CONFESSIONS OF AN OXFORD MBA

capstone [monday] - mentoring incoming mbas

2010-09-06T19:00:00.005-04:00

This year, the Saïd Business School is introducing a "mentoring" scheme to incoming MBAs. I registered my interest, and indicated that I was willing to help up to five MBAs. I thought that other (prospective) students might also find this advice useful, so I've posted it below:

Welcome to Oxford! Congratulations on getting accepted into the MBA program. I'm your MBA mentor. I just arrived in Oxford this morning, as our concluding 'Capstone' course began today, and ends with graduation on Saturday.

This past year was one of the best experiences of my life! As a member of Exeter College, I was 32 y/o when I started the program. It was actually my second time here, as I studied abroad at Oxford during my junior year at SUNY Stony Brook. I'm also engaged to be married this October, but my fiancée stayed in New York to work while I completed my MBA. I would say that half of the MBAs bring their spouses, and the other half do not.

Before coming to Oxford I worked as a FINRA Registered Principal (Series 7, 24) at Citigroup Smith Barney, where as a financial advisor, I constructed investment portfolios for retail clients. I had also owned my own coffee shop in New Jersey, and spent several years during college managing my brother's chain of cafes in the Hamptons.

I also serve on the Board for the Microfinance Club of New York, and teach financial literacy to high school students. We have a very diverse MBA class, but I think that in general, you will find that all the MBAs accepted have the following characteristics: entrepreneurial background (or ambitions), leadership, and volunteer work.

Homework assignment:

Yes, in addition to Tomo Suzuki's Financial Accounting assignment, I'm giving you some additional homework. Many incoming MBAs have already found my blog on the web: http://justinbelkin.blogspot.com. I've also linked to Andrew Bergbaum's blog (06'-'07), which I think is terrific. For either blog, I suggest starting your reading in August, and work your way forward, so that you'll get the most applicable information to your current situation first. For example, you'll learn about getting a bank-account and cell phone in my 'pre-MBA' and 'Michaelmas' term blog entries, whereas issues such as electives and the Strategic Consulting Project, only become relevant during later terms.

In conclusion, welcome to Oxford. Enjoy your time here, because it will go fast. This email was 'heavy' on biography, because this way you'll know how I fit into your life, and how I might be of better help to you. I encourage you to email me questions at: justinbelkin@hotmail.com.

I'll leave you with some good parting advice that I received when I started my MBA:

(1) Essentially, you'll never need to leave SBS. You'll probably live nearby, plus SBS serves three meals daily, and they have a library, and showers! Knowing this, trust me...make an effort EARLY ON to get involved with your College by: playing sports, attending bops, and dining "in-hall."

(2) What's the purpose of an MBA? Yes, it's true that you're here to learn new skills, to learn how to work under pressure, etc. I think that more importantly, however, is that you're here to network with a group of bright and ambitious classmates. At the Turf tavern, there's a sign that commemorates how an Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke (and former Oxford student), drank 2 1/2 pints of beer in 11 seconds. Go out and have fun; you never know what position you and your classmates may one day rise to.

PS: On that note, out of 238 MBAs in 2009-10, I hold the record for having invited 120 MBAs to dinner at Exeter College at a cost of £5 per person. One of my friends was close behind me with 80 invitations. Dining 2nd Hall in College is the least expensive and most sumptuous 3-course meal served in the most idyllic setting. If dinner is too expensive, then invite your friends on the weekend to brunch in College for about £2 each. Mmmm...delicious full English breakfast. Take advantage of this subsidy, and make some new friends, too.

(3) Business school is a good lesson for life. No one will just give you what your heart desires, rather you have to go out and get what you want. Career Services will not offer you a job. No one will make sure that you squeeze every experience out of Oxford as possible. This is all up to you. So, come to Oxford with a plan.

(4) You can only do two out of three things well: grades, social life, sports. No one has accomplished all three. For example, the students who made Dean's List were also voted as having spent the most time in the library. There is indeed a correlation. But if you're spending all the time in the library, then you're also not waking up at 5am to go rowing. And if you're rowing that early, then you're probably not partying until 1am at Fuzzy Ducks in Cowley either. You can begin to see the tradeoffs, right? Make your choice, and be comfortable with it.

(5) Let's face it, many people choose Oxford because of the great "sweatshirt equity" (name brand). Few schools, in fact, are more famous and well known than the elite top four universities in the world (in chronological order): Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and Yale. Congratulations for having been accepted to at least one of these schools. It is now your responsibility to represent Oxford well. Start a blog, run for student politics/OBN/SIG, and dress/speak professionally when recruiters come visiting. PS: I'm involved with the New York OBA chapter, and I'll be helping running the table at the September NYC MBA World Tour. Do the same in your country.

(6) Yes, £36,000 for tuition and college fees is a lot of money. There are two ways of looking at this. Some take the short-term perspective: they attend 17 classes a year that meet 3 hours per week for 8 weeks, which means that 408 hours are spent in class. When divided by total tuition, you are paying approximately £88 per an hour of instruction. So, why would anyone miss a class!? On the other hand, someone with a long-time horizon might say: they plan to live until age 90, and are currently 30 y/o, therefore they have 60 years to go. When multiplied by 365 days a year you discover that you have 21,900 left to live; pretty morbid. This calculation means that you pay about £1.64 per day for the rest of your day for the right to call yourself an Oxford graduate whether you attend class, or skip class to attend Wimbledon, or the Royal Ascot horse race. That's less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks each day; just think of the silly things we spend money on. Regardless of your approach and time-horizon, make the most of your time here.

trinity [week 10]: wimbledon

2010-07-02T08:43:00.012-04:00

Every academic term at Oxford culminates with final exams during Week 10. During Michaelmas we sat for 6 exams over the course of just four days. Hilary lightened up, only in the sense that some courses required final papers rather than exams. But Trinity, as heavy as the work load was, consisted of very few final exams, depending on which electives you chose. Having only one final exam to take, Financial Risk Management, I was free to write my papers during Weeks 9 & 10, and also enjoy the rare bright sunshine in England!

One of the best ways to enjoy British life is to go to Wimbledon, which this year lasted from June 21st to July 4th. Tickets can potentially get very expensive. I remember reading advertisements in the Financial Times newspaper back in May that offered Centre Court tickets for the whole tournament for several thousand pounds. Individual tickets seemed to cost at least £300. The goods news is that Wimbledon sets aside over 1,000 tickets for each day of the tournament. All you need to do is to wait in line. Queueing for Wimbledon tickets for the same day has become a sort of sport in its own right. People camp over the night before, and cook BBQ, so that they can be the first in line to get Centre Court, or Court 1 tickets (second best).

To give you an example, I went on Wednesday for the quarter-finals men's matches. The top four men were all playing: Federer, Nadal, Djokavic, and Murray. We took the earliest possible Oxford Tube bus to London (Victoria Station), which left Gloucester Green at 4:10am. We arrived in London at about 5:30am, which was the exact time that the London Tube starts running. We took the green District Line toward Earl's Court, and got off at the Southfields stop, whose platform was made to look just like a tennis court! From there you can walk about a half-mile to the field where you queue, or just take a taxi for about £11.

We were on line at 6am, despite that the grounds don't open until 10:30am, and the first match wasn't played until 12pm. Nonetheless, we were #1,500 in the queue. You're only allowed to buy one ticket per person. We just barely managed to get tickets to Court 2, which means that all we got to watch were doubles matches. But the tickets were only £32, and we were just happy to be there. Plus, if you're a HSBC customer, you get free strawberries & cream! If you were interested in waiting in line to get Centre Court or Court 1 tickets, then my advice would be either to go earlier in the tournament when more matches are being played, or stay in a hotel in London the night before, and then take a 2am taxi to Wimbledon.

trinity [week 9]: scp bonding

2010-07-01T13:57:00.009-04:00

Every year, Oxford MBAs have three options during the summer to satisfy their academic requirements: Strategic Consulting Project (SCP), elective courses, or Master's thesis (10,000 words). Next year, SBS will start counting internships for credit for the first time, too. Traditionally, most students opt for the SCP. The b-school has staff solely dedicated for sourcing, and administering SCPs for you. They're very helpful, and approachable. This year there were approximately 60 SCPs to bid for, some with big names such as Citigroup or De Beers, and some with decent packages, such as a salary, or free travel and accommodation. MBAs compete as teams of four for these more desirable SCPs. You can, of course, just circumvent the entire process by "sourcing" a SCP all on your own, which is what I did.

Back in April, I organized a student-led Trek to New York and Boston. During one of the company visits, with SecondMarket, I could sense that they had a lot of projects that they wanted to follow-through on, but since they were still relatively new and short-staffed they just didn't have the man-power they needed. So, during the Q&A portion of the presentation, I asked our host if he was interested in having a small group of Oxford MBAs come back during the summer to help. And happily, he agreed. I remember Donald Trump once writing, "It never hurts to ask, because the worse that can happen is that they say no."

Since April, I've been in contact with the New York office to iron-out the details. I had to draft a proposal for SBS to receive approval for academic credit, and I had to find a team of four MBAs in total. This was all difficult, considering that during this time I was still running the Finance Club, and taking 6 elective course, such as Corporate Valuation, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Financial Risk Management. Now that all the administrative work is out of the way, though, I thought that it would be a great time for the team to bond. And what better way to bond, then to spend a sunny weekend afternoon in Trinity term punting on the Cherwill with Pimms? Good friends, and good times. We learned a lot about each other, and spent time discussing the fast-approaching SCP with SecondMarket. I'm very proud of our team, too. After I tell people who's on our team, they usually raise an eyebrow, and simply say "Wow. That's a good team." Both Platt and myself were nominated for the "John Nash: MBA who can crunch numbers like kit kat bars" award, so that's when you know you've got the cream of the crop, or at least a tasty candy bar.

trinity [week 8]: royal ascot

2010-07-01T12:43:00.012-04:00

This was my last week of classes. Some people measure their investment in an Oxford MBA by the price per class, which in this case would be approximately £242 per class [ £31,000 tuition / (16 courses x 8 classes each) ]. It's interesting how so much comes down to valuations, and how equally good rational can be used to support any number of valuations.

For example, on the first day of orientation our MBA Director told us something like "Welcome to Oxford...you have 30,000 days left to live...better make them count." Based on this definition of time-horizon, I calculate the MBA to cost me about £1 per day for the rest of my life. I like my definition best, because it allowed me to skip my last MBA class EVER on Thursday without moral reservation, so that I could dress in my "morning suit" replete with English gentry grey top hat, and attend the Royal Ascot.

What makes it so Royal? Well, the Queen leaves her estate in Windsor, and makes the ride in a horse-drawn carriage to Ascot where she then parades around the race track. The British love their queen. On the way home from the Royal Ascot, someone was actually more concerned with the Queen than the horse race, they asked me, "Oh...so did you see the Queen, how was she, did she look, well?"

If you come to Oxford, then you simply must attend the Royal Ascot. Women love it the most, because they can wear the most gaudy hats. This year the race was held from June 15 through June 19. We went on the Thursday, because that was when the Queen was coming. Tickets to the Grandstand cost £66, and I rented my morning suit at "Walter's on Turl Street" for just £55. The morning suit rental included the grey top hat, black jacket with tails, grey vest, and grey pants with black stripes. I supplied my own white dress shirt, black shoes, and tie. Beware that Moss' on the High Street tried charging me £89, so it's definitely worth shopping around, or at least go to Walter's - it's like stepping into the magic wand shop in Harry Potter.

trinity [week 7]: mind-the-gap

2010-06-12T10:46:00.016-04:00

I've attended 7 college dinners in the past 8 days. And this next week looks just as busy. It's natural, of course, that with our final term ending we all want to connect with classmates who we've lost touch with, and visit colleges that we haven't had time to yet see.

Conversation at dinner varies, but for the most part we reflect on our year at Oxford. The majority of the conversations are positive. Some are negative, such as the amount of student loan debt we must now pay back, and the poor (but improving) job market. I'm most interested when the conversation turns toward the future. How will the Oxford MBA be viewed in 5-years? What can alumni do to help? What is our class legacy that we leave behind to future incoming classes?

The one-year MBA makes these issues even more pertinent. We even have an elected "Mind-the-Gap" representative whose express purpose is to help transfer knowledge from one class to the next. In my capacity as Finance-OBN Chairman, and Vice President of Finance for the Student Advisory Board, I also try my best to help others. Mostly, I do this through my blog. But sometimes, when I find an equally motivated group of incoming students, or MBA applicants, my job is made that much easier.

For example, Mayank from the 2010-11 MBA class has done a wonderful job organizing a Facebook page for incoming students. Similarly impressive, I've been in close contact with Shamik who kindly organized a visit to Oxford for roughly 10 incoming MBAs last week. Members from our class met with next year's MBA cohort outside SBS where we then embarked for Exeter College for a full English breakfast. Later we headed toward the Oxford Retreat for drinks to share experiences, and answer questions.

Meeting the incoming MBA class made me feel very proud that Oxford continues to improve each year. I've even heard rumours that next year's average GMAT may be above 700 for the first time! The Oxford MBA clearly represents to me a huge growth story, and it's better to get in early, then wait until our acceptance rates dip below 15%. Look at all we've achieved so far:

FT ranking improved to #16 (tied with Yale, and 5 spots ahead of Cambridge (Judge)
BusinessWeek ranked us #10 for "Best International B-School," supplanting Cambridge
FT ranking for Executive Education improved to #15
MFE program is more competitive to get into than LBS with an average GMAT of 720+
Our undergraduate Economics and Management program continues to be ranked #1 in the UK
Most importantly, we've attracted another £25 million investment from Wafic Saïd, which along with a £20 million matching contribution from Oxford University will help complete our "Phase 2" building by 2013. This will provide another stream of MBAs and MFEs

I hope that MBAs reading this will find time in their busy schedules (as I did) to help future years of MBA students and applicants. In addition to meeting with new MBAs, participating in this year's MBA Class Pledge, and having an occasional Skype call to go over interview preparation, I'm also looking to:

Raffle off my bike: I bought a nice Trek bike from Halfords for £90 in the beginning of the year. Rather than sell it, I'm going to raffle it off to an incoming MBA studying at Exeter college (my alma mater). I've encouraged other current MBAs to do the same.
Order books in college: I've also approached my Exeter College librarian to order enough sets of business books for each of the incoming Exeter MBAs, so they don't have to compete for the limited number of copies at SBS. And if Exeter won't order all those books, then I'll offer to match them through a charitable donation, by having each of us buy 4-sets of books for the 8 MBAs that typically study each year at Exeter College.
OBA involvement: When I return to New York I will become actively involved in helping the New York OBA chapter, including creating a Finance-OBN website that will offer interview training, alumni contacts, and job application for NY finance jobs.

