Looking forward to an eventful year with Wealth Management Institute, Nanyang Technological University

5 January 2019

Weekends are precious. For many, weekends provide the time to catch up with friends, spend time with families, engage in hobbies or simply, rest. It was the same for me, except that, it will be a little different this year. A believer of lifelong learning, I have enrolled myself in the WMI’s inaugural Masters in Asset and Wealth Management program, a one-year program that will be conducted over alternate weekends.

Today is the first day of the program, also known as orientation day. The orientation began with an introduction to the Masters program, followed by an overview of WMI, by the Academic and Program Directors. For me, some of the biggest takeaways were –

• Raising the standards of the industry – With the support of Temasek and GIC, WMI has been deeply involved in talent development for Singapore’s wealth and asset management industry since 2003. WMI works directly with financial institutions and regulators to develop programs that are aligned to serve the needs of the industry.
• Beyond Competence… Integrity and Professionalism – The memories of the Global Financial Crisis have not gone away. The need to rebuild trust (and thrust-worthiness) in finance remains a crucial task. For practitioners, ethics and professionalism must always be observed.
• I was impressed by the diversity of my classmates – 9 nationalities, rich working experience and wide variance in age (20+ years!). It was heartening to know that I will be learning alongside such an experienced and diverse group in the next 12 months.

For lunch, the academic staff took us to a bar & bistro (Bodacious) located at the nearby Biopolis. We took the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the sports and recreational facilities within the NTU@one-north building as we walked through the back of the building to Biopolis. The WMI team shared with us that one-north is a thriving work-live-play-learn area that houses many research & development, knowledge-based industries and start-ups e.g. GovTech, the Singapore Government Technology Agency and Lucasfilm’s studio.

The activity after lunch was the highlight of the day. We participated in a teambuilding activity where we were split into five teams. In a nutshell, each team was tasked to solve a series of puzzles to unlock three number locks sequentially that would eventually provide the code to unlock a safe, all within one-and-a-half hours. From solving crossword puzzles, forming words, identifying patterns to bodmas calculations, the puzzles tested a wide range of skills. All teams wasted no time to dive into the tasks and within a few minutes, the room was abuzz with activity. It was a great way to know everyone better, as we were made to collaborate though barely knowing one another. The climax came after the leading team opened the third number lock and proceeded to work on cracking the safe at the front of the seminar room. Naturally, we assumed that the team that opened the safe first would win. However, the leading team realised that to open the safe, they needed to obtain the clues from the other teams as well and hence, they had to help other teams. Eventually, we all emerged winners as everyone pieced together the final puzzle to unlock the safe.

 

The organisers conducted a debrief. As we re-collected the activity and shared our experience, one thing became apparent – though from different backgrounds, we have all convened with a common mission – to excel and become leaders in the asset and wealth management industry. Clearly, the message from WMI is to work together, study hard and play hard. This program has made an impact on my life already! I look forward to face the challenges of the program and to learn from some of the smartest and most experienced people I have ever known.

Posted on behalf of:

Mr Yuwei Koh

Class of 2019