One degree, many opportunities

Where can a science degree lead you? The career pathway of alumnus Andrew YEO,  who majored in Statistics and minored in Technopreneurship and Financial Mathematics, is a sterling example of how science training has opened doors to opportunities in Singapore, Hong Kong and London, where he is now based.

Andrew, who works for a hedge fund at G-Research, a quantitative finance research firm in Europe, invests in multi-asset classes globally for investors.

In a sector where past performance is no guarantee of future returns, as the adage goes  - Andrew relies on his expertise in statistics, mathematics, algorithms-based predictive analytics and programming to hedge risks to investors’ capital against market volatility so as to achieve superior market neutral returns.

The fundamental research skills he acquired have also come in useful as he conducts proprietary diligence on markets, growth prospects, competitive positioning and quality of earnings, to name but a few elements underlying investment strategies.

He says, “NUS’ statistics curriculum greatly helped me in my career as a buy-side technical function specialist. The programme equipped me with scientific knowledge in understanding and predicting data as well as skill sets in various computing languages to derive data-driven analysis and decisions.”

In the relatively closed world of hedge funds, where the appeal of funds lies largely in clients’ trust in their advisors, Andrew attributes his career success to his scientific knowledge combined with the business savvy and soft skills, such as networking and communications, gained from his NUS Overseas College (NOC) experience.

In the future, Andrew plans to continue growing his career in the finance industry on the buy-side, and remains open to where this may bring him – to Connecticut, Chicago or even New York City!

Watch Andrew’s interview here