Pranjal Malav
Masters in Finance, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT)
BioTechnology Batch of 2014
1. How is a Masters in Finance (MSF) different from MBA in Finance/Masters in
Financial Engineering?
A. I’ll start with some explanation of basic finance. Finance can be broadly classified into quantitative and qualitative categories. Quantitative finance comprises of model building, portfolio optimization & programming. Qualitative finance is related to investment banking, corporate finance & equity evaluation. MSF covers both aspects of qualitative and quantitative finance and gives you the freedom to either opt for quantitative or qualitative or both in your curriculum of study.
It is much different from an MBA in Finance because of the fact that MSF program is specifically centred towards finance. On the other hand, an MBA in Finance has a holistic approach and is more centred towards developing an individual’s overall skill set. You have to study marketing, corporate finance, leadership strategies, etc. and you might never gain an in depth knowledge of finance if you choose MBA over MSF. Regarding Master’s in Financial Engineering, it is essentially focused on the quantitative approach towards finance and is not much concerned with the qualitative aspects. It includes programming, model building & algorithmic trading. I highly recommend this course for people who are only focused on applying their computational skills in finance.
2. What made you chose a Master’s in Finance (MSF) degree at IIT Stuart School of Business?
A. The primary reason for choosing the MSF course at IIT Stuart was the wide range of concentrations it has to offer to its students. Students can tailor their degree by choosing from 12 concentrations which include 32 subjects. Additionally, Stuart’s M.S. in Finance and M.M.F. courses are one of the top ranked courses in the world for graduates with little to no experience.
3. What kind of a career path does a student take post MSF?
A. There are a variety of opportunities which one might choose to take post MS in Finance. You could become a portfolio manager, an equity or bond trader, risk management associate, trading desk associate, investment banker and so on. It all depends on what concentrations you chose.
4. What do you do as a part of the Stuart Investments club?
A. There are 10 different sectors out of which one has to be chosen by each member. We have a sector leader for each sector who is more experienced and knowledgeable in this field. These sectors are chosen to pick the company stocks for the portfolio which has a value of around half a million dollars right now. We perform the profitability & solvency analysis of the company, give presentations and then defend the proposal of why the particular company’s stock should be chosen for the portfolio.
5. Any advice to the current batches at NSIT who wish to pursue a career in Finance? Any suggestions for the project ‘NSIT To Wall Street’?
A. If you really wish to be successful in the financial industry, step up your game. Start with acquiring basic financial knowledge from Investopedia and complete some certified online courses which might be quite beneficial. Also develop your programming skills as much as you can in languages like Python, Matlab and C++ which are indispensable in today’s financial world. I would like to wish great success in your project “NSIT to Wall Street” and hope that my knowledge and experience proves useful to the current students of NSIT. I appreciate you guys reaching out to alumni to help the current batches. Best wishes to team Alliance!