Event Content
IBA Events
Table of Contents.
Q & A Session with Professor Basma Bekdache.
- What kind of skills could we have to market ourselves?
Answer. Have to start at the bottom and work your way up, no matter what. If you start off as an analyst and intend to be a manager, a grad degree, leadership skills, technical skills such as financial calculations and CFA certifications help. Leadership-people who are above you try to determine if you have the leadership abilities to take their place. You have to put in a lot of hours to move up. More and more important to get a graduate degree. It’s sort of a given to get a graduate degree. If you could choose a company that is interested in investing their people, such as paying for a grad degree, that would be best. - How does academia translate to finance in the real world?
Answer. Finance is very much hands on. All of the techniques taught are used in real life. People use underlying theory to do evaluations. When you get to a job, it may look completely different because they want something so specific. This is how it is in all fields, not just business, because once you’re starting out, you won’t be thrown into all of the things that you learned. - How to become a successful investment banker?
Answer. Active investing is becoming popular because the stock market is doing extremely well. We’re going through the growth phase. You have to get any type of business major, but not required. Then you have to take the Series-A exam and work for an investment firm to get some experience. Then you’ll have a salary and can grow your client base. - What is Total Factor Productivity
Answer. Change in output due to combined effect of capital, labor, service, energy. Have to have a relationship between imports and exports. If total factor productivity is increasing, we attribute it to technology. Important number in economics because economies that have increased total factor productivity can grow more and help more citizens without risk of inflation. - How did pandemic affect the stock market?
Answer. Exhaulsion shock. Stock market is doing well because interest rates are almost zero. If you have cash, put it into the stock market because return will be high. There is a huge disparity between the rich and the poor In the stock market, the top 12-15% are investing their money and getting returns because they are actually gaining income because of the pandemic. Some sectors are going down, some are coming up such as Moderna and Astrogeneca. But low interest rates are the huge reason why the stock market is doing great.
