My interest in quantitative finance dates from two unforgettable research experiences. When I was in my junior year, I took one independent studying course exploring numerical methods for pricing and hedging the risk of American Put Options supervised by Professor Kenneth Jackson. In contrast to binomial lattice models, the numerical and computational method priced the options more accurately as well as promised more effective methods for hedging the risk. I have been actively engaged in challenging projects to develop my analytical skills further. Equipped with some understanding of financial derivatives and solid programming skill in MATLAB and VBA, I got the chance to collaborate with a Ph.D. student in an open-ended project in pricing Game(or Israeli) Options from an innovative view of the issuer. Applying Monte Carlo simulation of SDEs and finite difference methods for solving PDEs, I helped converting our pricing model into numerical solutions, which provided instruments to verify our assumptions. Rather than feeling disoriented, I found it exhilarating when searching for new ideas and examining each critically. Accordingly, I not only enhanced my statistical analysis skills but further improved my model building and computational skills as well.
Academic aside, I was intrigued by portfolio management after assisting Professor Luis Seco in constructing portfolios for a major bank based on its investment goals. The whole process of portfolio construction gave me a chance to interact with the clients, which helped me to improve my communication skills. Moreover, I found that this work matched my outgoing personality well.
My undergraduate education has completely prepared me for the rigors of graduate study in mathematical finance. My knowledge in mathematics and statistics include but not limited to linear algebra, Real Analysis, PDEs, Stochastic Calculus linear regression model and Time series. Furthermore, financial and programming courses have familiarized me with topics like corporate finance, mathematical finance, MATLAB, VBA and C programming, thereby acquainting me with the rudiments of using programming skills to deal with quantitative finance issue.
Furthermore, my internship experiences have successfully nurtured my analytical skills for the financial industry. During my internship in the Longjiang Bank Corporation asset management team, I assisted my manager in constructing portfolios for clients using my knowledge and intuition in the finance field. Nonetheless, I found that they lacked sufficient knowledge for credit analysis and the quantitative tools needed to evaluate financial products. Therefore, they had to rely on quotes from trustable third parties specializing in quantitative pricing. This affected their progress in portfolio construction, for it took much time to explain the details of the products to the third parties. Realizing this problem drove me to determine to be a portfolio manager good at quantitative skills, which further motivated my dream in quantitative finance.
Apart from my academic endeavors, my outgoing personality supported my goal to devote time to meaningful extracurricular activities. As leader of community services volunteers at Unison Health and Community Services, I lead my team in producing promotional video to raise fund for the Art Beats program which aimed at assisting children with mental disorders and disabled community members in painting. Eventually, the Art Beats program successfully attracted the attention of various sponsors. Despite spending a lot of time on this project for two years, I managed to perform well academically too, due to my effective time management skills.