I share these things with you for one reason, and one reason only. I want to set an example, as others have done before me, that it is our moral obligation to help each other, and to help improve the young Oxford MBA brand. It's important to ingrain in the MBA culture a sense of giving; that we all have an equity stake in the future of SBS. I hope that as an incoming student, or an MBA applicant, you find ways to play forward to other classes whatever kindness you have received from previous classes.

trinity [week 6]: oxford & cambridge club

2010-06-04T10:58:00.044-04:00

A few MBA friends have recently asked me how my trip to the Oxford and Cambridge Club (founded in 1821) in London earlier this week went. They were curious to learn what the club had to offer, how much it cost, why join if you weren't working in London, and in general what my motivation was to join. What better way to answer those questions, then by blogging about it?

I first heard about the Club from an Oxford EMBA alumnus (and now a friend), whom I originally met at an Oxford "Open House" event in New York back in February 2008. One day he invited me to the Harvard Club to go over my MBA application. I was surprised to learn that as a member of the Oxford and Cambridge Club, he was also entitled to visit the Harvard Club (founded in 1887). Then, before coming to Oxford, I read an MBA blog that mentioned an annual Club presentation in Oxford. At this point I was fairly convinced that I would join once the invitation came. But I almost missed the opportunity.

There was a 6-day lag between the time my college received the email from the Oxford and Cambridge Club, and the time it was forwarded on to the Exeter students (important to note that the invite comes from your college and not the business school). Even though I tried to RSVP the same day, the reception at Rhodes House on May 21st was already over-subscribed. Thankfully, the Club also hosted an event in London on June 2nd, which I attended. You must attend at least one of these events to find current Club members who will sign your application as your "proposer" and "seconder".

The Oxford and Cambridge Club has well over 100 reciprocal agreements with Clubs from over 35 countries (visit their "reciprocal clubs" page). When I return to New York this summer, I plan to visit not only the Harvard Club, but also the Yale (includes University of Virginia, Dartmouth), Princeton (includes Columbia, NYU, and Williams), Penn (includes University of Chicago), and Cornell (includes Brown, Stanford) Clubs. As a precautionary measure, I emailed each and every one of these Clubs mentioned, and they confirmed the reciprocal arrangement. In general, they will allow up to 30 visits each year. I don't believe this will be an issue, though, because with five clubs in New York, I certainly won't be visiting any one club more often than twice a month.

To join the Oxford and Cambridge Club you must pay an annual fee, which is based on your age and geographical proximity to the Club. The cheapest rates tend to be for overseas. For example, I would have to pay £460 every year. Now this is definitely more expensive than the £198 "Life Membership" fee to join the Oxford Union, but I think that if you can afford it, then it's definitely worth it. One way to look at is as an investment. All of the most exclusive "gentlemen's clubs" are located next to the Oxford and Cambridge Club on Pall Mall - within earshot of Westminster and Trafalgar Square - yet unlike the other clubs, no amount of money will buy you entry into Oxbridge, which let's face it, makes it even more exclusive than the others.

So, what can you do as a member? I think that the main benefits of joining the Oxford and Cambridge Club are the chance to dine there (breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served 7 days a week), the squash courts, the library and reading rooms where you can recline in an old burgundy red leather armchair with a nice glass of scotch, and the overnight accommodations, which can cost as little as £100 per/night for a single bedroom. To compare, I've paid that much to stay at a budge Premier Inn in the London hinterland (Tube Zone 4).

It's still hard for me to understand why only 10 out of 238 MBAs (4%) decided to attend either of the two receptions. To use my old stockbroker lingo, I would say that MBAs tend to "underweight" the networking potential of joining an elite gentlemen's club, and "overweight" the price tag. I think, however, that just like Long Term Capital Management in 1998, that they might be on the wrong side of the trade. Of course, it's also necessary to address the persistent image of a stuffy old club of pretentious Oxbridge grads. To dispel this rumour, it's interesting to note that nearly 20% of the Clubs 4,000 members are under 40 y/o, and an increasing number of women are also joining. I think that the Club is undergoing a positive transition to more accurately reflect the greater diversity found in Oxbridge today. Hopefully when you come to Oxford you'll choose to be part of that change, too.

trinity [week 5]: running of the bulls

2010-06-04T10:58:00.043-04:00

A lot of readers want to know what it's like being an Oxford MBA. What is it really like to condense two-years of coursework into just one-year? The trick, of course, is to not only complete your work and pass the course, but also to make the most of your short time here by making new friends, breathing in all Oxford has to offers, and taking the occasional trip to London (and elsewhere).

It's a fine balancing act. What this invariably leads to for all MBAs, at one time or another anyway, is the ritualistic mad dash to hand in their assignment at the Examination Halls by 11:59AM and 59 seconds. Only in Pamplona, Spain with the "running of the bulls" will you witness a comparable event, and that only takes place in July! Any assignments handed in after noon will be summarily marked down 10% - and don't even bother being a half-hour late, because that will net you a zero.

No flexibility whatsoever. This is not a Saïd Business School rule, but rather University regulations whereby any challenges must ultimately be heard and approved by the Proctors who have no sympathy for you whatsoever. This whole process has led me to the following questions: Do we MBAs have, in fact, too much work, why is this so, and is this the best of all possible worlds?

First, some perspective: You arrive fresh to Oxford in late September, settle in, and start classes a few weeks later, often for the first time in many years. The workload is intense, but over time you learn how to leverage your work groups. The term flies by and next thing you know you have to sit for six exams over four-days wearing sub-fusc. Finally, you return home to celebrate the Christmas holiday, fully aware that you must relish this brief respite, because you know that they don't call the upcoming Hilary term - "Hell-ary" - for nothing.

Hilary term is just as bad as everyone says it is. Although you only have five classes, you now have to spend more time sorting out the different personalities in a myriad of new work groups that you've formed, and on top of that you have this Entrepreneurial presentation and report that you'll work on throughout the Easter break. But it's all worth it, because you may have heard rumours that the weather during Trinity term is beautiful, and since you get to choose all electives, this will finally be the term where you can relax and enjoy yourself. Wrong! Trinity term is back-loaded, so this may seem true initially, but in actuality you'll have about twenty assignments due (1,500-3,000 words each) compared to only eleven in Hilary term. So, what does a typical week actually look like for an Oxford MBA?...well let's take a look:

Sunday, May 23rd
Prepare for Real Estate and Corporate Valuation class tomorrow
Host friends at Exeter College for dinner and a tour

Monday, May 24th:
Class all day from 8:45am until 4:45pm
Pull all-nighter working on Real Estate assignment

Tuesday, May 25th
Class from 8:45am until 12:15pm
Finish Real Estate, and pull all-nighter working on Corporate Valuation assignment

Wednesday, May 26th:
Class all day from 8:45am until 4:45pm
During lunch attend a student government meeting (SAB) on the 2010 MBA class pledge
Help an MSc student with his research by volunteering to participate
*Real Estate assignment due by 8:30am
*Corporate Valuation assignment due by 12:00pm

Thursday, May 27th:
Class from 8:45am until 12:15pm
Pull all-nighter finishing two assignments due tomorrow

Friday, May 28th:
Meet with sector consultant Steven Todd to review my SCP strategy for the summer
*Managing the Project Portfolio assignment due by 5pm
*Marketing Innovation assignment due by 5pm

Saturday, May 29th:
Mid-term "Garden Tea Party" at the Perch Inn in Binary
Dinner and tour of Mansfield College courtesy of CK

Sunday, May 30th:
Dinner and tour of St. John's College courtesy of Nick
Pull all-nighter working on Entrepreneurial Finance
*Entrepreneurial Finance assignment due by 12:00pm tomorrow

With the help of my iPhone, I think that I do a fairly good job of organizing my life, and squeezing every last drop of productivity out of it. Nonetheless, this up-tempo life-style has both a good and bad side. First, learning how to operate for prolonged periods of time in a heightened nervous state with an endless onslaught of tight deadlines is good training for the business world. We can honestly take anything that our future employer may throw at us.

The downside to this, besides possible burnout and fatigue, is that it leaves little time to prepare for class, and read the case studies. This results uniformly in poor attendance. Part of the reason is that attendance and class participation aren't graded in Oxford, and I'm not sure that they could be even if the Saïd Business School wanted them to be.

In contrast, when I attended class at HBS during the finance Trek to New York and Boston, 50% of their grade was based on class participation, and every seat was filled, and everyone had (apparently) done the reading beforehand. But I'll bet you that they didn't have twenty other assignments due that term that existed outside the class' normal reading list. It will be up to the next administration to choose which assessment regime they want within the constraints set by the University. As for me, I'm well on way to finishing this race.

trinity [week 4]:

2010-06-04T10:58:00.001-04:00

"coming soon."

trinity [week 3]: mbat

2010-05-18T09:06:00.026-04:00

At 4am a bevy of buses rolled on to Park End Street. They were carrying Oxford MBAs, who despite their bruised and battered bodies, returned triumphantly from Paris, France. This year HEC celebrated its 20th annual MBAT sports competition. Over 13 MBA programs competed from across Europe, including many of our sworn enemies, such as LBS and Cambridge. Ever fond of traditions, Oxford has been competing in MBATs for several years now. The contest lasts from Thursday until Sunday during Trinity term, Week 3.

Every year the responsibility for organizing our entry into MBATs is coordinated by the "Social, Sports, and Welfare" Vice President along with their cadre of able and willing helpers. A GoogleDoc spreadsheet was sent out to the class to indicate sports preference as early as the start of Hilary term in January! I do not exaggerate when I say that the MBAT is the largest organizational effort undertaken at SBS all year.

I'd hate to admit this, but organizing the MBAT is more burdensome than any SAB, OBN, or SIG event or conference could ever be. Nonetheless, a total of 160 out of 238 Oxford MBAs (67%) participated, and they all paid the hefty £350 fee by the March 11th deadline. The fee would've undoubtedly been higher except that the SAB subsidized part of the cost. Thankfully, the fee covers just about everything: entrance fees, hotel accommodations, meals, parties, Oxford logo polo shirt, and a return bus ticket via Eurostar. MBATs have become so popular at Oxford that professors now reschedule classes and assignments to accommodate students.

This pales in comparison, however, to how highly regarded the MBAT is at HEC where it is a compulsory requirement to graduate. HEC hired coaches, and started training up to 6-months before the actual MBAT competition. So, despite their small size, HEC sends the third most number of students to compete - at 125 strong. Oxford sends the second most at 160, while LBS takes advantage of its larger class size and 24-month program by sending 225 students.

Oxford has finished in third place for the past three years (we did, however, more than halve the margin between second and third place this year from a 24 point difference to just 10 points). Typically, first and second place alternate between HEC and LBS although the latter had won five-years in-a-row until this year when HEC beat them.

As you can see from the chart there is a large gap between the top three competitors and the rest of the field. Oxford had double the number of points of the next closest opponent. Cambridge wasn't even close with their paltry 23 points. We did beat Cambridge for the gold medal in tug-of-war in less than 9-seconds, for which I am proud to have participated in. It was one of the four gold medals that Oxford won in total.

I also helped win a bronze medal in the final game against LBS for handball. Other sports that we should have finished better in include basketball and volleyball. Due to key players entering multiple events, we lost some games that we shouldn't have where there was a conflict in schedule. Unfortunately, this year's results fail to provide much predictive power for future years. Since most of the schools, including ours, send a unique group of MBAs to compete each year, you can never be sure which sports you will likely dominate in.

Although mechanical bull riding is not one of the qualifying MBAT sports...yet anyway...there are some rather obscure sports that we might consider focusing on to rack-up some quick points: babyfoot, chess, petanque, and tug-of-war. A little bit of practice in these sports can take you far. It's also worth noting that golf is unique since two teams are fielded. As a consequence, although LBS won gold in golf, our combined silver and bronze medals equaled their 5-point gain.

In conclusion, we've progressed Oxford further toward our goal of winning MBATs. It will be the responsibility of next year's class to achieve at least a second place finish (no pressure). But we should be used to winning. After all, we've been educating leaders (and winners) for over 800 years. In fact, they need to update the MBA brochures to reflect the fact that with the election of David Cameron (Brasenose), that now makes 26 total Prime Ministers to have come from Oxford!

trinity [week 2]: dr. ramin khadem

2010-05-08T08:18:00.018-04:00

As Chairman of the Finance Oxford Business Club (Finance-OBN) - a rather esoteric way of simply saying "President of the Oxford Finance Club" - I schedule one guest speaker each term (in addition to all the other programs we run: Treks, CFA Review, Oxbridge exchange, Finance Faculty dinner, Stock Trading competition, etc). I cannot say this enough...that the strength of our club depends on the quality of its membership, and in each and every instance, our guest speakers have come from referrals from fellow MBAs. During Michaelmas term we hosted Usman Hayat, director of the CFA Institute's division on Islamic Finance. For Hilary term, we brought in Zeeshan Tayeb of Element Six (De Beers), who generously helped us organize a "Strategic Consulting Project" (SCP) for Trinity term.

For Trinity term, Emily (from my Michaelmas studygroup) arranged to have Dr. Ramin Khadem, Chairman of Odyssey Moon Limited, give a speech entitled, "Reflections on the Root Causes of the Current Economic Crisis." Pretty typical fodder for an MBA audience following the "Great Recession of 2008-09," but what made this speech unique was that Dr. Khadem took an ethical approach to solving the root causes of economic excess.

As a member of the European Baha'i Business Forum, Dr. Khadem was uniquely qualified to speak on the role that moral and ethical values can play in business to enhance overall prosperity. Another twist on this presentation, is that Dr. Khadem has been involved in the commercialization of outer space for the past quarter-century, previously as the CFO of Inmarsat, a global satellite network company that was sold to private equity firms Apax Partners and Permira in 2005. Who better to combine business experience with the "big-picture" perspective?

