouble? Here are some tips to find jobs, apart from the usual advise of networking etc.

• Start job hunting Early.
• Stop being picky / choosy about the exact fit (company / sector / category).
• Get a foot in the door first. Climb the ladder later.
• Look for locations where not everyone would want to go (remote areas / overseas job openings)
• Do not write MBA on the resume. (one of my friends did this. He applied to a junior position at a big company, but did not write about the MBA in the resume, to avoid being seen as overqualified. He landed an interview!) 
• More soon...

- Gerry Som.

Warren Buffet on MBA careers.

Here is Warren Buffet's advise on jobs, for final MBA students. Warren Buffet inspired Ivey HBAs and MBAs who made the trip to Omaha today, with the words:

• "Find a job that you would take if you had all the money in the world" &
• "Never trade your reputation away for money."