MSC FINANCIAL ENGINEERING

Winner of the McGill International Portfolio Challenge: “Balance your studies with real-world experiences”

Of the 93 teams from 18 countries that joined the prestigious McGill International Portfolio Challenge 2020, a Singapore group comprising students from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the National University of Singapore has emerged as the global champion.

A member of this winning team, Lee Chin Ann, is a candidate in NTU’s Master of Science in Financial Engineering (MFE) programme. The other team members are Ryan Matthew Heng, Joey Ong, and Jiehui Tan.

Chin Ann says his team was enthusiastic about joining the challenge from the get-go: “We wanted an opportunity to use our skills and create a portfolio to address significant, global events such as Brexit and Covid (COVID)-19.”  

The McGill Challenge was the platform for them to do just that, as the annual buy-side finance competition challenges teams to reimagine the future of long-term investment in a complex, changing world.

In the 2020 edition, the teams were tasked to help a fictitious UK sovereign wealth fund with portfolio allocation that could create social impact while sustaining long-term economic returns.

The proposal from Chin Ann and the team saw an allocation of assets to critical sectors such as international markets, green infrastructure, and enterprise development. Charitable giving of up to £50 million a year was also part of their plan.

“Our team’s diverse backgrounds – from finance and financial engineering to mechanical engineering and computer science – allowed us to build a balanced and holistic portfolio that met the fund’s objectives,” Chin Ann says.

Using Tools from the MFE Programme

Chin Ann is grateful for the practical tools he gained from the MFE programme, which he used to structure the portfolio.

“For example, I used regression analysis, a method that I learned from the course, to analyse the impact of ‘hard Brexit’ on our portfolio,” he says. I also tapped Monte Carlo methods to simulate our portfolio returns, and considered the best trade-off between risk and return with the mean-variance optimisation tool.”

Being equipped with these methods, Chin Ann says he could solidly back-test and stress-test the portfolio.

“It’s amazing to put these tools into action,” he continues. “And even more amazing to create a winning portfolio with them!”

Practising Time Management

Apart from entering the competition, Chin Ann also invests his energy into various stints at major financial institutions while studying.

He was enrolled in a direct master’s degree programme, where he began with the Bachelor of Accountancy in 2017. Since then, he has done stints at Citigroup, Barclays, and OCBC.

Having graduated from the Master of Science in Financial Engineering programme and placed on the Dean’s list, Chin Ann will now embark on a career with Citigroup as a Global Markets Analyst.

This raises the question: How does he do it all?

“It’s super tough,” Chin Ann admits. “I have to practise strict time management. I create timelines and prioritise tasks. What I find really effective is lessening my focus on the immensity of a project or task. Instead, I break things down into bite-sized pieces. This way, they look less scary and more achievable.”

Sports also helps him to take his mind off work for a while. “Squash, soccer, and basketball – these keep me alive,” he adds.

Making Sense of the Real World

Ultimately, it can be said that quantitative finance is Chin Ann’s deep and abiding passion.

“It’s the language through which I feel most excited about expressing myself,” he says. “I enjoy using quantitative methods to analyse and achieve results.”

Chin Ann explains that joining the McGill competition and doing internships stem from his belief that apart from gaining knowledge through academia, understanding the real-world matters, too.

“While academia can give us a strong foundation for entering the industry, it’s just the beginning,” he says. “I find that it’s equally important to make sense of the  real world – whether through work experience, friends, colleagues and mentors, the career development office, or keeping up with the news.”

In a post-pandemic world, balancing one’s studies with real-world experiences is even more crucial, as organisations are rethinking and changing their practices quickly. All of us would eventually have to catch up.

Connecting with Others

Chin Ann describes his working stints as “enlightening”.

Banks have an open culture, he says, where he can ask questions without fear and learn from admirable mentors: “We discuss financial developments, share thoughtful conversations and widen each other’s networks.”

In fact, through the help of others, Chin Ann has been able to hone his strength in quantitative finance in the direction that he wants.

He makes it a point to catch up with friends in his undergraduate studies and clubs, alumni, current classmates, professors, and more.

“The finance world is huge,” he says. “So I’m often curious about the paths that others have chosen and what their careers entail. Their advice offers me tips for my future and guides me on the trading floor. I’m truly thankful for the connections that I have with them.”

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