Following on his success, Dr. Khadem now serves as Chairman of Odyssey Moon Limited, where he aims to develop a "sustainable commercial transportation system to deliver payload services to the Moon in support of science." We've certainly come a long way since Frank Sinatra's 1964 rendition of "Fly Me to the Moon," recorded just 5-years before the Apollo 11 moon-landing mission. In the wake of Goldman Sach's Congressional testimony regarding charges of fraud last week, perhaps Dr. Khadem has the right idea, that when we search for ethical guidance we should look skywards where a more enlightened global perspective can be found.

trinity [week 1]: oxbridge games

2010-05-08T08:17:00.000-04:00

...coming soon.

hilary [trek]: part 1, new york

2010-04-21T16:28:00.009-04:00

Certainly one of the highlights of the Oxford MBA is the global Treks that take place in April between Hilary and Trinity terms. This year the Oxford SBS Alumni Relations Office recognized ten different Treks. They included China (Hong Kong & Shanghai), Geneva, Germany, India, Japan, Middle East, New York/Boston, Nigeria/Ghana, Silicon Valley, and Spain. Although students organize these Treks, they are supported by both the Alumni Office and the Careers Office. In fact, the New York/Boston Trek that I organized was of such strategic importance that both the Careers director and the Alumni director attended. Well, technically, the Alumni director's flight was cancelled due to the volcanic eruption in Iceland, but still...these Treks are big events!

Any Oxford MBAs interested in "pitching" a Trek next year will typically face a deadline on the second-to-last Friday in January (i.e. Friday, January 22, 2010). During the following week, students actually pitch their Trek ideas with the winners being announced the following Monday (i.e. Monday, February 1, 2010). By this point, you should have already identified a team to help you, a list of students who have displayed interest in attending the Trek, and a list of companies that you are targeting.

Your Trek team will be given 30-minutes to pitch the proposal to a committee consisting of at least the Alumni and Careers directors. At this point, the New York/Boston Trek had "indications of interest" by email from 50 MBA students, of which, ultimately 12 attended the Trek. We had also compiled a 5 slide PowerPoint deck, which identified the dates of the Trek, as well as the flight, hotel, and estimated budget. Of the 15 companies that we had originally identified, we wound up seeing 10 of them, which is a pretty strong success rate. This year all 10 Treks were approved, and collectively over 150 of the 243 students in the 2009/10 class visited 100 companies. Hopefully, next year will be as strong - if not stronger!

Most people flew-in to New York (JFK airport) the weekend before our Trek started. Many people stayed with friends or family to save money. It appears that everyone knows someone in NYC! Those who stayed in a hotel chose "The Pod Hotel" in midtown Manhattan for about $75 each per/night (assumes sharing a room). You can book online, or call them at (212) 355-0300 (info@thepodhotel.com). I think that the best deal they offer is an en-suite room with two twin-sized beds, which for some reason can only be booked over the telephone, not over the Internet. We just missed our Columbia MBA counterparts this trip, but ideally next year we'll able to organize a night-out, or a brunch, to share our "case-study" war-stories.

We tried to cluster our company visits together. For example, on Monday we stayed downtown and visited Citigroup at 388 Greenwich Street, and then Deutsche Bank at 60 Wall Street. The next two days were spent largely in midtown. On Tuesday we visited CBRichardEllis, Credit Suisse, and Barclays Capital. We finished in New York on Wednesday by seeing Sanford Bernstein, SecondMarket, and Pfizer. Similarly, next year's Trekkers should consider visiting no more than three companies each day.

It would be unfair to choose favorites, but suffice to say that ALL of ours hosts had put a considerable amount of time and effort into our visit, and we could not be more grateful. Learning about how the commercial real estate market in New York is structured, and how absorption rates may presage an economic turnaround was absolutely mind-blowing. Other companies were saddled with the Herculean task of finding buyers for hundreds of billions worth of assets. One company shared with us that they knew exactly where every oil tanker in the world was at anyone given point in time by cross-referencing insurance records with maritime weather reporting. Bright people!

Still others spoke to us about the intersection of finance and social welfare through microfinance. Meanwhile a bunch of young and talented hot-shots are fastidiously creating new markets around the world for trading illiquid assets. I wonder if I could buy a PPM (private placement memorandum) in their company through their own trading architecture - that would be interesting!? Finally, the last company on our New York trek brought out an impressive line of managers who deftly answered our questions regarding the effect of Obamacare on the healthcare industry, and how pharma companies compete for market share in emerging markets that are already saturated with generic drugs.

Needless to say, this New York Trek was a real treat for all of us. We are eternally grateful to our kind and generous hosts. We trust that they were sufficiently impressed with us, too, so that they will be willing to meet with next year's Oxford MBA class!

hilary [trek]: part 2, boston

2010-04-19T11:35:00.008-04:00

After spending the first three days of the week in Manhattan, we shuttled off to Penn Station, bags in tow, and fresh from our afternoon meeting with Pfizer, to catch our Amtrak train to Boston. I suggest next year's Trekkers to order train tickets in advance, when they can be bought for as little as $48 one-way, as the price can double just a few days before departure. The more adventurous "budget traveller" can take the Fung Wah Bus out of Chinatown for $15 one-way - there is no cheaper way to travel from New York to Boston. In either case, you will want to get off at the Boston South Station (BOS) near the financial district.

Our Career Director really earned his keep during this 4 1/2 hour train ride as he indulged our many questions regarding career advice. We checked-in to the Holiday Inn at Beacon Hill. I recommend this hotel to next year's Trekkers, because it's conveniently located near both the financial district, and the MBTA Red Line, which can get get you to Cambridge to visit Harvard and MIT within a 5-minute subway ride. We booked the hotel through Priceline.com for $95 per/night for a twin room, which meant that when sharing the bill, it cost us less than $50 per/night each. The hotel is located at 5 Blossom Street, and you can reach them by calling (617) 742-7630.

Thursday was our first full-day in Boston. We were scheduled to visit our MBA counterparts, and some Oxford alumni, at the Harvard Business School. As President of the Oxford Finance Club, I reached out to my counterparts at HBS, Co-Presidents Melvin and Larry, who were kind enough to host us during our trip to Cambridge. In return, we offered to host them during their London Trek in late November (during the Thanksgiving holiday). It was a great opportunity to compare notes on what activities our respective finance clubs had planned for the year. Melvin met us outside the Baker Library at 10am, and walked us over to attend our first HBS class. Professor Matthew Weinzierl kindly introduced himself to us. A wunderkind who focuses on taxation issues, the Professor Weinzierl is a hands-down student favorite who teaches the BGIE (Business, Government and the International Economy) required class to first year students.

After class we ate on campus at the Spangler Food Court. Then, we spent the rest of the day discovering Harvard University. I walked down Oxford Street, and found my way to the Harvard Law School where I sat for a while reading under the warm sun, taking everything in - it had been a busy Trek so far! Later in the evening, we met with some Oxford alumni, who were now studying at HBS and HLS, and enjoyed a nice dinner, courtesy of Oxford Alumni, at a highly-recommended restaurant, called "Upstairs on the Square."

Following a nice day of rest-and-relaxation, we visited the last two companies of our Trek on Friday. We started the day at the international headquarters for Fidelity Investments at 245 Summer Street in Boston. Founded in 1946, Fidelity grossed more than $12 billion in sales last year. The nation's largest private mutual fund company, Fidelity rose to prominence when famed mutual fund manager, Peter Lynch, averaged a 29% annual return during his tenure between 1977 and 1990. With over $20 billion in assets, the Magellan fund has now been eclipsed by the Fidelity "Contrafund," which has nearly $60 billion in assets. Each year, Fidelity brings in roughly twice the total number of assets of Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and Citi Smith Barney combined. In addition to its retail activities, Fidelity also boasts a very strong asset management business. Our host Alison invited Matt from institutional research to talk with us about the exciting things that FRM is doing. Thank you both very much!

Later in the afternoon, we walked down the block to visit State Street Corp at 1 Lincoln Street. Our host Lauren organized a tour de force. Over the course of two hours, we toured the trading floor, met with the head of Talent Acquisition (Richard), the recruiter for SSgA-Global Advisors (Erin), and the recruiter for SSGM-Global Markets (Amy). They were incredibly generous with their time. The head of trading also stopped by to take us through a day-in-the-life of a new hire in the "professional development program (PDP)." Like many other companies, State Street is looking to expand its footprint, and its "global rotational program (GRP)" with SSgA sounds very promising, yet extremely competitive. Thank you for making it a spectacular visit!

Finally, I would once again like to thank Harvard University, Fidelity Investments, and State Street for making our New York/Boston Trek an unmitigated success. I hope that you were as impressed with us, as we were with you. I very much look forward to helping next year's MBA class visit again, and to include other Boston financial firms, such as Putnam Investments and MFS. Now it's back to Oxford to start Trinity term (ends July 3rd), provided this Icelandic volcanic eruption stops already!

hilary [trek]: press release, launch

2010-04-09T15:35:00.002-04:00

For the past two-months I've been organizing a cross-Atlantic Trek to New York. Everything is now ready to go! We're visiting ten blue-chip companies in New York and Boston, and twelve MBAs are participating. While we're here, we're also attending alumni events in both New York and Boston. And we're going to meet our fellow MBAs at Columbia and Harvard. It should be great fun, and I'm going to blog about all of it! Let's start with the press release recently issued by the Oxford B-school Press Office:

Oxford Comes to Wall Street
MBAs on business trek to New York and Boston

9 – 18 April 2010

Saïd Business School, University of Oxford

A team of MBA students from Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford will be visiting the USA on a business trek organised by the School’s student network for Finance. The team will be visiting New York and Boston to meet with key companies from the financial sector in order to gain an insight into how business in the sector operates.

With participants from Europe, North and South America, and Asia the trek is an opportunity for students to increase their understanding of the financial markets and business developments in the US, to see firsthand how the financial sector is recovering, and to network with Oxford alumni and corporate contacts. The students also plan to meet with MBA candidates for the incoming class.

One of the organising students Justin Belkin said: ‘‘The MBA class at Saïd is very diverse with participants from around 50 countries worldwide and from a wide variety of different sectors. The School has an excellent finance faculty and many of the class, keen to pursue a career in that sector, expressed an interest in getting firsthand experience of American culture and trade so I decided to organise a trek focusing on different organisations on Wall Street and beyond. We could not have chosen a better time to visit. As the economy recovers, more employers are looking to recruit from the top business schools, and Oxford is a natural choice. This will be a good opportunity to highlight the USA as an attractive destination for a fulfilling post-MBA career.”

The 15 students undertaking the trek are all keen to forge strong connections and to learn from the companies they will meet on their visit including: Barclays Capital, CB Richard Ellis, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Fidelity Investments, Pfizer, Sanford Bernstein, SecondMarket, and State Street.

The Oxford students will also meet with fellow MBAs from both Columbia and Harvard Universities to network and build transatlantic relationships.

While the team is confident that they will hear practical wisdom from these interactions, they hope to reciprocate by engaging in meaningful dialogue and offering consultancy advice on specific opportunities and challenges for some of the organisation’s they visit.

Derek Walker, Head of Careers at Saïd commented: ‘It is good to see the strong interest among our students in working in the finance sector in the USA, and clearly the country presents good opportunities. The students have set up a series of valuable meetings and will also be working closely with our alumni there to maximise their opportunities. The visit is a good way for companies to meet MBA students who are highly motivated to work in the US, are geographically mobile, and who have a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, business specialisms and sector experience. We look forward to a successful visit.’

hilary [week 10]: oxford literary festival

2010-03-21T09:46:00.008-04:00

It was time to head into town to reward myself with a nice caramel macchiato. I had just finished delivering a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation on our Darjeeling Tea Single Estate business proposal, and I was in need of some refreshment.

Every Hilary term, MBAs must pass the “Entrepreneurial Project (EP)” in order to graduate. The EP counts for one class, and is broken-up into two parts. The presentation part that I had just completed (40% of grade) lasted 30-minutes in total (i.e. 10m presentation, 10m Q&A, and 10m feedback). The second part of the EP consists of an 8,000 word paper/business plan (60% of grade), and is due on the first day of Naught Week (Trinity Term). The examiners will give us back the first part of our grade as early as this Monday, which coincidentally is the first day of finals.

But before I could start worrying about exams, I was driven by a much more important mission. To wrap my hands around a nice comforting cup of coffee goodness. As I walked through the Broad Street entrance into Waterstones bookstore in the old William Baker House, something immediately caught my attention. I came across an interesting flyer advertising the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival, which was to start tomorrow.

So, I grabbed a flyer, and made my way up the two flights of stairs to the Costa Coffee café. I couldn’t believe my good luck! I found a new reason to come back to Oxford after I graduate. From this Saturday, March 20 until next Sunday, March 28 over 300 accomplished authors will be speaking across the University.

Each event costs £10 to attend, and they do not offer student discounts (I asked). Most events will be held at Christ Church. They’ve set-up special outdoor tents near the Memorial Garden entrance off St. Aldates that extend into the Masters Garden. Other authors will speak at Corpus Christi College, the Bodleian, and the Sheldonian.

I’ve taken a break from studies to see some fellow Exonians, namely Martin Amis and Philip Pullman. This Saturday I attended “The Fantasy Tradition at Oxford” at 2pm with authors Philip Pullman (Golden Compass), and William Horwood (Duncton Wood). I bought the “Golden Compass” for £7.99 and had Pullman sign it for me. I told him about my blog, too, but he seemed…confused/disinterested.

Next Saturday, Martin Amis will be speaking on his new book, “The Pregnant Widow.” I don’t know much about the book, but it appears rather miraculous how a widow can get pregnant – surely there must be some dramatic way around this?

There are many other fun events that I wish I could attend, but just don’t have the time. For example, the Director of the British Museum Neil MacGregor spoke at the Sheldonian about “A History of the World in 100 Objects.” On a sassier note, Dr. Brooke Magnanti will speak more about her literary career as blogger-cum-author where she recounts her days as a high-end call girl to pay for her doctoral studies at Sheffield.

I strongly urge you to pick up a schedule at either Blackwells or Waterstones, or simply walk down to Christ Church and follow the signs. I look forward to making the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival a regular tradition for my family.

hilary [week 9]: hello press

2010-03-20T12:34:00.008-04:00

I’m a seasoned veteran by now. It’s been nearly 6-months since I arrived in Oxford to start my MBA program. I guess you can say that I’ve reached the “half-way” mark...and I’ve been blogging about it ever since.

I am so interested in recording my experiences here, in fact, that I was one of the first MBAs to respond back in October to a request from the Saïd Business School Press Office to serve as a “Public Relations Ambassador”. They invited me to sit for an interview so that they could write a profile on me. That profile was then neatly tucked away in a desk draw. For nearly a half year that profile has not seen the light of day – until last week.

Apparently, an independent contributor to the Financial Times was writing a story on “blogging, Facebook, and social networking.” The SBS Press Office reached out to me asking if I would be interested in answering a few questions, and that the writer had a strict Monday deadline. A couple of days later I was chatting with the writer over the telephone for a half hour. I followed up a day later with an email to thank him. I also wanted to make sure that he was clear on what I had said during the interview, so I included the following recapitulation:

Introduction...the problem
After heeding the mantra of my previous employer that the future of investment banking was "Dubai, Mumbai, Shanghai, or say good-bye," I crossed the other side of the Atlantic to attend the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford where our class hails from nearly 50 countries. Now I was faced with a new problem...how to stay in touch with a diverse group of 250 MBAs? Facebook emerged as the clear solution - then Linkedin.

