Tell me about yourself / What did you do after graduation?
After graduating from the MAST program at Georgetown University, I returned to Beijing, China. I joined one of China’s top mutual funds, CCB Principal Asset Management Co., Ltd., as a financial engineering researcher in quantitative investment. After three years, I became a portfolio manager. After working there for six years, I joined another mutual fund, Founder Fubon Fund Management Co., Ltd., where I currently work as a portfolio manager. I am also responsible for quantitative investment research of the investment department. My work focuses on developing mathematical models for portfolio management, such as multi-factor quantitative models. Recently, I have been focusing more on developing AI models using machine learning algorithms. These models are used for stock selection, hedging strategy development, and portfolio management.
Why did you choose Georgetown?
I was very fortunate to choose the MS program at Georgetown University. I completed my undergraduate studies at Washington State University with dual degrees in Mathematics and Economics. My dream has always been to work in buy-side investment. When I was about to graduate, I interned at a hedge fund in Beijing. My internship mentor told me that my undergraduate math skills were not strong enough and suggested that I pursue a master’s degree. He said it would be best to find a program focused on practical applications. I spent a week researching graduate programs in mathematics and statistics. My main focus was whether the courses in the program were closely tied to real-world applications. Mathematics or statistics is like a language or a tool. For example, a hammer. Knowing what a hammer is doesn’t matter unless you know how to use it to fix something. I reviewed programs at over 30 universities, studied the courses in detail, and gathered as much information as I could. In the end, I applied to two universities. Georgetown University quickly offered me admission, and I chose it without hesitation. Choosing Georgetown not only gave me hope for my career but also brought me love. Maybe Georgetown can bring both hope and love to others too.
How did the MAST program prepare you for your career?
I believe the MAST program was very helpful for my career development. It gave me a strong foundation in mathematics and statistics for my work in quantitative investment. This program focuses on practical teaching, which helped me understand the real-world applications of every formula. It also taught me how to choose the right statistical model when dealing with complex datasets, which is very important. Another thing to mention is that most of the courses in this program require you to use programming software for learning and analysis. This greatly improved my programming skills. The practical guidance in math and statistics, combined with programming training, has made my daily work much easier. Lastly, the overall course design in MAST is very reasonable and up to date.
Each course teaches a specific skill thoroughly. For example, the Time Series course is very useful in the financial industry, where time series data is everywhere. This course gives you nearly all the skills you need to handle and analyze such data in the future. Another example is the Data Mining course, which teaches you how to gather useful data and choose the right machine learning models for analysis. These skills are extremely important in the age of AI.
What’s your advice for alums?
Be clear about your career goals and prepare for them. If you want to work in a field related to mathematics and statistics, join MAST. It will teach you everything you need to know through practical applications, step by step. If your goal is to work in financial engineering or quantitative hedge funds, the MAST program will give you all the knowledge you need. You should also understand that many applications of mathematics and statistics, especially in future jobs, depend on programming skills. You must work hard to improve your programming ability.
When you understand both math and statistics and know how to use programming to apply them, you will achieve what you want.