June 8, 2023
Name: Antong Lo
Hometown: Born in Hong Kong, raised in Guangzhou
Undergraduate school: Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
Undergraduate major: Finance
Previous work/internship experience before the MS program:
Fund management internships at two privately-offered fund of funds
Investment service internship at a custodian bank
Sales management internship at an insurance company and a mutual fund company.
Why did you choose this program?
I chose this program for the following reasons.
First, because of the strong academic heritage of Stern and NYU Shanghai. The professors and the academic resources offered to students are simply unmatched.
And then also, I needed a second chance to reignite my professional aspirations because I needed to figure out a detailed map of a journey that fits me the best. So I expected to gain that insight from the multitude of the courses offered in this program. Fortunately, I narrowed down and solidified the specific area of my professional pursuit through this program.
What was (were) your favorite course(s) and why?
Chinese Financial Market. Prior to the program, I was often baffled by the legislatures and regulations being implemented in the financial market. I was fundamentally oblivious to the influencing forces and the underlying mechanism driving China’s market, whether it be banking, asset management or other. This created a lot of friction for me when trying to understand how to approach my work in the industry. Professor Han Lin did a fantastic job in mapping out for us the complicated notions and different regulatory bodies that we should pay attention to when making a decision in the industry.
What are some takeaways from the capstone project experience?
The capstone experience was an intensive trial and error process for me. Our group came up with a research proposal that challenges a common framework with which the investors around the world have used to make asset allocation decisions - the Merrill Lynch Clock. It has been much like an experiment, testing the theory with data and analysis without the certainty of prior knowledge. What I tested sometimes confirmed my thesis but also shocked me because the results may turn out to be exactly opposite to expectations. The capstone experience has been much excruciating as it has been inspiring because I felt like I have not only learned so much through the interim failures but also discovered the right way of learning and researching through the pursuit of certain outcomes in the realm of unknowns, at least for myself. During the process, my capstone sponsor gave us advice from a perspective we had never dared to envision. The back and forth with him not only helped the project but shed light on my fundamental thinking structure on the market. Professor Lin was influential in the process as well, as he guided us along the way on how to produce a fruitful academic research. Furthermore, Prof Lin chimed in with his own experience on how to present succinctly, accurately and professionally to senior levels in the corporate world. In general, capstone has been a rewarding experience because it maximized the degree of resemblance to a real-world work environment and hence prepared me for that.
Do you currently have an internship or did you have an internship during your program study? If yes, how did you find this internship and what knowledge or skills did you learn from this internship?
I don’t have any internship lined up as of now and I am still exploring my options. I had two internships in sell-side finance during the program, one being a fund analyst and the other a commodity analyst. Those experiences taught me about how different the real world is from school. I have two major realizations that are derived from the transformation of my old thinking.
First, one really doesn’t have to be versatile to achieve anything, rather, it is probably the other way around that gets you closer to your goal. I used to believe that in order to succeed, one needs to be good at everything, at least in his or her segment of the industry. At work, although I still recognize the importance of being versatile, I was also shaken by the power of specialization. Especially in the research world, I think one can obtain a competitive edge over others if he or she can stay involved in the field for a long time and really concentrate. Versatility and uniqueness can be a pair of contradicting forces; that is, in most cases, the level of uniqueness will decline as one gets more versatile. So one really needs to strike a perfect balance and retrieve a suitable tradeoff between being good at everything and still maintaining the uniqueness.
My second major realization from my internships is the non-linear nature and power of accumulation at work. I realized that expectation management is so crucial in early phases of a career. Sometimes, I can get really hasty when anticipating results from the work I put in. So, I often expect the same, if not more, amount of output per unit of my input as an intern. However, not until later did I find out the non-linear relationship between efforts and results, meaning that the level of marginal output per unit of input is different when you are early in the game than when you are mature in the game. From the communications with my senior colleagues, I realized that the level of benefit added to the output of their work contributed by their accumulation of knowledge and experience really increases in an exponential manner as time goes by. This tells me that perhaps I should not anticipate a lot when I am just starting out because I need to have a solid foundation for the non-linear relationship to kick in. These epiphany-like realizations help me settle down mentally and convince me to remain patient as I am working hard.
In terms of hard skills, I learned the basic framework of conducting industry research and compiling presentation materials needed to make an investment decision.
How do you think the joint set up of the program between Stern and NYU Shanghai impacts the student experience?
The joint setup of the program gave all of us exposure to two of the best metropolitan cities that have vastly different cultures and environments. Especially for students in the MSQF program, we get to obtain opportunities from two of the major financial centers in the world. The dual background is a unique advantage in a competitive work environment. This is particularly true if you are looking to work in an international corporation. Some local firms will appreciate what your overseas education background can offer to the job. For example, in my previous role as a commodity analyst, at one point I was charged with analyzing how the Federal Reserve’s rhetoric has impacted oil prices. This was an example of how relevant and helpful it was to have my knowledge and global business acumen accumulated over the course of my QF classes.
How has this program shaped your career aspirations?
As I mentioned earlier, the program has given me broad insight into the world’s and China’s financial market from banking, insurance to fund and asset management. It gave me the opportunity to scrutinize my past experiences in a microscope and filter out what I like and don’t like as a professional financier. Through multiple office hours sessions with the professors and the knowledge learned from their classes, I have found my passion in quantitative macro research. I would say with strong confidence that the fact that I have zoomed in on my desired area of focus is a collective reflection and result from the program’s academic and professional offerings.
What are your plans after graduation?
My post-graduation plan involves landing a research position in buy-side finance or consulting. Preferably, the research position will be centered around strategic asset allocation because that’s what I plan to go into in the long run.
What else did you enjoy about being a student in this program? (ie. social, academic, professional examples)
I will forever miss being a student. During the length of the program, we were all going back and forth from internship to school. So I think everyone including me will notice the stark difference between being at work and being at school because I am allowed more room to explore at school as opposed to at work. Specifically in QF, I think the professors who have tons of experience and are renowned for their particular work stand out for me. Just being their student is a great honor and pleasure because I can get many questions answered that will otherwise never be revealed to me. There is also so much I got to explore in Shanghai. The food, views, the historical architecture and modern entertainment are simply fabulous. And last but not least, the QF student group is wonderful company. We are in the same major so we are all looking to get into roughly the same industry. We congratulate each other for our achievements, pat each other on the back to get over frustration. We suffer and succeed together.
What is your advice for prospective students who are interested in the program?
Take advantage of the resources around you, be exposed to different things offered by the program. Get acquainted with your professors and extract what you want to know about the real world from them. Cherish the opportunity to talk to a senior management person in the capstone project. Focus on nailing the capstone because it is really a great chance to test your real-world readiness and prepare yourself for a professional journey.