Facebook/Linkedin solution...
Facebook was such a popular choice, that the incoming MBA class actually migrated over from the "Incoming Student" intranet site to the new "Said Business School - Class of 2010" Facebook page. Part of the reason was that Facebook not only allowed for richer content, but also proved to be a better vehicle for communicating with past and future Oxford MBAs. Facebook proved so valuable to me as President of the Oxford Finance Club that I even launched a "Finance-OBN (Oxford Business Network)" Facebook page to publicize group events.

Blogging solution...
Nevertheless, as useful as Facebook and Linkedin have been to our MBA class in helping us coordinate and publicize activities, they couldn't quite capture the "human narrative" that old-fashioned blogging filled rather nicely. During the application process, in fact, I derived the most benefit from Googleing "Oxford MBA blogs." This led me to both the "official" Oxford MBA blog (for which I am now a contributor), and all the way to India where I regularly read (and contributed) to Pagalguy.

It became clear to me that no matter how glossy the MBA brochure, nothing could replace the down and dirty nitty gritty narrative of personal experience that others so kindly provided on these blogs. Having benefiting so much from the kind postings of others, I decided to give back to others by launching my own blog called, "Confessions of an Oxford MBA." Through Google Analytics I can see that my blog currently reaches thousands of readers in 45 countries from New York to New Dehli.

*I'm very curious to read this Monday's weekly FT "MBA Report" to see if: (a) they even run the article (b) do they mention me explicitly (quote) or implicitly (c) if they do quote me I hope it reflects well on SBS and myself. I'm sure I'll write an addendum to this blog post if they run the story in some form or another - it was a great experience either way.

hilary [week 8]: hector sants, ceo of fsa

2010-03-20T03:34:00.006-04:00

Before choosing Oxford for my MBA, I had visited several other business schools. I was surprised to learn that in just about every instance, other business schools were geographically and culturally separate from the larger university. One thing that appealed to me about Oxford was the fact that the Saïd Business School is an integral part of the University of Oxford.

Many of the people whose names splash the headlines of the Financial Times come and speak at Oxford. In this way the business school benefits from Oxford’s 800-year history of educating leaders. Last Friday was no exception. Fresh from his morning interview with the BBC Today show, Hector Sants returned to his alma mater to deliver the Annual Lubbock Lecture in Management Studies to a packed theatre at the Saïd Business School, entitled “UK Financial Regulation: After the Crisis.”

Having served the past three years as CEO of the Financial Services Authority, Mr. Sants had already handed in his resignation in February, but with 6-months left to go in his term, he had a new announcement that he wanted to make at Oxford. As President of the Oxford Finance Club, I attended the event, and I was also invited to the boardroom afterwards to have dinner.

During the dinner, we followed Chatham House Rules allowing us to speak freely, but on the condition that opinions remained anonymous. We all shared a good laugh when I pointed out the fact that Mr. Sants and I would both be looking for jobs this summer. It just so happens that the FSA is hiring. I was surprised to learn that regulators get more exposure to global capital markets than investment bankers. I also suspect that regulators will be in high demand over the next few years as the financial services industry waits nervously to see what new rules will be meted out.

Mr. Sants’ tenure as CEO of the FSA began inauspiciously in July 2007. He had the misfortune of being appointed just weeks after two hedgefunds at Bear Stearns unexpectedly collapsed. This was followed by the American Home Mortgage bankruptcy in August. During these early days of the recession few had ever heard of collateralized mortgage obligations, or credit default swaps.

It was only a matter of time before the spill-over effect rippled across the Atlantic. The first to fall in the United Kingdom was Northern Rock in February 2008. Next, the British government nationalized part of Lloyds Bank and RBS. The FSA quickly found itself thrust into the limelight.

When the dust finally settled, the FSA received mixed reviews on its handling of the economic crisis. Many viewed the FSA as having too light of a touch for an industry that had witnessed regulatory concerns dating back to 1995 when Barings Bank collapsed. It appears that lax oversight may have once again contributed to a repeat of corporate excess.

To combat these criticisms, Mr. Sants emphasized during his speech that the FSA needs to be more proactive, including intervening earlier. Mr. Sants formally announced tougher consumer protection rules governing the sale of financial products to the public. He declared, “We will now seek to proactively intervene earlier in the product chain to anticipate consumer detriment and choke it off before it occurs.” This new “outcomes-based” approach to regulation replaces the previous “principles-based” regime. The FSA will continue to follow a broad set of principles, but the big difference will be much stricter supervision.

The new FSA approach to regulation ratchets up the dial on government heavy-handedness – perhaps too far. For example, reform on an institutional level will at the very minimum entail annual stress tests for banks. His speech also alluded to a possible “insurance tax” on financial institutions to offset systemic risk. Mr. Sants summarized his position as follows, “Higher capital and liquidity will reduce the probability of failure.” Mortgage companies will also be policed by “mystery shoppers” who will be monitoring lending standards. Many wonder whether the FSA is going too far, or not far enough?

Despite these recent overtures, however, the FSA must still contend with the very real possibility that a Tory victory in the upcoming months may entirely uproot the institution that Mr. Sants has worked so hard to reform. Time will tell whether the money and political will exist for the FSA to succeed.

*At the request of the Saïd Business School Press Office, this blog was posted on the website "BusinessBecause" in an article entitled, Hector Sants Makes FSA Announcement at Oxford University.*

hilary [week 7]: Q&A student panel

2010-03-13T20:44:00.017-05:00

Now the tables were turned. Slightly over one year had passed since that blistering cold February night when I set course across the Atlantic with Lisa for my Oxford MBA interview. I strategically scheduled my interview during an “Open Day” to maximize my visit. Now flash forward to Friday where I found myself seated opposite 60 eager applicants as part of an MBA student panel.

Owing to its relatively small size of 250 MBAs, the Saïd Business School interviews every short-listed MBA candidate before accepting them. Granted - some applicants opt for the telephone interview, but I was SO determined to get admitted into my top b-school choice, that I left nothing up to chance - and flew to Oxford to meet my maker face-to-face. Following my interview, I waited four painstaking weeks before learning their final verdict.

Similarly, many of the applicants who had come today were approaching the end of their journey, hoping for the same release. As I walked into the Rhodes Trust Lecture Theatre to sit next to some of my MBA classmates, I felt all eyes descend upon us, eager to glean whatever nuggets of wisdom they could find. First question…

How did you go about picking an Oxford College?

The University of Oxford is comprised of 38 colleges and 6 halls, of which 35 colleges currently accept MBA students. This is quite an impressive statistic – higher than Judge at Cambridge– indicating general acceptance of the newly minted MBA program within the larger University. The three colleges that don’t accept MBAs include Nuffield (alumnus Mohamed El-Erian), Somerville (alumnus Margaret Thatcher), and University (alumnus Bill Clinton). Every college boasts its own history, replete with rich tradition and fabled alumni. Colleges typically provide housing, food, religious service, and a Middle Common Room (graduate community) to MBA students apart from the b-school. You really can’t go wrong with any of your choices.

About one-third of the class becomes members of the de facto business college, GreenTempleton. Colloquially known as GTC, GreenTempleton offers housing right across from the b-school at Rewley Court, making it a popular choice for MBA with spouses, and families. Another 40 MBAs journey to St. Hugh’s where it is rumored to share a border with Scotland due to its geographic distance. Although I must confess it’s difficult to take issue with a college that has its own private-label wine.

For those yearning to become a member of a top sporting college, then you might do well to choose Brasenose. With its entrance idyllically situated opposite the Radcliffe Camera, Brasenose also has new housing near the b-school. In addition, "boaties" proudly display their “black and gold” as they can claim the oldest boathouse in the world (founded 1815).

Referred to as “the House,” few would pass on a chance to join Christ Church where they filmed the Harry Potter dining room scenes. This year we regularly played poker in the same MCR where Albert Einstein spent his time in 1931. But get ready to work. Their novice rowers practice perhaps more than any other college – often 8 times a week! After all, the novice rowing competition held during Michaelmas term is called the Christ Church Regatta.

As you walk down the centuries old Turl Street you’ll discover three very ancient colleges: Exeter (1314), Lincoln (1427), and Jesus (1571). Exeter’s view overlooking the Radcliffe Square has been consistently voted as the “best view in Oxford.” Exeter offers sumptuous en-suite housing, but you have to trek to Cowley to get there. In contrast, Lincoln offers centrally located quarters on Bear Lane (City-Centre). They’re so small and cramped, however, that you would have to travel to Greece to find something more Spartan. Finally, few colleges can out fillet Jesus and its MBA disciples when it comes to best food.

Whiles it’s impossible to profile every college, I certainly recommend taking a walk down Oriel Square toward the old cobble-stone Merton Street where you will pass Oriel before reaching Corpus Christi and finally Merton. All very beautiful colleges, you can often tell how old they are based on whether they kept to the traditional stone slab quads, which Corpus and Merton have, or whether they transitioned to the ubiquitous green lawn made fashionable in the 1850s. Oriel prides itself on having a strong rowing tradition, and this year they took a surprising number of MBAs (circa 15). Whereas Corpus is cozy, Merton is monolithic.

Arguably the oldest college in Oxford, Merton (1264) basks in resplendent glory of having developed the first archetypal “quad,” which was later adopted by the other Oxbridge colleges. Following one of the stranger Oxford traditions, Mertonians observe the “Time Ceremony” every October where they hold hands and walk backwards around the Fellows’ Quad while drinking port in order to maintain the space-time continuum. You might think that after all this revelry it would be difficult to walk straight, let alone think straight. Nonetheless, Merton regularly outperforms its peers academically by finishing toward the top of the Norrington Table every year.

If you believe in the Golden Rule: that he who has the gold makes the rules, then you might want to consider St. John’s, which is the richest of all the Oxford Colleges. This is also where former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair went to school. They are rumored to have the largest wine cellar in all of Oxford. With a rather large endowment in its own right, New College has trained several Hollywood actors including Hugh Grant and Kate Beckinsale. The New College Cloisters, along with its giant oak tree, were featured in the movie, Harry Potter: Goblet of Fire.

Meanwhile the more judicious among us should deliberate the merits of Magdalen College, which has educated two US Supreme Court Justices. Famous for having its own deer park, Magdalen was rumored at one point in its long history to keep the number of deer equal to the number of teaching fellows. This undoubtedly placed enormous pressure on faculty not to defect, lest they be served a never-ending staple of venison. But the biggest kept secret is that Magdalen offers free housing to the one MBA it accepts.

Although the answer I provided during the actual Q&A wasn't so in-depth, I do believe that I communicated the same basic point. There is not one perfect Oxford College. They all possess a unique charm. The larger point to be made is that this collegiate system is what separates the Oxford MBA from other b-schools. And if you find this enchanting, then choose Oxford!

*During the Q&A I was asked many other questions related to jobs, families, work/life balance, etc. Please write a comment below specifying which topic you would like me to address next*

hilary [week 6]:

2010-03-13T20:44:00.003-05:00

hilary [week 5]:

2010-03-13T20:44:00.001-05:00

hilary [week 4]: valentine's day

2010-03-13T20:43:00.001-05:00

A month has passed since I last saw my fiancée Lisa. I actually think that we've handled being apart much better than expected. Unlike some other couples where MBA really stands for "Married, But Available," Lisa and I have kept focused on what's really important to us: our wedding later this year, and making lots of money!

I attribute our success to several factors. We Skype almost every night. We constantly send little "pings" back-and-forth between our iPhones during the day. It also helps that I'm constantly distracted by studying, applying for jobs, and participating in extra-curriculars (e.g. student government, finance club, and rowing). Although I can't speak for Lisa, I imagine that it helps that she's working full-time, and has her family nearby.

That being said, at least half of MBAs decide to bring their significant other with them. There exists a strong support network here at Oxford for couples and families. But regardless of the level of support, I've noticed two things. First, there is a difference between married couples with kids, and those without. The two groups tend to "hang-out" in different circles, which is fine, because there's plenty of both to go around. Second, I observe that to keep the relationship healthy the spouse MUST find some kind of work, whether paid or unpaid (volunteer work). This can be complicated because of work visa issues, but I think that if someone wanted to, they could always find a job labeling Darwin's butterflies at the Oxford Museum of Natural History.

It also helped tremendously to make special visits every so often to see one another. This Valentine's Day Lisa flew to Oxford to see me. I picked-her up at the airport, and after spending one night at my college accommodations ("The Exeter Estate & Gardens"), we spent the weekend at the Randolph Hotel. The Randolph normally costs £215 per night minimum, but they have a special arrangement with SBS where they charges £150 per night, and this includes a hot breakfast. This amounts to a significant 30% in savings at one of the swankiest addresses in Oxford! In order to qualify for the discount, however, you have to coordinate with the front desk at SBS, which acts as a good safe-guard against non-MBAs qualifying for the discount.

Through the kind beneficense of our friends, Lisa and I enjoyed a sumptious dinner at the Christ Church Grand Dining Hall courtesy of Nisheeth, followed the next day by lunch at Lincoln College - thanks to Harpreet. We ended our vacation with Lisa's first Formal Hall dinner at Exeter College. We had a great time although the Valentine's Day vacation was too short to do much travelling outside Oxford. Especially because I had assignments due that Monday and Tuesday. At least Lisa gets to see that I really do work hard here. Enjoy the pics:

hilary [week 3]:

2010-03-13T20:41:00.000-05:00

hilary [week 2]: financial times and haggis

2010-01-25T13:16:00.012-05:00

One might understandably wonder what the Financial Times newspaper and haggis have in common. And I must confess not much at all, other than the fact, that this week I enjoyed revelling in the glory that the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings 2010 saw Oxford move up four spots to #16 world-wide (tied with Yale) to become the second highest ranked B-school in the United Kingdom behind LBS...and that I got to expand my gastronomical limits by trying haggis.

Of course, not too much faith should be placed in these rankings, but nonetheless it serves as a signal to recruiters about the growing prestige and quality of the Oxford MBA. Had the rankings been released just a few hours earlier, I might have enjoyed a nice toast of fine Scotch during the Robert Burns Dinner that I was invited to at Merton College - by my friend Pavan.

