A self-discovery journey
My
career journey in finance was a process of learning and growing as well as a
journey of self-discovery. It revealed
my strengths, my courage to face challenges and my resilience to overcome
hurdles. I wish to share my experience, wisdom, and insights.
Embrace opportunities
The
first job that I liked was a Research Assistant role at Prime East
Securities, a Singapore investment bank. I joined it in 1994 after working
for 11 months for a financial data provider – Bridge Information
System. While there in Prime East, I found my academic background was not
sufficient, therefore, my husband (who was my boyfriend) and I
decided to study in the UK between 1995-1997 to gain extra
qualifications. We studied the final year of the BSc (Hons) in Statistics
and Operational Research and then acquired an MSc in Finance at Lancaster
University in 1997.
When
we returned to Hong Kong, the Asian Crisis had negatively impacted the
financial industry with many job losses. I sent over 100 application letters
and got around 20 interviews, including investment banks, fund management
houses, consulting firms, and insurance companies. Although I had a
strong desire to return to investment banks, I got no offer, while
Manulife Insurance offered me a marketing research role, I accepted and worked
for them for six months until my previous boss in Prime East joined DBS
Securities and recruited me as a Data Analyst.
Identify my strengths and interests
When
I worked at DBS Securities, my focus was on macro and equity data analysis for
China and Hong Kong markets. I supported the Head of Research, Economist and
seven sector analysts. I got opportunities to write two IPO reports where I
found my interest was not in the fundamental analysis of equities. I confirmed
my strengths and interests in quantitative analysis. After one and a half
years, my boss left DBS and joined a Chinese investment firm. As a result, I
too decided to quit DBS.
In
early 2000, the Regional Strategist of BNP Paribas hired me as the Quantitative
Analyst to cover the region. It was challenging for me initially, as we needed
to cover Asia ex-Japan markets in which I had no experience. It took me about
two years and a lot of determination to familiarize myself with the analysis of
macroeconomics, fund flows and earnings parameters in Taiwan, Korea, Singapore,
Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Dare to face challenges and take up more responsibilities
When
BNP Paribas set up an Asian hedge fund sales team in 2005, I decided to join
the team as a Derivatives Analyst. My team also offered me an opportunity to
work with the global derivatives research team in Paris for two weeks, to learn
how they analyse the European derivatives market and then to apply them in
Asia. After accumulating five years of experience in macro strategies and
equities knowledge, I had plenty of ideas for generating long/short, basket,
and option and volatility trading strategies for hedge funds, pension funds,
family office and wealth management clients.
The
Asian equities market was very robust from 2005 until the Lehman Crisis in
2008. I achieved top rankings by the Institutional Investors, which boosted my
career promptly. I enjoyed favourable career and compensation advancement. I
was enthusiastic about research and eager to meet challenges. When my boss
asked me to write research on two frontier markets – Vietnam and Pakistan, I
put my best effort into researching, analysing, and publishing investment
reports although I had zero knowledge of them. In addition, because the Japan
hedge fund sales team has no headcount for a derivatives analyst, they sought
my help in writing Japan derivatives research. I took the challenge and covered
a bigger market. The additional responsibility helped me to attain excellent
rankings in derivative research in both Asia ex-Japan and Japan. One time, one
of the Japanese derivatives trading heads visited me in the Hong Kong office
and was surprised to discover I was working alone, instead of as he originally
thought in a team of three.
Explore outside opportunities
In
2007, when the market was booming, a US house gave me an offer of an equity
derivatives strategist role. To keep me, my company promoted me to the Head of
Quantitative Research with a decent salary increment. My big boss told me that
he asked various sales and trading heads whether the company should retain me.
Most of them replied quickly with a “yes”. He mentioned to me that “Good Luck”
was not luck but had done many things correctly. I understood my work attitude,
competence in derivatives research as well as the internal and external
recognition had finally paid off. My attitude and hard work made me a valuable
and indispensable staff in the company.
Building rapport in the workspace and cultivate a positive attitude towards criticism
I
exercised my strong interpersonal skills to coordinate and collaborate well
with most of my colleagues. Other than being helpful and supportive, I treated
people with kindness and respect. Humility is my trait; I exhibited my
open-mindedness to different opinions and perspectives and have a positive
attitude towards constructive criticism. On the flip side, I accepted it was
normal that not everyone appreciated my work and ability. Our team still faced
attacks or destructive criticism occasionally, which were out of our control. One
of the criticisms was my English being a non-native; I acknowledged it was my
weakness in an international firm and determined to put effort into improving
it while delivering quality research.
My challenges and work-life balance
During
my career in the derivatives department, my daughter and my son were born, in
2005 and 2010 respectively. It was immensely challenging for me to produce
quality work and take care of two little kids. Between 2008 to 2011, I
gradually built up a team with three more derivatives analysts to support me in
generating various trading ideas. Unfortunately, the industry had been
struggling after the Lehman Crisis due to more regulations, and we faced some
restructuring occasionally. In 2011, within one year, I lost two teammates due
to cost-cutting. The management decided to promote my colleague who helped to
pitch derivatives strategies to lead the team, which meant a demotion to me,
and I was rather upset. However, being a positive person, I told myself not to
waste time being unhappy but to focus on what I could do.
