Faith Chin

When Faith Chin left a job in central banking research to come to London Business School (LBS), she immersed herself in the practical aspects of the corporate world. During her time on the full-time Masters in Finance programme, Faith leveraged connections with fellow women in finance, which proved invaluable at each step of her career. In this piece, she discusses what she learned, the impact it had on her professional journey, and how these relationships have supported her along the way.

I did my undergraduate degree in economics and finance, before working in policy research at the Bank of Canada. The focus was on enhancing the bank's understanding of markets. Gaining all this knowledge without a commercial end-product goal eventually lost its appeal and led me to consider my next career steps; I decided I wanted to further my finance education. Although I looked into MBAs, I wanted a more specialised programme and a Masters in Finance felt like a better fit. One of my colleagues had recently completed this programme at LBS, so he was a great resource for my research. I was also lucky enough to be the recipient of a very generous scholarship from LBS that covered my full tuition fees.

What shone through about LBS was that it wasn’t an 'ivory tower'. Other schools seemed to have a greater focus on theory. In contrast, LBS emphasised practical elements like working through business cases and the access it had to industry experts was important to me. On the programme, we learned what industry practitioners—who attended as guest lecturers and speakers—were looking into and tackling daily. For example, on the Topics in Asset Management course, seasoned portfolio managers joined our lectures to share how they were developing tools to incorporate media sentiment and big data analysis into investment decisions.

From taking non-finance courses to leading clubs, being on the programme gave me the opportunity to explore several sectors and hone my leadership skills. I became the representative for the Women in Business Club for my cohort. I was elected President of the Investment Management Club and co-chaired the Asset Management Conference in my first year. I also joined the women's football team. Balancing clubs around my studies and the recruitment process to secure a summer internship was challenging, but the relationships I developed through those clubs have been invaluable. Clubs also gave me a chance to connect with people on other programmes, as did electives. This gave me a much more well-rounded experience, meeting backgrounds and viewpoints increasingly more different to my own. I took a mixture of finance and non-finance elective options. One of my favourites was Negotiation & Bargaining, which had been recommended by current and former students. I didn’t expect it to be so useful, but I’ve since been able to apply what I learned to negotiating everything from salary increases to phone bills!

There aren't many women in investing roles within finance. We can acknowledge that there are differences between the female and male experience in this industry, and it is helpful to have peers who share my specific experiences and frustrations. I know I can rely on the friends I made at LBS—many of whom are now in senior positions—to bounce off ideas and learn from their experiences. I can also rely on the knowledge and advice of the women speakers I met through the Women in Business Club, who came to discuss the challenges they faced and most importantly, how they approached them. Knowing that I wasn't alone in my experiences as a woman in business, specifically in finance, was incredibly helpful, and the relationships I built through these events have made a lasting impact on my career.

Having graduated from a very international undergraduate school, I was used to being part of an international community— but the diversity at LBS surpassed all my expectations. A big part of that comes from being in London, which is a very cosmopolitan city. At LBS, there are people from many different walks of life and cultural backgrounds. Our varied outlooks and problem-solving approaches added to the richness of the learning experience. There's so much to how other people think that I hadn't realised, such as which history topics are focused on in high schools from different regions of the world. It’s especially changed the way I communicate in a corporate setting. Working with classmates from other parts of the world has taught me to communicate with more empathy. Having these relationships also gives me a global outlook for work as I can use my network to find out how peers manage local client relationships and cultural customs in their part of the world.

The optional fourth term allowed me to complete a summer internship, which helped me decide the future direction of my career. I completed my internship with PIMCO in Canada. The experience gave me an additional avenue for finding a full-time job and the chance to confirm whether investment management was the right choice for me. While there, I was doing more of a client-facing account manager role. I decided that, instead of focusing on the client relationship side in asset management, I wanted to go into the more analytical side—portfolio management. I also concluded that I wanted to remain in London rather than return to Canada.

Having large investment banks and elite asset management firms come onto campus to recruit spoke to the strength of the School’s reputation. The Career Centre provided opportunities to meet prospective recruiters and support through interview preparation, delivering various workshops and case study prep. The team have sector experts available to guide you through the entire recruitment process. I was able to speak to students who had gone through the same interview process with the same firms, which helped me to understand what to expect. The Career Centre also provides students with the tools necessary to conduct their own research and, in many cases, connects them with alumni who can help further.

Having the School on your CV helps open the first door, especially when it comes to getting that first-round interview, which is often the biggest hurdle. After graduation, I secured a position at Goldman Sachs Asset Management which I owe largely to having come to LBS. I joined as an Associate and was later promoted to Executive Director on their fixed income trading and portfolio management desk. More recently, I joined the portfolio management team at J.P. Morgan. Looking forward, I plan to stay on the Portfolio Manager career path and eventually become head of my own team. That would involve owning a range of assets under management, driving the business side, and winning more assets and clients.

Here in London, many of my close friends are from LBS and the alumni network is a huge part of my life. I’m also still close to friends who are based in Asia and North America. It's been rewarding to see my classmates grow in their careers. Within the network, alumni are always willing to introduce you to others who can help you achieve your career goals. If I'm doing research into a company, for work or for a potential role, I will reach out to LBS alumni first as they're more likely to be receptive than others. I rely on the network for insights into the industry too. I’m currently hearing a lot about trends in private asset management and fintech. I’m able to learn what others are doing and see what I can apply to my career.

You can’t beat doing the programme in a city as interesting and global as London. You get access to companies and industry practitioners in a leading financial hub. This provides a lot of value over the long run for your professional and personal network. I would recommend the course to anyone who wants a more practical approach to finance while making friends and connections from all over the world.