Commemorating the Scottish poet's "Address to a Haggis" back in 1787, we all dined on traditional haggis (sheep heart, liver, and lungs), which was served alongside "neeps and tatties" (yellow turnips and potatoes). I managed to overcome my American culinary sensitivities by eating "at least one" piece of haggis. The night was filled with the sound of bagpipes playing, and dinner guests wearing their kilts and donning their best Scottish brogue. Oxford sure is an interesting place, and I've been so lucky to have had the opportunity to study here, and to make such good friends.

hilary [week 1]: mba finance club

2010-01-25T13:15:00.003-05:00

Like any other top-tier MBA program, Oxford provides many opportunities for interested MBAs to become involved in student clubs. Every year the Oxford Business Alumni (OBA) recognizes 5 core "Oxford Business Networks (OBN)," including Entrepreneurship, Finance, Management Consulting, Private Equity, and Social Entrepreneurship. Beyond this "core" group many other non-permanent OBNs and "Student Interest Groups (SIGs)" are supported depending on the inclination of the students.

Current OBNs and SIGs include Real Estate, Technology, Leadership, and Women in Business - just to name a few. In many ways these groups operate much like traditional MBA student clubs, however, the difference is that while run by students they are expressly operated in a way as to link current students with alumni and practitioners in the field. It provides a nice "bridge" for students as they transition back into the work world, and also provides a mechanism to keep alumni involved.

For example, when I was elected as President of the core Finance OBN, I was elected to a 2-year term. Since the Oxford MBA only lasts 1-year this obviously means that I am "contracted" to stay on and support the next year's class as an alumni.

hilary [week 0]: entrepreneurial project

2010-01-21T18:33:00.006-05:00

As you may already know from reading my previous blogs, the Oxford school year is separated into Michaelmas, Hilary, and Trinity terms. Furthermore, each term is divided into roughly 11-weeks. Week 0, also referred to as "naught week," marks the start of students returning from their holiday break. Students then attend class from Weeks 1-8, revise for finals during Week 9, and finally take their exams during Week 10. But for an Oxford MBA...the work never really ends.

I was working on several "pet projects" ever since returning to New York on December 19th. As soon as I returned to Oxford on January 13th for the start of Hilary term, I wasted no time executing my plans. In my next blog I will talk about the various initiatives I'm taking to raise the profile of the Oxford Finance Club. But for now I'll talk about the "Entrepreneurial Project (EP)" that I worked on over the Christmas break.

First, a little context. To combat the criticism that B-schools do not impart their MBAs with any practical "real-world" experience, many programs now include business plan and consulting project components. Following this logic, by the end of Hilary term Oxford MBAs are expected to pitch our EP (business plan) to a panel of venture capitalists - some plans are actually funded by the VCs. Each EP group must consist of no more (or less) than 5 people. I am pleased to be working with Adarsh, Court, Genia, and Rajeev this term. Together, we must also submit a 6,000 word report related to our EP.

After considering several options, we decided to form an EP group around the topic of Darjeeling Tea in India. I was motivated to try something new and different, but at the same time leverage my financial knowledge of auction markets, as well as my business knowledge of owning a coffee shop. To kick things off, I invited everyone to Exeter College for a formal dinner on Sunday. I brought a sampling of Darjeeling Tea products. I also shared my findings on product offerings, and pricing, from research performed in the exotic reaches of...New York. After several brain-storming sessions, we decided to focus on helping tea cooperatives in Darjeeling get a better price for their tea by arranging an online auction system. We will also help local plantations implement new technologies, as well as re-market their product so that it may reclaim its moniker of being the "champagne of teas." It will be an interesting journey, and I can't wait for my first trip to India!

michaelmas [week 10]: end-of-term gala

2010-01-20T18:05:00.009-05:00

On December 17th, 243 Oxford MBAs descended toward Ewert House, and sat for our final exam of the Michaelmas term. Decked out wearing 'sub-fusc,' we ripped through the Marketing case study. We had spent the past week sitting for uncomfortably long periods - wearing our tuxedos with academic gown - as we constructed 3x3 matrices to compute the variance of a basket of stocks, then calculated the standard deviation of those stocks within a 95% confidence interval, and finally decided whether or not options on those stocks should be expensed.

The term certainly flew by quickly - just as they said it would. I remember having just arrived in Oxford (for the first time in 10-years) this past September 24th. As an undergraduate, I had studied abroad here under the tutorial system. But now, as an MBA, I would come to know Oxford in a whole different way.

In the short span of 10-weeks I fully immersed myself in Oxford life. I rowed for my Exeter College Novice B team in the Christ Church Regatta. Before coming here, I would have thought that sounded like some obscure religious ritual. And in some ways it was, because Oxford is crazy about their rowing! I also became Treasurer of the Student Government, and completed my lock on finance by becoming Chairman of the Finance-OBN. My schedule has been so full this past term - not to mention the 6 core courses we all took - that attending the end-of-term Gala proved to be the best way to conclude Michaelmas term. Click on the video below to see some photos from our Michaelmas term 2009 Gala.

View the video below for one of the highlights of the Gala dinner:

Lyrics to Bye-Bye Miss American Pie (Oxford Rendition)
(sung at Michaelmas Gala 2009)

Not so much time ago
I can still remember
when Mungo used to make me smile [Managerial Economics]
And when I get my second chance
I’ll still fail econ at a glance
We were all fooled by his boyish cheeky smile,

But Alan didn't make us shiver [Finance I]
with the questions he delivered
Tough but fair with finance
I love those snazzy red pants

Went to Tomo and I cried [Financial Reporting]
What goes on the left hand side?
“Show me double entry!' he replied
Thanks to him, I will survive.

So hear ye when I say that we’re free
We’re the best though the DS really petrified me.
And I might have to do econ in week 10 Hilary
But for now I plan to drink up with glee,
So won’t you raise your glass up with me?

When you sat for strategy
Did you use the growth hierarchy
If the framework tells you so?
Do you believe in Thomas Powell, [Strategy I]
Or did Chris and Richard show you how
To value innovate and reach blue ocean’s flow?

Oh Mungo! We were in love with him
He blew us kisses in the gym,
Can’t believe he had the nerve,
Not to add the marginal revenue curve!

And when I had accounting pain
I would ask for help from Jaypal Jain [Financial Reporting]
While Mark played 2 by 2 Nash games,
Aaron was on my side.

James Taylor started singing, (I’ll tell you what I want…)
My, my Doug the marketing guy, [Marketing]
There’s no doubt you’ll tease it out
And make the customers buy,
But why are the cases from 1975?
Long before the web had started to thrive,
Most of us weren’t even alive.

Derek from careers says we’re on our own [Career Services]
If McKinsey won’t pick up the phone
Even though I sent them my CV.
James and Dolores were the king and queen [Decision Science]
Of deviating from the mean
Too bad I still can’t do decision trees,

SBS Alumni where were you
When we went on our river cruise
It was so very rude
That we didn’t get any food!
Diwali, Maxwell’s, Halloqueen
We tried to keep the photos clean
And tried to keep some things unseen
Like when I kissed another guy…

We started singing,
Bye bye 2009
I may not have a offer but I don’t really mind.
We’re Oxford MBAs –
We’re Saïd MBAs so we’re gonna be fine
So for now let’s drink one more glass of wine,
A toast… the class of 2009!

michaelmas [week 9]: Revision Week

2010-01-20T18:05:00.001-05:00

Post to come...

michaelmas [week 8]: SVCO

2010-01-20T18:03:00.000-05:00

Post to follow...

michaelmas [week 7]: thanksgiving day

2009-11-26T18:51:00.015-05:00

Exeter College boasts the most 'authentic' Thanksgiving Day dinner in all of Oxford. This is largely because of the 'Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford,' which has been sending over 30 Williams students to Exeter for a full year of study since 1985. And for the past 80 years Williams has awarded one graduating senior the Moody-Donovan Fellowship to study for a Master's degree at Oxford. So, at a cost of just £20 I had to find out for myself. In fact, this dinner is SO popular, that they don't even allow you to bring a guest! I've included some photos below so that you can experience Thanksgiving Oxford-style:

some nice cornbread with cranberry and butter...

turkey with stuffed mushrooms, a cranberry cornbread roll, sausage wrapped in bacon, sweetpotatoes, mashed potatoes & gravy, and string beans...

pumpkin pie, pecan pie, warm apple pie with raisens,

and a dollup of ice cream and whipped cream...

Williams students were obliged to sing their College's song...

michaelmas [week 6]: group-work assignments

2009-11-23T06:33:00.011-05:00

Most people know that the hardest part about getting an MBA is getting in. I agree that statistically this is true, however, at Oxford they really make you earn that degree! Just in case you don't believe me, I've included a copy of our Study Group's workflow chart below:

You can see that in addition to taking 6 courses during Michaelmas term (e.g. Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Microeconomics, Statistics, and Strategy), we also have 8 group-work assignments due. These assignments range from 1,500 to 3,000 words each with another few pages of charts and Excel calculations included in the appendices. These are huge undertakings that would not be possible without the combined efforts of our Study Group members: Babacar, Christoph, Emily, Mosima, and Keerti Prasad. Some other MBAs aren't so fortunate.

With all of this work, of course, it is important that you keep it together lest you suffer a nervous breakdown like John Nash. The work can feel quite overwhelming when you are also spending your weekends applying for jobs, or waking up at 6am each morning for rowing practice. The demands are great, yet, the Oxford MBA is only one year long so you want to fit as many experiences in as possible. Since group-work assignments typically count for 40% of your grade it is important to try and maintain internal harmony within a Study Group that you had no say in, and which was specifically comprised of people with different work backgrounds and cultures.

Our group has now submitted 5 out of 8 group-work assignments. There is no refuge, however. One assignment is due at 11pm, and before you have a chance to celebrate another one is due just 22-hours later...the onslaught continues. My advice to incoming MBAs would be to stand back and take a healthy perspective. For example, our iconic Accounting professor Tomo Suzuki said, "while it may be discouraging if a teammate is not pulling their weight, that is okay, provided they reciprocate later in other ways, such as with a job". Tomo is a very practical man!

michaelmas [week 5]: isis in winter

2009-11-16T08:22:00.010-05:00

Last year when I was first considering B-school, I remember leafing through the latest Oxford brochure and reading how they were different because MBA students were fully integrated into the University. Over the past five weeks I have come to realize what this really means. For example, during matriculation, our College 'Freshers' photo included both incoming undergraduate and graduate students, which is uncommon in the States. And of course there are also the University wide public lecture series, and recruiting fairs that MBA are also able to attend.

But perhaps most enjoyable has been my time spent rowing for the Exeter College Novice B team. Along with my fellow 'boaties', we row three times a week on the Isis, sometimes as early as 6am in pitch blackness. Rowing at Oxford is a big deal, in fact, 1 out of 3 students row at some point during their Oxford studies! And although the penultimate manifestation of rowing revelry is the annual 'Boat Race' that has been taking place between Oxford and Cambridge since 1859, students of all ages and abilities participate.

New students take warning. When you are invited to a BBQ at the College boat house during 'Nought Week' you will be put on an erg machine and tested for 1-minute to see how fast you can row. After wolfing down my hamburger I managed to get on the erg machine and row about 38 strokes per/minute. Later I found out that this was good enough to put me on the Novice B team. Exeter had four boats this Fall: A, B, C, and D. It works similar for women's rowing, as well. Most of the graduate students rowed on the C boat.

For those of you already familiar with Oxford you may remember that the school year is broken up into Michaelmas (Oct-Dec), Hilary (Jan-Mar), and Trinity (Apr-Jun) terms. Michaelmas terms is dedicated to Novice rowers; those who have never rowed before. You train all term for the 'Christ Church Regatta', which is a 800 meter sprint where you row side-by-side with another boat trying to overtake them. The event takes place over four days (Thu-Sun) - weather permitting - beginning around November 27th. The more ambitious rowers can participate in the warm-up event, called 'Isis in Winter', which our crew participated in on Sunday, November 14th. The big difference between the two events is that Isis in Winter is 1400 meters long, and you are only racing against the clock.

If you have rowed in the Christ Church Regatta, then congratulations - you are no longer considered a novice! Now you can go on and compete in 'Torpids' during Hilary, and finally 'Eights' during Trinity term to complete the Oxford rowing trifecta. But it's an incredible commitment of time and energy, so maybe I'll see how my job search pans out before the end of Michaelmas before I decide whether or not to continue on. Although I have lost 10lbs so far rowing, so maybe I'll stick with it a little longer to get into shape for my wedding next October.

michaelmas [week 4]: guy fawkes day

2009-11-07T18:43:00.005-05:00

England is a land of many unique, and sometimes perplexing traditions. Back in America, we usually celebrate Election Day during the first Tuesday of November, but here in Oxford we celebrated "Guy Fawkes Night" to commemorate a foiled plot by disgruntled Catholics to blow-up Parliament on November 5, 1605. Things didn't work out too well for the poor "Guy" who was subsequently hanged, drawn, and quartered. Now every year people light fireworks and burn effigies of Guy Fawke as they recite the poem:

Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
I know of no reason
Why the Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

I was much more interested, however, in enjoying a nice Saturday lunch with my friends at the famous Eagle & Child pub (commonly referred to as the "Bird & Baby") on St. Giles Street. Founded in 1650, the pub is currently owned by nearby St. John's College, which seems to own just about everything, including the "Lamb & Flag" pub across the street - nice way to build a monopoly! The pub is perhaps most famously known as the meeting place for writers JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis. We also had a reason to celebrate. Election results for student government were announced the night before. In the picture below, both Bo and I won a VP position - it always helps when you run unopposed. And Tushar won a week earlier as Chairman of the Private Equity club. I had also won an election the previous week for Chairman of the Finance club. No club funds, however, were used to finance our lunch.

One of the best parts of being an Oxford MBA is the chance to meet new and interesting people. Only time will tell what these relationships lead to, what new businesses are launched, and who is running for President of which country (over 50 world leaders were Oxford students). Who knows what the future will bring for us all? All I can be sure of for now, is that Tommy will continue to keep me on my toes with his consistent tennis serve, Mike will protect my identity with RFID technology, and Bo will inspire me to go to an election party, an Oxford Union bop, and the Bridge nightclub all within a 12-hour period and still make lunch at the Eagle & Child the next day!

michaelmas [week 3]: job applications

2009-10-31T17:29:00.011-04:00

There are several things that I hope to accomplish through this blog. And one of them is to find my 'dream job during the worst recession since the 1930s.' Although I have only been living in Oxford for one month, I have already begun my job search. If you want to work in finance, then you better be prepared to hand in your applications by the end of November - at the latest. Even some consulting firms, such as McKinsey and Bain, have a deadline of November 1st. So, come to Oxford prepared with a polished CV, and a good idea of what job you want to target.