Indeed,
I knew my big boss treated me quite well in terms of compensation and I
believed the management did not dislike me. I regarded it as a consolidation
phase of my career after surging quickly within a few years till the pre-Lehman
level. Although I lost my team head role, I was fine to focus on my Asian
Equities & Derivatives Strategist role. Indeed, I was keen on researching
and writing trading strategies rather than being a manager. I remained
constructive in tackling this challenge by reading books to broaden my
knowledge, expanding my horizons, and tuning into the right mindset. I was
dedicated to writing good thematic and quarterly strategies to earn recognition
from sales and clients. Meanwhile, this allowed me to attain a better work-life
balance and take care of my kids. My boss needed to travel a lot, join
management events over the weekend and handle many frustrating criticism and
politics. I admitted the pros and cons and give and take of this change.
Strong adaptability to cope with changes
In
the finance industry, we always encounter waves of changes or restructuring. In
investment banks, the top management changes every few years, followed by
consequential changes in their hierarchies. We need strong adaptability to cope
with endless changes and embrace new challenges.
In
my 17 years at BNP Paribas, I worked with five direct bosses, three global
heads and many colleagues. Every time, when there was a change in my direct
manager, I endeavoured to understand their management style, demands, and
expectations and rebuild mutual trust. Constant communication was crucial to
understanding their difficulties and evolving needs. My priority was to deliver
high-quality work and provide support to help them overcome difficulties.
In
the past, during my career development, I believed attitude was the most
crucial engine to drive success. The right attitude covers humility,
confidence, open-mindedness, collaboration, determination, perspectives,
personal growth, responsibility … etc. I was not wrong, but later in coaching I
learned more about mechanisms which influence mindsets (internal), and drive attitudes
and behaviour (external).
The last stage of my career in finance
In
early 2017, when our team was under the Global Markets, my team started to
develop cross-asset research by coordinating the Asian economists and
cross-asset analysts. Unfortunately, all this effort was wasted when we
suddenly faced a dramatic restructuring, I was told that the top management
decided to move me to the compliance team. I was shocked and upset, but it took
me a weekend to move on. I planned to leave if I couldn’t find any roles that I
wanted to do. In two weeks, the whole Asian economic team (four economists)
were sacked, and my boss changed his role to oversee a big data project. I
thank myself for reading books about positive psychology over the past few
years to manage this challenge more comfortably.
When
I look back on my career in finance, I feel lucky as I loved researching,
analysing, and writing. I was fortunate to climb up the corporate ladder thanks
to my endeavour and the booming industry. I felt grateful to all my previous
bosses who gave me the opportunities, guided me in my career, and the people
who helped and supported me. I also met many intelligent, inspiring, and kind
people; I still maintain friendships with some of them. Even those who were not
easy to work with brought me new perspectives, widened my horizons and helped
me hone my interpersonal skills. I got to visit or work in BNP Paribas offices
in New York, London, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, and Singapore. I met clients in
Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, the UK, Netherlands, Canada, and the US and was
glad to know some of them followed my research and some would discuss our
quarterly strategies. I felt grateful for all these precious experiences.
Being
a solid person who always focuses on growth, the accumulation of knowledge,
experience, and wisdom over the past two decades has enhanced my confidence. I
developed from a low self-esteem poor kid and young adult to a confident
lifetime learner. Without worrying about my future, I was excited to explore
what would be next, and I would go with the flow.
Since
I love learning new things, after two decades in finance, I felt there weren't
many exciting perspectives for me to learn, so I decided to step out of my
comfort zone and pursue something completely new. That's how I got the idea to
be a Life Coach and a blogger. I understood that ending something meant the
beginning of something else. Thereafter, I took further challenges to move to
Cambridge, set up a glass business and self-actualise into a Life Coach and
Writer.
Tips to the young generation
I
believe the first step on the career path of young individuals should be to
identify their strengths and interests. The second should be how to apply the
identified strengths to the pursuit of a career that they are interested in. I
observed those who climbed up the corporate ladder successfully usually have
some outstanding traits while they may not need to be good at everything. Because
applying one’s strengths can lead to their best performance.
The
young generation can benefit from connecting with senior and middle managers
when they get a chance to work together. I advocate going out of your way to
showcase your ability and adaptability as it will get you noticed and pay off
in the long term. Instead of being cocky and impatient, give the relationship
time to develop. Once the rapport has been built, arrange meetings in less
formal settings such as a casual coffee or lunch. This will provide a chance to
seek advice and an opportunity for the “mentors” to share their knowledge,
experience, and perspective. These kinds of interactions will translate into a
better working atmosphere in the office.
One
must nurture a positive attitude, put considerable effort into delivering
remarkable performance, build internal and external networks, and foster
patience and perseverance. Developing a solid foundation is crucial to a
sustainable progression. Other than career, one must not forget to enjoy the
journey of advancement, pursuing good health and spending time with their loved
ones.
During
my professional journey, monetary reward was not my main aim. Satisfaction,
pride in making great market calls, the recognition by my colleagues and
clients, the advancement in my career, and the feeling of improving and
becoming more competent were my motivation. Contentment with my own
intellectual progress and interpersonal development were also big factors. I
focused on the perspectives that I could control.
Embrace changes and challenges
I
wish to encourage everyone to stay positive and constructive in challenging
circumstances. To embrace challenges as lessons, take the opportunities to learn
and grow, build resilience and explore and revise strategies to confront and
overcome hurdles.
Winner Lee
Life Coach,
Mentor, Writer
The original article was published on LinkedIn on June 7, 2024.
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