We are happy to share that two IEU students, Phatcharapol Mongkolkamarat (BBA/LLB) and Gonzalo Merino Esparza (BBA), have won the Sales & Trading competition organized by the Asia Investment Banking Conference and HSBC, which brought together more than 300 students from approximately 50 renowned universities across the globe.
The competition took place on September 6th in Hong Kong, and has led Phatcharapol and Gonzalo to participate in the fast-track internship application process to work with HSBC in Hong Kong!
It was organized by AIBC and HSBC, in partnership with Amplify Trading.
We are happy to note that we have actually had Amplify Trading conduct finance-related on-campus workshops for our students in the past, and will actually be on campus again shortly with a new workshop looking to prepare our students to successfully enter the financial sector.
Gonzalo and Phatcharapol, again, congratulations!
Below please find Phatcharapol’s comments on this experience:
Why did you decide to join?
I was informed of the Asia Investment Banking Conference by a friend while I was taking summer courses in London as well as from the IEU Finance and Investment Club which I am a member of.
I have always been interested in the finance industry, especially, in the investment banking sector since high school. I thought that this would be a great opportunity to expose myself to the people that are walking in the same or similar direction as well as gaining contacts in the Asia Pacific Region.
Gonzalo and I decided to join the HSBC Sales & Trading Competition in order to gain a first-hand experience in the S&T department within the investment bank which cannot be obtained from textbooks. We were the winning team of the Sell-side S&T Competition which ultimately led us to receive the opportunity to participate in the fast-track internship application process for HSBC in Hong Kong.
How do you think IE and your IE experience help you be selected and perform in the competition?
The IE experience that helped boost my CV the most was definitely the IEU Finance Lab, which gave me the opportunity to do projects with banks and financial institutions in Spain. During my first year, I did an internship with Arcano Group and Fundo IMPACTO which gave me an insight on the fundamental activities within the private equity fund and venture capital. Though it was not an official internship, it was an incredible and valuable experience that helped boost the quality of my CV as a freshman student.
Any tips/insight you would like to share with other students interested in applying in the future?
To be able to attend the conference in Hong Kong, candidates must file the online application and attach their CVs. The delegates will then be selected based on the quality of their CVs, work experiences and academic tracks.
I personally recommend those who are interested in the finance industry to go out there and join any conferences or competitions. Even within IE University, we have opportunity for any student to catch on, for example, the IEU Labs, which give students insight on how each industry works. Seminars too help broaden your knowledge in a specific area that you might be interested in.
As one of the Vice Presidents of the IEU Finance and Investment Club, I would like to encourage students who are interested in finance, regardless of their degree program to join our events, workshops, and seminars throughout the year. These opportunities will help you discover your interest or potential for the prospect career after graduation.
What can tell us about the conference and the competition itself?
The conference was about the Investment Banking’s activities, businesses and divisions. During the two-day conference in Hong Kong, there were panel discussions about difference divisions within the investment banking such as Mergers & Acquisitions, Sales & Trading and Investment Research. The participants also had the opportunity to ask any questions to the speakers from work-life balance, daily tasks to as far as how the banks handle the conflict of interest that sometimes occurred during the transactions.
During the conference, selected delegates can apply for any of the three competitions, M&A Case Study, HSBC Sales & Trading and CAIA Investment Research. Each competition has different structures, rules, and prizes ranging from cash-prize to online courses to fast-track internship and full-time offer with HSBC Hong Kong office.
What would you highlight?
I would like to highlight the fact that by joining this conference, delegates can obtain valuable thoughts and what to expect as an investment banker directly from the people within the industry. In fact, all the guest speakers hold mid and senior management positions such as Vice President and Managing Director. All of them are also from the bulge bracket banks such as Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Nomura including those from elite boutique investment banks such as Evercore.
Additionally, we were given the opportunities to speak directly with the HR Team about the recruiting process at the 3 hours Networking Lunch. The representatives were from all bulge bracket banks, the Big Four, the elite boutique investment banks, Trading House and many more.
Delegates were given the opportunities to do the speed-networking with other candidates, who can potentially be their future colleagues and counterparts working in the same industry and do the M&A Case Study with banks such as Goldman Sachs, Citi Group and Barclays.