I'd like to give you an idea of what it is like to balance looking for a career while taking classes. On October 5th, in-between classes, I rushed up the stairs to check my email in the Sainsbury Library. At around 11:47AM I hear my email 'ping,' and I read about an opportunity to interview with a top European bank. Sounds good so far. Then, I read the disclaimer, "Please email your CV by 8am the following morning." Okay, no problem, this is why I already have my CV ready to go at a moment's notice.

A few days later I get an email back from the bank confirming that I had made the 'first-cut,' and was invited to interview. I was very excited, and then I read that the interview would be over two-days (during class) and in London! Again no problem, this is why I came to B-school...to get a job.

The following day I used my '16-25 Student Railcard' (cost: £26) to buy my 'return-ticket' from Oxford to London Paddington for just £9 (normally £20+). I skipped out on my Thursday Decision Science (Statistics) class, and headed for Canary Wharf - London's financial district. After this group-interview/workshop, I returned home so that I could attend my Friday morning Finance I class before leaving for my one-on-one interview at 3pm with an AVP and Director of the bank. If I had an earlier interview, then I probably would have just stayed overnight in London. By the way, this bank reimburses up to £100 for travel expenses.

Now a week has passed since my First Round interview. Although I think it went well, I now have to 'officially' submit my application online, and reference a specific job code to be considered for the Final Round. If the last sentence sounded confusing, then you would be correct to think that it is unusual to be interviewed before you submit an application. But, interestingly, I found that this was a great way to have a candid conversation with recruiting on which role best fits your profile. It will still be a few weeks before I learn my fate with this bank. I am hoping for the best, and expecting the worst. But it sure would be nice to come home during Christmas break with a job offer!

michaelmas [week 2]: diwali 'festival of lights'

2009-10-30T20:00:00.019-04:00

Some of you reading this blog post might be considering applying to an MBA program. Depending on your unique set of circumstances, some things may be more important to you than others when choosing a school. As a now thirty-two year old New Yorker about to get married in a year, my priorities might be very different from someone else’s. For example, when I was considering which schools to apply to I was very concerned with brand recognition, course length, cost of course, and the internationalism of the student body.

While the Oxford brand is undeniable, there are plenty of schools in the US that are equally well-known. Similarly, Oxford does not hold a monopoly on the one-year MBA scheme; although paying half the tuition of a comparable two-year American program is pretty nice! But one thing that really sets Oxford apart from all the rest is its diversity.

When I was studying for the CFA they talked about technology and globalization as the two biggest forces shaping the 21st century. Back home in New York, most MBA programs are split 75% American and 25% international. Here in Oxford that number is reversed. How can you succeed in an increasingly global world without an international degree? This year’s class of 244 Oxford MBA students comes from 48 countries with an average of six years work experience. Surprisingly, British students represent less than 5% of the class. Roughly speaking, one-third of the class comes each from North America & Europe, India, and Asia. This makes for a wonderful mix of cultures.

It was pretty clear to me that I wasn’t in New York anymore as I walked down the street past the ‘Honey Pot’ pub toward the b-school to celebrate Diwali, dressed from head-to-toe in a kurta that my friend Pavan had graciously lent me (complete with sandals). In fact, it was good enough to win ‘first-prize’ for best dressed. I must admit, however, that Rajeev and Raja were looking pretty snazzy, too, so I was lucky to have won!

About 20% of this year’s MBA class comes from India, and they did a wonderful job organizing the event. Sumi was the MC and taught us some ‘Bollywood’ dance moves, although no one could pull it off quite like him. Nazneen and Archana did a wonderful job choreographing some dances for the men and women. Everyone practiced so hard to learn the traditional Indian dances. I was amazed to see the great job Emily did – my study group partner. Then Rahul proved that not only does he have a wicked one-handed backhand in tennis, but he also has pinpoint accuracy when choosing Bingo numbers through a computer Random Number Generator. Nice job!

But the highlight of night was when Harpreet in a show of camaraderie and respect, gave me his stoll (scarf) as a gift. As we danced into the night, celebrating “the victory of good over evil; the uplifting of spiritual darkness,” I couldn’t help but think that I would never have experienced this had I stayed in New York.

michaelmas [week 1]: oxford matriculation (saturday, oct 17, 2009)

2009-10-18T06:08:00.015-04:00

Just as in the United States, your college experience at Oxford is bookended between matriculation and graduation. Although I didn't see too many families attending, there were some, and matriculation would be one of the events that you might want them to come to. That being said, the actual matriculation process took only 15-minutes, at which point we were all formally admitted into the University (rather than the College, which happened 1-week earlier when we signed our names in the College Registry). Here are all the undergrad and grad 'Freshers' waiting to get our College photo taken in the Exeter Front Quad at 8:00AM (brrrr...it was cold out there!)...

After taking our College photo we all walked out onto Turl Street, and made our way to the Broad Street to the Sheldonian Theatre where the actual Matriculation ceremony took place at 9:00AM. Here many of us are waiting patiently outside to pour into the Sheldonian...

...Here are some pictures from inside the Sheldonian where the Vice-Chancellor gave a nice speech welcoming us to the University (part of which was spoken in Latin!)...

...Here's a picture of me inside the Sheldonian all dressed-up in 'sub-fusc' (black suit & shoes, white bow-tie, black academic gown, and black mortar board hat). Interesting to note that grad gowns are longer than undergrad 'commoner' gowns. Also, you're not allowed to wear your academic hat during graduation (only after you've earned the right during graduation), so you must hold your hat in your hand instead...

...Back to the Exeter Dining Hall for a special 'Matriculation Brunch.' There were a limited number of seats, which you had to reserve online through Exeter's 'Upay' system. Unfortunately, only 2 out of 7 Exeter MBA were able to attend, so I encourage future MBA who want to attend to be sure to register well in advance to secure a seat...

...Ahhhhh and here's the food. To drink we had tea, orange juice, and Mimosas (OJ + champagne). To eat we started with cold cereal and freshly baked pastries. For the main course we had sunny-side up eggs with Canadian bacon, boiled tomato, sausage, baked beans, hash brown, mushrooms, and fried-toast...

...Finally, here are some finally pictures of me wearing 'sub-fusc' in the Exeter front quad during matriculation day...!

first blog post since arriving in oxford

2009-10-11T07:23:00.009-04:00

Most of my blog readers will have already experienced the whirlwind beginning to our 2009-10 MBA course. Every day is filled with a never-ending list of activities, including orientation (SBA and College), job search, social activities (London boat cruises, pub crawls, and bops [themed parties], and administrative tasks (bank account, bike, cell phone, email, shopping, etc.). Classes haven't even started!

Last week they divided our class of 244 MBAs (up from 233 as of last year) into three course sections. I'm in section A, and so we don't start class until Tuesday, while the other two sections start tomorrow, Monday, October 12th. Our three sections were then further divided into smaller study groups of 5-6 people. For those interested in applying to Oxford take notice that you have absolutely no choice in which course section or study group that you will be in.

I may be slightly biased, but so far, I believe that my study group is the best!!! Since up to 40% of coursework is group-based, we all pledged to keep the average up as high as possible, so that we all have a fair shot of making 'distinction' come final exams at the end of the Michaelmas term. I'm sure they wouldn't mind me mentioning their names: Christof is a consultant from Germany, Emily is a lawyer from Australia, Mosima is a doctor from South Africa, Keerti is an engineer from India, and Babacar works for the IFC World Bank from Senegal. Pretty impressive, huh (how did I end up here - just kidding)?!

Over the next few days I'll do my best to fill you in on the details of what has been going on here recently. I'll just start with a little timeline, so that when you come around to doing this course you might have a better idea on what to expect.

Thursday, September 24th:

- Arrived in LHR on an overnight red-eye flight from JFK

- Checked into temporary College Housing at Stapledon House

- Picked-up Oxford Student Card ('Bod Card') at Exeter

- Opened HSBC Passport bank account

- Shopped for some basic items (toiletries, etc.)

- Had dinner with Bo and Court at QUOD on the High Street (highly recommend)

Friday, September 25th:

- Spent most of the day relaxing, and walking around Oxford

- Met 0ver 65 MBA and MFE students at 'the Turf' pub, which I organized on our class Facebook page

Saturday, September 26th:

- More exploring Oxford, and adjusting to our new life here

Sunday, September 27th:

- Took train ride to Morton-in-the-March in the Cotswolds, and carried on my bus to Stow-in-the-Wold where we stayed overnight at the beautiful Grapevine hotel

Monday, September 28th:

- Enjoyed more beautifully weather in England and the Cotswolds!? Walked around shopping, and walking on a 'ghost tour'

Tuesday, September 29th:

- Back in Oxford getting ready for SBS Orientation tomorrow

- Bought some books half-off from last year MBA (spent about £150 for 6 books representing about 75% of the first-term books). Blackwells sells all the SBS books for over £400 total, plus they don't offer a student-discount, while Borders does (take heed)

Wednesday, September 30th:

- Now things really begin...tune in to next week's blog

pre-mba: "The McKinsey Way" (book 1 of 3)

2009-09-10T21:14:00.008-04:00

Students entering the top-MBA programs quickly learn how to multi-task, and prioritize their time. Beginning with the actual application process (which often starts a year in advance), and continuing along with finding financing and arranging accommodations, MBA students must be quick out of the gate. They learn to focus and formulate their personal goals early. Whether the goal is to do well in school, or to build an MBA network of friends & colleagues, all these goals ultimately boil down to getting a good job.

So, what constitutes a good job? This really depends on the unique needs and desires of each student. Traditional post-MBA career options include consulting, entrepreneurship, finance, industry, and marketing. The ideal job for someone interested in marketing might be to work for a top public relations firm on Madison Avenue. Other students would love to start their own tech venture in Silicon Valley. Nevertheless, most MBA students would agree that the most competitive jobs, which also pay the highest salaries, are those in consulting and finance. Top consulting firms include McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, and Booz Allen.

Those seeking careers in finance must make a further decision on whether they want to work in asset management, brokerage/private banking, investment banking, private equity, or venture capital. Top finance firms include Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America), and Citigroup. Kudos to you if you manage to score a job in consulting or investment banking! Your odds of landing one of these jobs is less than the acceptance rates at most top-MBA programs (less than 10%). Yet even more rare (and prestigious) are the jobs in private equity and venture capital.

Those of you interested in consulting careers might consider reading the McKinsey trilogy of books written by ex-McKinsey-ites, Ethan Rasiel and Dr. Paul Friga. Within ten years of writing his first book on McKinsey, entitled "The McKinsey Way," Rasiel has witnessed "the Firm" double its number of professional consultants to 9,000, and increase its number of locations by almost 20% to 89 offices globally. McKinsey continues to thrive in up and down markets that included the tech bubble bursting, 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the worst economic recession since the 1930's. If you want to join this illustrious firm, then according to Rasiel, getting hired by McKinsey is simple:

"Be of above average intelligence, possess a record of academic achievement at a good college and a top business school, show evidence of achievement in all previous jobs, and demonstrate extraordinary analytical ability. [And] If you manage to clear all those hurdles, the key to joining the Firm may be the case interview" (p. 161).

But you don't have to work for McKinsey to benefit from applying its approach to your own business problems. The cornerstone for getting inside the McKinsey mind is the MECE (pronounced "me-see") mantra - an acronym that stands for "mutually exclusive, completely exhaustive." And this doesn't refer to the hours you'll be working as a consultant. Although they will also be mutually exclusive AND completely exhaustive!

The process begins once the client comes to you with a problem. You must first dissect the problem into its simple constituent parts. For example, if the client says, "We need to make more money," then you should immediately respond, "Well, how do you currently make your money?" When the client answers that they make money by selling product X, then the obvious question becomes, "How do we sell more of product X." Next, to make this initial root question conform to MECE standards we exhaustively look at ALL the factors that might effect sales of product X, including production costs, distribution channels, and marketing. Then, re-phrase the question(s) into "action statements." For example, "We can increase product X sales by: reducing our unit costs, changing the way we sell to customers, and improving the way we market to customers (this construct can be teased out further by constructing an "issue tree").

Once organized into this framework, we can form our initial hypotheses on how to solve the problem(s). Finally, we test our hypotheses by verifying them against the facts ("trust, but verify"). Facts trump all else. Ethan Rasiel warns us, "Hiding from the facts is a prescription for failure - eventually, truth will out" (p. 5). The McKinsey system relies heavily on the availability and accuracy of these facts, some of which are gathered through its proprietary "PDnet" system - a collection of recent "client engagements," as well as internal research and publications, such as "The McKinsey Quarterly". Such an analytical framework that breaks propositions down into their "atomic facts" would make the logical positivists of the 1920's that occupied Oxbridge very happy. Having studied philosophy during college, it seems that a background in philosophy would be great training for being a consultant, because you must be a generalist, yet also possess the analytical ability to delve into the nitty-gritty. Rasiel quotes one Engagement Manager who said, "You have to be fundamentally skeptical about everything" (p. 2).

Another feature of McKinsey that can benefit other organizations is their "free-flow of information" philosophy that is nurtured through a lateral hiearchy. While there exists a clear pecking order: Director of Client Services (DCS), Director, Partner, Senior Engagement Manager (SEM), Engagement Manager (EM), and Associate, McKinsey adopts an open-door policy. You MUST keep others "in the loop." Sometimes the best ideas come from your teammates, Rasiel advises, "Keep an open and flexible mind. Don't let a strong initial hypothesis become an excuse for mental inflexibility" (p. 21). There will be times, however, when even the best ideas (no matter who comes up with them) just cannot be implemented for the client due to "political reasons, lack of resources or inability."

Rasiel also discovered several other useful rules while working as an associate at McKinsey (from 1989 to 1992) that might help you. For example, for some unknown reason the 80/20 rule - that 20% of the work is responsible for 80% of the results - seems to apply to many facets of life, including business. As alluded to earlier, it is also important to consult your co-workers, rather than have to re-invent the wheel. And if you're chatting it up with your EM, then you better be familiar enough with the client solution to be able to articulate it in the 30 seconds it takes to ride down in an elevator with him. A final useful point to remember is that on your quest to discovering the holy grail (big picture) be sure to go after little victories by "picking the low-hanging fruit." While you don't need to work at McKinsey to develop this analytical frame of mind, the Firm is filled with such people, and the lessons are universal in their application.

pre-mba: freshers' pack (and bank account)

2009-09-08T18:25:00.008-04:00

With less than a month to go before classes start, I was getting nervous that I hadn't heard much of anything from either the B-school or Exeter College. My nerves were partially relieved when I received a "Freshers' Pack" from Exeter College. This package, which is sent to all new incoming students (by their respective College), took about ten days to travel from Oxford to New York. It listed an itinerary of mandatory, as well as optional events, that I would attend once I arrive in Oxford. Unfortunately, the first optional event designed to introduce students to their new college, called the "Postgraduate Induction Session," is being held on September 30th, which conflicts with my mandatory B-school orientation. Nevertheless Exeter made up for this by offering to meet their incoming Freshers at the Gloucester Green Bus Station (if requested), which I thought was very nice of them. Exeter is also hosting their "Graduate Freshers' Dinner" on October 6th where the dress code is "Formal & Gown" as new students dine at the High Table by candlelight! Lucky for me the packet also contained an advertisement from "Ede & Ravenscroft" on where to buy such Oxford garb and at what price.

