Welcome to the fifth feature of our USneakPeek series! This time, we feature Cheung Yik Fung, an NBS Banking & Finance alumni measuring an astonishing 193cm! The friendly giant is a stock trader by profession. Contrary to popular belief, it is a job that allows him to wear bermudas and t-shirts to work, instead of our preconceived notions of financial traders in suits and ties.
Cheung Yik Fung, Banking and Finance Graduate & NTU-USP Alumni
Interview By: Anna Cheang, Law Jia Ying
Written By: Alvin Lim, Chua Zong Xuan
Photo by: Amanda Chang
“If you really want to get there, you’ll push yourself and find ways to achieve your goals. What’s more important is that you don’t stop working hard and smart.”
What have you been up to since graduation?
I have been working since I graduated in July last year after I returned from my Tianjin summer exchange programme. I actually came from work but I don’t look like I came from work (points at attire). That’s because I trade stocks.
Can you give a brief introduction on what your profession is about?
Basically, I buy stocks and sell them for a profit. Whatever the profit is, I take some of it and the rest goes to the company. It’s a little bit different from fund managers or the big banks. They deal with the client’s money while I trade with the company’s money.
How did you choose financial trading as your career?
I have always wanted to do financial trading since I was in JC. That was around 2008 when the financial crisis happened. I started reading about it and it was so interesting that itbecame my inspiration. Most people would think of it as a time of losses — jobs and money — and be dissuaded from anything related to it. But there’s always two sides to a coin, as some people made a lot of money too. I saw the good side, and it got me interested.
The moment I started university, my focus was to become a trader. I just didn’t know what I wanted to trade because there are a lot of products, stocks, bonds, and commodities. It was only till I interned at OCBC’s corporate bonds trading desk that I discovered I liked it.
However, there wasn’t a position for me. Instead, Genk Capital made me my first offer, so I took it up and started trading there. Here’s a funny story — I went to the interview in a formal dress shirt, pants and a nice-looking tie. I sat in the interview room and completed all my questionnaires. That’s when my bosses came in, and they were in shorts and slippers! So I knew that was the place for me. I go to work in shirts, slippers and shorts — in informal attire. It’s a good place to work (chuckles).
We heard that you are really good at playing the cello. Can you tell us more about your musical journey?
I’ve been playing music since I was in primary school!
When I was in Primary 1, my school didn’t have people “big” enough to play the cello in the Chinese Orchestra. I was already very tall back then, so they made me play the cello. As there was no Chinese Orchestra in secondary school, I joined the band and played the trombone as my hands were long. But I still wanted to play the cello, so I joined an orchestra outside of school. In JC, I joined the String Ensemble. From there, I knew people who introduced me to an external symphony orchestra.
I still play in an orchestra occasionally, with The Young Musicians Foundation Orchestra. This orchestra has about 3 or 4 concerts a year, and we have two rehearsals per week one month prior. The commitment isn’t extremely heavy, and it fits my work schedule, so it works out well.
Have you ever considered going further into music?
I actually did! I wanted to go into Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music in NUS, but I realised that I wasn’t as good as others who were trying for that school… I thought that if I was going to do this professionally, I might not enjoy the weekly concerts and constant rehearsals. So, I decided to just go into finance.
Now that you’ve graduated, how have your time in NTU-USP shaped you as a person?
Before I entered university, I tended to do things alone as I don’t mix around with people much. However, after joining NTU-USP, I’ve made a lot more friends than before because the community is small and tight-knitted. Interacting with the many intelligent people in NTU-USP has also shaped the way I think. Attending classes and doing group projects with students from other disciplines gave me new perspectives and insights. This has helped me in my job, because most of the people I work with only know finance. But having gone through a multi-disciplinary education, I gained knowledge in other fields as well. The overseas opportunities that I have gotten from NTU-USP also allowed me to learn new skills in a short period of time. Now, when I’m assessing a company while trading, I have a different perspective on how things are, compared to the others.
Any words of advice for your juniors? (Maybe for those who are graduating soon?)
With regards to looking for a job, most people would go for big companies because that’s the most stable path. You have to weigh your choices carefully. Personally, I chose to work at a small, little-known company where I could learn a lot. It’s personal skills over stability. You advance your skills exponentially. For example, I have never learnt programming before joining this company. However, in just one year, I was forced to learn it, and I can write code now. Of course, the learning curve is very steep, but there’s a lot more learning opportunities in a smaller company.
The problem comes when you want to change jobs. It’s harder to go from smaller companies to bigger ones. It’s easier to go from a big company to a small company. So you have to be very careful when you make your career choice. Weigh all your options and their risks. And don’t be too focused on the big names, such as big banks or the Big Four for finance or accounting. If you really want to get there, I believe you’ll push yourself and find ways to achieve your goals. What’s more important is that you don’t stop working hard and smart.
——
