How the MAF programme paid off for this risk analyst

Risk management professionals are often masters at identifying and analysing factors that may rock a business. Hence, when it came to future-proofing his own career, Thio Boon Kiat made a rigorous assessment of what he needed from a postgraduate education.

Whilst embarking on his career in risk management within the banking and finance industry, Boon Kiat sought to hedge career risks in a volatile economy by deepening the relevance of his knowledge base. Eventually, he decided on the Master of Science in Applied Finance (MAF) programme at the Singapore Management University’s Lee Kong Chian School of Business.

“The programme equipped me with quantitative tools and sound academic knowledge that helped me to understand complex issues that I encounter at work,” explains Boon Kiat, who is now a Risk & Performance Management associate at GIC, the global investment firm that manages Singapore's foreign reserves.

When he began the MAF programme in 2018, however, Boon Kiat was a Credit Risk analyst at OCBC Bank and had prior academic and professional experience in riskanalytics. A key deciding factor on choosing the programme: “It is one of the few master’s programmes in Singapore that actually has a part-time option. That was important to me, as I wanted to pursue my studies and simultaneously accumulate work experience.”

The finance industry is synonymous with gruelling hours and unpredictable workloads. However, Boon Kiat decided to take on the challenge of continuing to work full-time while pursuing his studies.

“To be honest, it was sometimes mentally and physically tiring to attend seminars that were three-and-half hours long after work, three to four times a week,” he shares candidly. “There were classes on weekends as well, so I didn’t have much personal time for myself or my family.”

Despite these challenges, he was determined to achieve the goals he had set out for himself. As a Business Administration undergraduate, he had specialised in finance, gaining a broad understanding of major finance concepts. Through further studies in applied finance, he wanted to gain a deeper understanding of more advanced topics in the specialised areas of portfolio management, equity analysis and derivatives.

He was also in the process of pursuing the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation at the time. “The MAF programme’s curriculum is broadly in line with the CFA programme, and I felt that it would help me greatly in my preparation for the CFA examinations.”

To juggle the demands of work and school, Boon Kiat made arrangements when needed. “There was a need for me to leave work earlier on days where I had classes, so it was important for me to communicate this to my superiors right from the start,” he says.

When urgent work issues arose, he decided to take a leave of absence from his studies for one term so he could focus on his professional projects. “I am thankful that the MAF programme is flexible enough to allow such arrangements for students.”

Of course, flexibility for working professionals was not the only reason this programme was attractive to him. SMU’s strong reputation for academic rigour was another pull factor. During his time in the MAF programme, Boon Kiat found that aside from gaining theoretical knowledge, project work provided great learning experiences.

“From using quantitative methods in fund selection and writing equity research reports, to creating structured products using derivatives, these projects prepared us significantly for real-world tasks that financial analysts work on,” he says. Furthermore, working on projects also helped him to hone his teamwork and presentation skills. “Both are essential skills that many employers look for nowadays.”

Today at GIC, he implements performance attribution models to identify the key drivers of active returns for GIC’s private market strategies. He also develops analytics and metrics to monitor each strategy’s performance and investment risk.

“I love working with large volumes of data to construct models, uncover trends and develop interesting ways to present my analysis,” he says. “My current role allows me to do all that, while leveraging on the technical knowledge I have gained from the MAF programme about portfolio management.”

Indeed, by helping him develop stronger analytical skills in identifying problems and formulating solutions, the MAF programme has proved invaluable to his professional life.

As investment risk managers navigate the volatility unleashed by COVID-19, these tools and skills are more essential than ever. “I think many of us did not anticipate the extent of economic damage caused by COVID-19,” says Boon Kiat.

A strong understanding of the key risk drivers in various scenarios is crucial, he believes, as is the need for new analytics that can present these risks effectively, to better manage them.

To do that, he continues to adopt the mindset of an eager student. “I feel that it is important to stay up to speed with the markets, and to adopt a ‘growth mindset’ in your learning and skills development in finance and investment analysis.”