The Freshers' Pack also contained two copies of my housing contract ("Graduate Tenancy Agreement"), which is VERY important when you want to prove your UK address to the immigration officer when you first fly into Heathrow. By and large, the university does not send you an inordinate amount of paperwork, so it's natural to sometimes feel a little worried when you haven't heard from them in a while - especially because they're overseas, making visiting them or calling them difficult. As I poured over the Exeter materials I also read through the red-colored "Handbook for Students" that provides you with useful things, such as a staff directory, and when meals are served in Hall. I was also terribly relieved to find a "Letter of Introduction to UK Banking Facilities," signed by Exeter's Academic Secretary. The one thing I read over and over again in other peoples' blogs is that you want to have your bank account, and cell phone account, set-up as soon as possible. Otherwise you'll fall behind in class while trying to go through this frustrating process. *Important note* One needs a bank account BEFORE they can get a cell phone.

The four main UK banks in Oxford include Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, and Natwest. An excellent chart comparing the banks is available here. I favor Barclays and HSBC, because I think they are more international, having several locations in New York. That being said, you can only open the account in person in Oxford. I believe that HSBC, however, allows you to start the account opening process online, but you must still visit a branch in person to finalize the account.

As an international student you will also find yourself limited to the type of account that you can open. For example, when attempting to sign-up for a Barclays Student Account I was told that I only qualified for their iBank Student Account, because I was a "non-permanent UK resident" defined as "a person who has lived in the UK at least three years before starting higher education studies." Essentially this means we're stuck paying higher fees. The HSBS Passport Student Account charges £84 per year with a one year firm commitment. The Barclays iBank Student Account charges £60 per year. You can print a short application from the Barclay website and pre-fill it out before returning it to the Oxford bank branch located on Cornmarket Street. I'm sure that there exists other banks in Oxford that charge no fees, however, the bank may not be as large or international as the ones I have mentioned.

Other than that, my Freshers' Pack contained some forms that I need to return upon arriving in Oxford. For example, I need to return my Graduate Tenancy Agreement, Graduate Freshers' Dinner reservation, Exeter College Student Contract, Exeter College Graduate Freshers' Information Sheet, and some doctors forms. Most of the paperwork only needs to be signed and reviewed so I'm not sweating it too much. For those of you looking for even more information, I would HIGHLY recommend reading through the Student Handbook published by the Oxford International Students' Handbook.

pre-mba: pre-departure planning

2009-09-02T17:51:00.009-04:00

I can't believe how fast the time has gone! I remember flying to Oxford with my fiancee Lisa for my Round 2 interview back on February 20th. It seemed to take forever as I waited for their admission decision that was emailed to me on March 27th. After discussing the opportunity with Lisa, as well as with my friends and family, everyone agreed it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. It was also a dream come true, especially because I had studied abroad at Oxford in 2000 while an undergraduate. I remember walking to the train station with my sister to catch a train to Morton-in-the-Marsh in the Cotswolds, and passing by a construction site where the new Saïd Business School was being built. That day I pledged to myself to one day return, and to take a proper degree - that is, to be permanently etched into the matriculation books at Oxford.

Life, however, does not move in a perfectly linear fashion as economics might otherwise suggest. Undetered by what challenges life threw at me, I persevered, and after a lot of hard-work, can now count myself as one of the lucky ones who will earn an MBA from Oxford University. I use the term "lucky" loosely. Of course I believe that: success = preparation + opportunity, but just because you work hard doesn't mean that you're guaranteed anything; you just simply tip the probability for success in your favor.

Even probability is a relative term, however, as anyone who watches ESPN's "Texas Hold'em World Series of Poker" knows. Time and gain you see a player dealt "bullets" down (the best possible starting hand in poker), he bets strategically, and winds up "flopping" yet another Ace for "trip Aces". His probability for winning skyrockets to over 90%. Nothing else is showing on the green felt table except a scattered mess of cards, until the final card is revealed on the "river." Your opponent miraculously makes his "inside straight draw," and clutches victory from the jaws of defeat even though they should have folded at the get-go. Those challenges, and how you react to such an improbable defeat, reveals a person's character. At times like these you have to stick hard-and-fast to the belief that over time there will be a "reversion to the mean," and that your best bet is to continue to play the percentages. And have enough liquidity to see you through!

You might be surprised to learn that I actually don't watch much poker. I had too much other work to accomplish before leaving for Oxford! Most importantly, Lisa and I bought our plane tickets to Heathrow yesterday. Fares were up to $700 each round-trip on Virgin Atlantic from New York (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR), compared to $500 when we last flew in February. We'll be arriving a week before mandatory MBA orientation, and a full two weeks before the start of Michaelmas term. This should give me ample time to open a bank account and buy a cell phone. We managed to get a reasonable £16 per night room through Exeter College. The next best price I found was £55 at the Saint Michael's Guess House (across from the Oxford Union) for a double room. Fancier places, like the Buttery on Broad Street and the Randolph Hotel on Beaumont Street, charge £120 and £156 per night for a double room, respectively! This should give you a good idea if and when you book temporary accommodations in Oxford (or have family visit).

The only other thing remaining is my Visa. I suggest that everyone stay on top of this early. I proactively requested my Visa letter by emailing the business school administration. I had a wonderful experience. Their turnaround time was top-rate, and they were extremely responsive to me. As soon as my "hard copy" arrived in early July, I booked an online appointment to get my biometric fingerprints taken at the closest US Federal Office to me in New York City. I had to wait nearly one month for an available appointment! I finally had my biometrics taken on August 19th, and immediately overnighted my entire Student Visa (Tier 4) application to the New York British Consulate. And I was thorough! You will want to include the following: Passport (original), Student Visa application (filled out and printed online), Biometric fingerprints (original), MBA Admission letter (original), Oxford College Admission letter (original), Proof of Oxford Housing Address, Student Transcripts (original), and Funding Documents (student loans, bank account balances, etc.). It took the British Consulate eleven days just to confirm by email that they had received my application, and would take a further 5 to 10 business days to process. I suppose this won't be too bad provided I get my Visa by next Friday.

My biggest recommendation would be to book your biometric appointment ASAP, and to put together a very complete and legible application (read above). I don't know how later Round applicants get this done in time since some aren't notified of their admission until July! Good luck, and feel free to write a comment if you have any problems/questions with preparing to move to Oxford.

pre-mba: facebook

2009-08-27T14:48:00.006-04:00

Everyone admitted into the Oxford MBA program is immediately granted online access to the incoming-student intranet site. As time passes, more content is added. The intranet site is the primary way that administration communicates with us regarding scholarship winners, college availability, and student Q&A. It is also the best way to learn what Facebook page(s) have been created for each MBA class, so that students can begin to network, and get to know each other more informally.

Roughly two-thirds (158/240) of the incoming Oxford MBA class is on Facebook. Over the summer, many students have posted pre-MBA “meet-up” events in London, Mumbai, and New York. In fact, I helped organize the event in New York where I met two other Oxford-bound MBAs. Between the three of us, we worked at Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and Smith Barney. In addition to working in finance, two of us owned our businesses (one of which has secured a patent). From meeting other alumni I have learned that there will be two others joining us. That makes five of us from New York, which is about 10% of the US intake!

Make good use of the networking while you can. Many good schools offer solid MBA programs, and some students even skip the MBA altogether, and instead study for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. The difference lies in the people you meet, and the relationships you build, especially at a school like Oxford, which sets a very high threshold for admission.

In some of my earlier posts I mention that Oxford is divided into three terms (Michaelmas, Hilary, and Trinity). The first term begins on October 5th, and consists of six mandatory core courses: Finance I, Decision Science, Financial Reporting, Strategy I, Managerial Economics, and Marketing. MBA Students, however, must arrive on September 30^th for compulsory orientation. Unfortunately, college accommodations usually don’t start until October 1^st, which means that early-arrivers will have to pay a modest £18 per diem to move in earlier.

Come Hilary term, students get to choose three electives, and six more electives for Trinity term. To give you a flavor of the different electives available, the following classes were recently posted on the intranet site for Trinity term (I’ve highlighted the ones I’d like to take). If you feel like a kid in a candy store, then maybe you should apply to Oxford:

Business History, Business in China, Capital Raising, Cooperative Strategy, Corporate Valuation, CSR & Ethical Marketing, Customer Insight, Derivatives, Design Leadership, Environment Organizations & Sustainability, Financial Risk Management, Leading Strategic Change, Managing Complexity, Managing High-growth Companies, Managing the Project Portfolio, Marketing Innovation, Mergers Acquisitions & Restructuring, Negotiations, Private Equity, Real Estate, Retailing, Social Finance, Social Enterprise Design, Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Taxation Finance & Business Strategy, and Trading & Market Microstructure.

CFA study session #5: economics: macroeconomics (market structure)

2009-08-26T12:46:00.007-04:00

Accepting that our resources are limited (aka factors of production: land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship), the fundamental economic questions become: (1) what do we produce, (2) how do we produce it, and (3) how do we distribute it. Market theory, as originally developed by Adam Smith (student at Balliol College, Oxford) in his book the "Wealth of Nations (published 1776)," posits that the independent market forces of supply and demand provide the most efficient answers to these questions. That which should be produced is that for which people are willing to pay for. The method in which it should be produced is that method by which the lowest price to the consumer, and highest profit to the producer can be achieved. Further, such a product should be distributed to the highest bidder; those most willing to pay for it.

Adam Smith, however, presupposes that all such markets for goods and services exist in an ideal state, one in which there are many buyers and sellers, no barriers to entry, perfect information, and equal and undifferentiated products where the seller is a "price-taker." This may be true in some markets, such as when you buy a loaf of bread at the supermarket, but definitely not so when you are searching for competitors to upgrade your computer's Operating System. Macroeconomics investigates this range of different markets that actually exist:

Perfect Competition --> Monopolistic Competition

--> Oligopoly --> Monopoly

As we move from left to right the producer/seller gains the upper-hand. They often enjoy large market share, barriers to entry from competitors, and a differentiated product (quality, price, and marketing) that allows the firm to "price discriminate." Many countries, including the US, are unsure about the role of monopolies. Those that have enacted Anti-Trust legislation feel that monopolies stifle innovation and suffocate new companies from emerging. Economics worry that monopolies fail to satisfy consumer demand by producing at level below equilibrium so that they can maximize profits. Others argue that this is not the case. They think monopolies offer a superior product at a lower price than consumers would otherwise enjoy. some monopolies, such as Microsoft, are quite nimble, and their size affords them the ability to spend more money on R&D leading to greater discoveries. Before we can judge which structure is best for which market we need a way to categorize each industry.

The two methods used to determine which market structure a particular industry belongs to are the "Four-Firm Concentration Ratio" and the "Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI)." Both are relatively easy to calculate. In the Four-Firm approach you simply calculate the percent of market share (by sales) controlled by the four largest firms in that industry. The range spans from 0% for perfect competition to 100% for a monopoly. Anything above 60% is considered an oligopoly.

For example, if we look up ExxonMobil (XOM) stock on Yahoo!Finance we can click on "Industry," and then "Industry Summary," and discover that ExxonMobil is in the "Major Integrated Oil & Gas" industry. We can also see that the top four companies by market capitalization are: ExxonMobil ($340B), PetroChina ($214B), Royal Dutch Shell ($165B), and British Petroleum ($160B). In total, the top four companies have a market capitalization of $879B. Meanwhile, the entire industry's market capitalization is $1,305B. Therefore, the Four-Firm ratio is 67.3% ($879B / $1,305B), and the "Major Integrated Oil & Gas" industry is considered an Oligopoly.

We use the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index when we require even greater specificity. The HHI adds the square of the percentage of market share of the top 50 firms in the industry (or all the firms if less than 50). To use a different example, if there are only four firms in an industry, and their market share (by sales) are: 50%, 25%, 15%, and 10% then we would use the formula:

HHI = 502 + 252 + 152 + 102 = 3,450 (Oligopoly)

Where the range is:

1 (perfect competition) --> 1,000 (monopolistic competition) --> 1,800 (oligopoly) --> 10,000 (monopoly)

***It should be disclosed that I used market capitalization to calculate both the Four-Firm ratio and Herfindahl-Hirschman Index as a proxy for market share by sales since I believe that there exists a high correlation between the two statistics, and because market capitalization data is more readily available.***

The following graphs are very useful in visually understanding the four types of market structures. The one thing they all have in common is that the equilibrium point is always found by first locating the intersection of Marginal Cost (MC) and Marginal Revenue (MR). In other words, firms always want to produce up until the point where manufacturing just one more unit no longer has any economic benefit, because the cost of producing that one additional unit outweighs the revenue generated. This will determine the equilibrium price and quantity.

Once we have found this point, we can find the equilibrium price by drawing an imaginary vertical line up to where it intersects with the Demand Curve (DC); follow the line downward to find the equilibrium quantity. Now that we know the price and quantity of that which is to be produced, we want to find out whether we are profitable. We determine profitability by once again following the imaginary vertical line that we have drawn to where it intersects with the Average Cost (AC) curve. The space between the DC and AC determines whether or not we have a profit or loss. We experience a profit if the AC lies below the DC. When AC lies above the DC we have an economic loss, and the firm should shutdown and cease operations.

Many of the examples we have used throughout this post have been oligopolies. The biggest fear when dealing with oligopolies is "price collusion," as most famously demonstrated by the oil cartel formed by OPEC during the 1970s. One way to combat oligopolies (or at least predict their behavior) is to apply game theory. When the strategies and payoffs for each player are known, and all players must follow the same rules, we can calculate the "Nash Equilibrium" for which outcome is most likely. The equilibrium depends on the nature of the game being played as there are several possible games, including the prisoners' dilemma and chicken. We expect more collusion to exist when a game is repeated, and "bad" behavior can be penalized, resulting in greater cooperation.

