Sakshi Tomar
ECE, Batch of 2012
MSc. Economics, London School of Economics
Analyst, Royal Bank of Scotland
Sakshi Tomar, NSIT alumna of Batch of 2012, shares her experience as an Analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland in London and about her time at LSE.
You have been an ECE student at NSIT. When did you realize that Finance/Economics is your calling?
ECE was not something that interested me from the start. I did engineering for mathematical training it provides.
Can you shed some more light on your current profile at RBS? Tell us more about the DCM team, the kind of people and exposure at the London office.
I work in securitised products covering Western European clients excluding UK. The work involves structuring/modelling asset backed securities including RMBS, CMBS, CLOs. I also work with M&A process around sale/purchase of legacy (i.e. pre-2008) portfolios and non-core (i.e. loans that some banks want to exit out of) to private equity investors. The team is pan-European, as is common in any bank in London. There is day-to-day client contact as is common with any front office role.
How is a typical day at Royal Bank of Scotland?
The three main workflows would be liaising with clients, legal etc. on various stages of the project, modelling and structuring depending on each project, pitching and research etc.
Why did you choose Masters in Economics at LSE? How would you compare MSc in Economics with Masters in Finance/Financial Engineering (in terms of relevance to jobs in the Finance domain) ?
I thought I’d end up doing development economics, which I am happy I did not pursue. I’d recommend MSc Finance/ Finance & Economics at LSE, Bocconi or LBS for Europe. Also, I’d recommend US programmes over European because of easier visa rules.
How would you compare LSE with Indian Universities and other top Universities across the globe?
LSE is fine as long as you want to work in the City or opt for PhD abroad. Culture-wise, it is as good as any top university, obviously above Indian ones. IIMs are the better cost-effective alternative.
Women are underrepresented in the Finance sector. What are your views on the long working hours and attrition rate in Investment Banks? Or do you think some Investment Banks are worth the hype?
British banks have less onerous culture but anyone should be prepared to do as much as the job demands. I am still trying to figure out why there are so few women MDs despite there being as many females analysts as male. Obviously, it’s not worth worrying about at your stage.
Any Words of advice for NSITians willing to make a career in Finance?
It’s engaging work, worth the effort. Not glamorous. You will need to have both numbers and people skills.