QuantitativeFinance

13
Apr
2022
Laura Venieri

Laura Venieri

Born in Italy • Birth year 1989 • Studied Mathematics at University of Bologna, Italy • Highest Degree PhD in Mathematics (University of Helsinki) • Lives in Helsinki, Finland • Occupation Quantitative Analyst

I have always liked maths, in school it felt easy for me and I loved solving problems. My mother, who used to be a maths teacher, contributed to making it fun for me since I was a kid, and never stopped reminding me how important and useful maths is. In high school my maths teacher always highlighted the more fascinating side of it, not giving us problems to solve following a given template but pushing us to search for a solution, with trial and error, and look for connections.

At university maths felt different, there was a whole new world to discover, and on one side it felt more difficult but on the other side it was also more motivating and rewarding.

When it was time to decide what to study at university I knew that I wanted to get a science or engineering degree, but I was unsure of what the job opportunities for a maths graduate would be, except teaching. In the end, I chose maths anyway, as it was the subject I liked the most. I followed my teacher’s encouragement, who assured me that many opportunities would arise.

At university maths felt different, there was a whole new world to discover, and on one side it felt more difficult but on the other side it was also more motivating and rewarding. During my master’s, I decided to do an exchange and wanted to visit Northern Europe, so I ended up in Helsinki. It was a very fun year, and I enjoyed both the studies and the life outside, as it was the first time for me living in another country and being in contact with people from different parts of the world.

I had some doubts about my skills, but my thesis supervisor was very supportive and encouraged me […]

Until the year in Helsinki, I hadn’t given too much thought to what I wanted to do after graduating: in a way maths was what I liked doing the most, and I started to think about pursuing a PhD. I had some doubts about my skills, but my thesis supervisor was very supportive and encouraged me to contact a professor in Helsinki, who then became my PhD advisor.

The years of PhD were both the most rewarding and challenging in my life so far: there were moments of discomfort when I thought I was not good enough for it and not as brilliant as the other researchers, and moments of deep satisfaction when I realised that I could instead contribute to maths. Now I would tell PhD students who feel discouraged that it is normal, and it helps to talk about it with colleagues and friends. I always felt supported by my advisor, who followed me along the way, helping me when I got stuck but also leaving me the freedom to choose the direction.

I never felt directly discriminated against in my studies or research for being a woman, although at times people showed surprise when they heard that I was doing a PhD in maths, and sometimes commented that I did not look like the stereotypical mathematician. At conferences the great majority of participants and speakers were men, but I met very talented and well-established women academics, who made me feel more like I could belong there too.

I wanted a more stable life than the usual academic career would mean, and Finland was where I wanted to live with my partner.

When finishing the PhD and considering what I wanted to do next, I started to have some doubts that a career in academia would suit me best. Moving to Helsinki had been on one side a life changing experience but it had also shown me the challenges of moving to a new country and starting from fresh, and I did not look forward to doing that again. I wanted a more stable life than the usual academic career would mean, and Finland was where I wanted to live with my partner. I still wanted a job that involved maths, and at a high enough level, but I also felt like I could move to a more applied field.

I had never considered working in finance before, but I got interested after meeting my future employer at a recruitment fair. Financial mathematics relies heavily on measure theory, which I had a solid background in, and uses tools from stochastic calculus, which I began to study when starting my new job, working as a quantitative analyst in a financial company. It was a big change, also a bit scary, but I have not regretted it. It has been three full and intense years, where I have also learned some coding, database design, and data manipulation. The work is more interactive than typically in academia, which I have enjoyed, and I still feel like I have a lot to learn. After all, I realised it was true what my high school teacher had told me: after studying maths there are so many different things you can end up doing, don’t be afraid to find out!

Posted by HMS in Stories
20
Jan
2021
Dr Camilla Schelpe

Dr Camilla Schelpe

Born in UK • Studied Theoretical Physics at Cambridge University, UK • Highest Degree PhD in Theoretical Physics • Lives in Cambridge, UK • Current Occuptation: Quantitative Researcher at GAM Investments

I think I was very fortunate that as I grew up, what I was interested in and what I was good at aligned, so that even well before applying to university, I knew I wanted to study astrophysics and general relativity. Really, I think the seed was planted when I was about seven years old and my parents got me Patrick Moore’s “The Starry Sky” – an introductory book for budding astronomers. By a stroke of luck, my family moved to South Africa a few years later, and with the beautiful southern skies to gaze up at, my vague interest in astronomy became a cherished hobby. In retrospect, my parents and sister were amazingly supportive, but I took it completely for granted at the time. I remember family observing holidays in the Karoo (a semi-desert outside Cape Town), visiting the SAAO in Sutherland on their public open days, and camping out until 4am to observe Comet Hale-Bopp in ‘95.

I had a one-track mind about studying physics at university, and I specialised as quickly as I could into astrophysics and cosmology.

My early interest in observational astronomy developed into a much stronger theoretical interest as I got older and discovered that I found maths and physics intuitive and easy compared to other subjects at school. I had a one-track mind about studying physics at university, and I specialised as quickly as I could into astrophysics and cosmology. My PhD was focussed on a particular model to explain dark energy within modified theories of gravity, and I spent a happy four years exploring the possible astrophysical signatures that could lead to detection and proof, or disproof, of the model.

However, during my PhD I came to realise the difference between pure academic learning and a career in academic research. I loved learning about cosmology, but when it came to research, I found the techniques for making progress weren’t very field specific – I was chipping away at the corners of the unknown without much day-to-day exposure to the bigger picture. Those techniques could equally well be applied to other applications with just as much satisfaction.

I made the leap at the end of my PhD to join a small hedge-fund in Cambridge.

Funding is a constant challenge in the pursuit of any academic career and stability comes late in life, if at all. Shining as an alternative was a career in quantitative finance – either in a bank (to price exotic derivatives quickly and reliably) or in a hedge fund (to find patterns in data and design computer algorithms to predict the markets and manage risk). The advantages: no prior finance knowledge required, plenty of maths to keep you busy, a PhD is valued, and you are surrounded by a team of like-minded colleagues working towards a common goal. In my spare time, I started playing around with quant trading strategies, using Matlab and end of day close data from the stocks trading on the DAX, and really enjoyed the challenge, although in retrospect I look back in horror at how naïve I was and almost certainly overfitted the data. I made the leap at the end of my PhD to join a small hedge-fund in Cambridge.

They instilled in me a sense that anything was possible if you were interested and worked hard.

I have been extremely lucky to have two amazing, strong role models in my life: my mum and older sister, so if anything, I have a subconscious bias to see women as more successful! They instilled in me a sense that anything was possible if you were interested and worked hard. Also, I was home-educated from the age of nine, and so sheltered from much of the peer-pressure and judgement that a lot of teenagers experience. I only really woke-up to the existence of a gender imbalance in the sciences quite late in life. Both as a student and at work, I have (and I realise I may have been lucky in this respect) always felt I was being treated as an individual, and not categorised as a woman, whether for positive or negative discrimination. There is such a diverse range of personalities, both male and female, that seem much more important than any simple gender divide. I hope we can move towards recognising that as a society.

Posted by HMS in Stories