CFA study session #6: economics: monetary & fiscal policy

2009-08-25T17:29:00.011-04:00

Earlier today US President Barack Obama nominated Ben Bernanke to a second term as US Federal Reserve Chairman after fierce controversy regarding his handling of the most severe economic recession in over thirty years. Obama had until January to make the decision. Previously, some speculated that Bernanke might be replaced by Larry Summers who had served in the Clinton administration, and later became President of Harvard University. So, to commemorate Bernanke's success I am posting a blog on monetary & fiscal policy.

After finishing the CFA Volume 2 (Economics) textbook, I am convinced that anyone having taken some introductory economic courses during college will do fine. Further, of the three study sessions found in Volume 2, I believe that macroeconomics will prove more difficult for most readers than the sections on microeconomics and government monetary & fiscal policy.

The most important take-aways on the readings regarding monetary & fiscal policy is that like many other central banks, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) focuses like a laser beam on one principle policy goal: to achieve economic growth with full employment, low inflation, and price stability. To guage the level of economic growth the Fed often looks at changes in the "gross domestic product (GDP)," which represents all the goods produced within the US in a given year. GDP is typically calculated through the "expenditure approach":

GDP = C + I + G + X
C = consumer spending
I = capital expenditures
G = government spending
X = net exports

Like a giant ship navigating through the ocean, the Fed uses monetary policy, accompanied by fiscal policy orchestrated by the US Treasury, to make constant minor adjustments to keep the economy on track. Unfortunately, incremental changes taken on a large ship often take a while before you can see a correction run its course and right the ship. Similarly, government policy often suffers from several time lags, including recognition (it takes time to realize something is wrong), law-making (it takes time to pass the necessary legislation), and impact (it takes time for the solution to work its way through the system). This brings us to the first, and most important, question of how we recognize and measure the economy, and hence, the effect of government policy on it.

Today we commonly hear of the world being awash in liquidity. There exists so much money circulating throughout the world looking for a home that interest rates are temporarily depressed because of "easy money" policies causing a supply imbalance. Central banks believe that such a policy is necessary to provide the fuel needed to jumpstart economic growth. The fear, according to the "quantity theory of money," is that as the quantity of money increases so does price levels, ultimately leading to inflation.

***Incidentally, when accounting for inflation when measuring "real rates of return" it is more accurate to divide the "nominal inflation rate (CPI)" by the "nominal rate of return" (rather than subtract them). For example, if last year you earned 8% on your investments and CPI inflation was 4%, then your "real return" (adjusted for inflation) was not simply 4% (8% - 4%) but rather 3.846% (1.08 / 1.04). Of course inflation can be caused not only by increases in supply ("cost-push inflation"), but also by increases in demand ("demand-pull inflation"), although of course we haven't seen too much of the latter lately - just check the dismal consumer spending trends and the lackluster Consumer Confidence index.***

So, what exactly are we talking about when speak of money supply? The Fed keeps track of how much money is floating around in the economy by looking at M2, which is M1 (checking accounts, traveler's checks, and currency), plus savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates of deposit. The Fed discontinued publication of M3 date on March 23, 2006. As of April 2008 the Fed calculates that within the United States M1 is $1.4 trillion and M2 is $7.7 trillion ($6.3T+$1.4T). Almost half of M2 can be found in savings accounts.

While it may appear quite clear to us now what counts for money and how it is measured, this was not always the case. Roman soldiers used to be paid in salt (in Latin: salarium, or salary), hence the saying "that a man is worth his salt." And Native Americans used wampum beads as currency. Different cultures have historically adopted different forms of money believing it to be more efficient than a pure barter system.

Money is defined by its ability to serve as a medium of exchange (just about everyone will accept US dollars, but not many will accept salt these days for payment), unit of account (with fiat money [notes & coins] we know exactly how much something is worth to the decimal point), and store of value (it would be unwise to choose a perishable item, such as ice cream, as money since it would be problematic to store). Interestingly, what counts as money is constantly evolving. Some argue for a global digital currency. In 2008 China rebuffed US economic pressure when they threatened to "diversify" their reserve currency away from US dollars and toward "Special Drawing Rights (SDR)" - a weighted-basket of 4 currencies (dollar, euro, yen, and pound) held at the IMF. China currently holds $2 trillion in US dollar reserves - more than any other country.

Now that we know what constitutes money, how governments measure the money supply, and the desired goal of economic policy, we can look deeper into the three methods the Fed uses to control the money supply. Perhaps most important, the Fed constantly buys and sells US Treasuries through the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee). When the Fed buys Treasuries on the open market they are paying for those notes with dollars that are then circulated through the economy, thus increasing the money supply (somewhat similar to Microsoft buying back company shares on the stock market). In contrast, if the FOMC were to sell Treasuries, then they would be collecting money from investors, essentially taking money out of circulation, thus decreasing supply.

The Fed also influences money supply by regularly adjusting the discount rate, the benchmark rate that banks must pay to borrow directly from the Fed. The discount rate currently stands at 0.50%. The Fed would prefer that banks borrow from each other, and they do so through the federal funds rate, which currently charges 0.25% when banks borrow from each other for overnight lending. Also tied to the discount rate is the prime rate, currently at 3.25%, which is the rate banks typically charge to their best business customers. But they all take their lead from changes in the discount rate.

Finally, the Fed sets the reserve requirements that each bank must keep on deposit rather than lend out. The current reserve requirement may not change for years. Currently the reserve ratio stands at 10% where it has been since 2006. The reserve ratio also affects the money multiplier effect since only a bank's "excess reserves" may re-enter the economy in the form of loans. The formula for the money multiplier is:

(1 + a) / (a + b)
where "a" the "currency drain ratio" (% of consumer cash not held in banks)
where "b" the "desired reserve ratio" (set by the Fed)
Using the date from above, we have:
(1 + .50) / (0.50 + 0.10)
= 1.50 / 0.60
= 2.5 (for every $1 deposited in a bank, $2.50 can be lent out)

While most of this post deals with monetary policy, current US Treasury Secretary, Tim Geitner, might argue otherwise. Through the Treasury Department the government can influence aggregate demand and supply by adjusting tax rates and through government spending programs. The $700 billion TARP program stands alone as the largest of all government spending programs. Many economists continue to disagree whether or not monetary and fiscal policy are effective (Keynesians), or if they just aggravate conditions moreso than if left alone (monetarists).

pre-mba: oxford grading system

2009-08-24T14:00:00.004-04:00

Lately I've been posting a lot of blogs about studying for the CFA. After all, I do mention that the goal of my blog is to guide you through "admission strategies to surviving the core curriculum to securing your dream job," and I cannot think of a better review for the MBA core curriculum then the CFA, which focuses on accounting, economics, and finance. While I will continue such posts, I thought it would be nice for a change to talk more about the Oxford MBA grading system.

Schools like Oxford are brimming with over-achievers. The average undergraduate degree earned by an applicant entering into the Oxford MBA is a "second first class degree" (also known as a 2:1, or a 3.50 GPA). The highest class degree awarded by Oxford University is the coveted "first class degree" (also known as a 1:1, or a 3.80+ GPA). For MBA students the class of degree that you graduate with is ultimately determined by your number score.

Distinction level:
80-100 Superb work
75-79 Excellent work
70-74 Fine work

Pass level:
65-69 Strong pass
55-64 Good pass
50-54 Pass

Fail:
45-49 Marginal fail
0-44 Outright fail

The World Education Services boasts a wonderful website where you can get a good approximation for converting grades from any country. For example, a student studying at an American college might earn a 88% in a class, which translates into a B+ grade, or a 3.50 GPA. The process is somewhat similiar in British universities, except there is not as much grade inflation, so a 65% might be considered a B+, which is good enough to earn you a 2:1. As students scramble for the top of their class, what exactly makes the grade & perhaps more importantly, does it even matter?

Oxford MBA students will take approximately 18 courses during the three terms they are there. In practice, the range of grades earned are from 40% to 80%. Students must score a minimum passing grade of 50%. Most strive for a 70%+ mark since this begins the various gradations of "distinction." The average mark achieved by students is a 63% "second class degree" (also known as a 2:2, or 3.33 GPA). Students who score a 70%+ grade in at least one class during any of the academic terms makes the Dean's List, and are often invited to a special dinner hosted by Colin Mayer (SBS Dean) and Stephan Chambers (MBA Director). Anyone looking to graduate with overall distinction must get a 70%+ in at least 6 of their 18 courses. Only 10% of Oxford MBA students achieve this feat. So, what is the good news?

Oxford proves the old adage that the hardest part of getting an MBA is getting into the school. It's true. Almost no one fails. In a recent MBA class, 231 out of 234 students graduated with their MBA. Out of the 3 that did not graduate, one outright failed and the remaining two left the program. While the exact reasons for the three that did not graduate are unknown, we can be reasonably confident that 99% of students who begin the course will pass. Further, past Oxford MBA students tell me that often the most interesting jobs went to those students who may have even had to "re-sit" an exam because they failed it the first time. Grades only matter for a few top employers, and also for those students wishing to land their top choice "Strategic Consulting Projects (SCP)" during the summer.

So by all means work hard, and for heaven's sake, hand in all your assignments on time and show up for your final exams! But when you feel that the stress is piling on top of you...sit back...take a deep breath...imagine the dreaming spires that surround you...and relax. Realize that in time all things will pass (including you and the MBA course), and you will get a good job.

cfa study session #4: economics: elasticity

2009-08-06T15:55:00.006-04:00

Following quantitative methods comes an entire 500 page book devoted exclusively to economics. Separated into 3 sections, the economics portion of the CFA exam focuses on microeconomics, macroeconomics, and monetary & fiscal policy. This blog post will deal specifically with the first section: microeconomics, which includes price elasticity, market theory, and the organization of production & output.

We start with understanding the "price elasticity of demand," which simply measures the responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a product relative to changes in the price for that same product. This degree of responsiveness determines how elastic the products is, that is, whether it is elastic (very responsive), inelastic (not responsive), or unit elastic (when change in demand equals change in price). The equation is:

elasticity of demand = *% change in quantity demanded / % change in price
* % change is calculated by dividing the difference between the starting and ending values by an average of the starting and ending values (rather than dividing by the beginning value, which is more common when calculating % changes) to get a more accurate elasticity ratio.

Intuitively we know that some products, such as oil, are highly inelastic. In other words, the world will always demand oil regardless of the price, as evidenced when a barrel of oil reached an all-time peak of $147.27 on July 11, 2008. In contrast, a product such as a t-shirt is very elastic. Unless it's a Ralph Lauren polo t-shirt, most people consider one t-shirt to be very similar to any other, and therefore will purchase from whichever manufacturer has the lowest price. Elasticity isn't always a foregone conclusion, and it can change over time. For example, when Apple launched the iPod they successfully differentiated their mp3 from their competitors, turning an otherwise elastic commodity into an inelastic "must-have" brand. By developing a strong brand image and brand loyalty, Apple was able to charge a premium by changing the elasticity for their iPod.

Products tend to be elastic when there a large number of substitutes available. For example, an increase in the price of hamburgers will lead to a decrease in their consumption, because hamburgers have an elastic demand curve, and an concomitant increase in consumption of hot dogs (all other things being equal), because hot dogs are consider a viable substitute for hamburgers. There is no accounting for taste! This example sets the stage for the next step in understanding elasticity, which is calculating "cross elasticity" to determine the responsiveness of demand relative to price based on more than one product, such as hamburgers and hot dogs.

Using the above example, we can calculate whether two different products are substitutes (positive cross elasticity) or compliments (negative cross elasticity). If the price of hamburgers doubles from $2 to $4 each, and this results in an increase in hot dogs consumed from 8 to 14, then we can calculate that the two products are substitutes, because resulting cross elasticity ratio is positive .817, calculated as follows:

= (8-14)/11 / (4-2)/3
= 5.45% / 6.67%
cross elasticity = .817

The higher the number, the more magnified the difference in quantity demanded in one good relative to an incremental change in price of the substitute good. And of course the same holds true working in reverse for compliment goods, such as soda and hotdogs, which we would expect to have a negative cross elasticity.

Besides measuring the elasticity of demand, and cross elasticity, we can similarly calculate "income elasticity" by dividing the % change in quantity demanded of a product by a % change in income. In other words, when we earn more money we are more likely to purchase "luxury" products (i.e. steak and lobster), which have high elasticity, and less likeley to purchase inelastic "inferior" products (i.e. potatoes and rice). In this case a negative ratio indicates an inferior good, and a positive ratio indicates a luxury good, which is highly responsive to changes in income and therefore very elastic.

Elasticity of supply operates along similar lines as it does for demand. We calculate supply elasticity by dividing the % change in quantity supplied by the % change in price. The degree of responsiveness of supply to price often depends on the number of substitutes available, and whether the time-frame for making a supply decision is momentary, short-term, or long-term in nature.

Beyond asking you to calculate elasticity, a typical question may involve understanding the effect of elasticity on demand and revenue. For example, "For a particular company's product, the % change in quantity demanded is smaller than the % change in price that caused the change in quantity demanded. If the company increased the price of that product, total revenue from sales of that product would most likely:
A. increase and demand in elastic
B. decrease and demand is elastic
C. increase and demand is inelastic

The answer is C. We must first determine whether or not the product is elastic or inelastic before we can determine its effect on quantity demanded and ultimately revenue. The question tells us that price has little effect on quantity demanded (in fact, it's smaller!). If a product is inelastic then people will continue to buy it even if the price goes up (like the price of oil). Therefore, even if the same amount of product is sold, but the price they are charging has increased, then by definition the total revenue must also increase.

CFA study session #2: quantitative methods: time-value

2009-07-31T16:54:00.003-04:00

Now it begins; quantitative methods is worth the price of admission! I intend for these posts to be helpful to not only CFA candidates, but also to MBAs looking to brush up on their quant skills (aka poets). Before you go any further, however, you MUST invest in a financial calculator. I use the HP-12C (Hewlett Packer); it is one of only two calculators recognized by the CFA Institute (the other being the Texas Instruments BAII Plus). The majority of calculations will involve no more than 5 buttons that are nicely placed next to one another on the very top of the calculator:

n (number of time periods)

i (interest rate per period)

PV (present value)

PMT (payment for a series of cashflows)

FV (future value)

Mastering time-value questions helps to build the foundation for more difficult calculations, such as "internal rate of return (IRR)" and "net present value (NVP)," which are critical for classes in Finance and Private Equity.

The simplest of time-value questions might ask you "what $1,000 invested today in a CD for 5-years compounded annually at a rate of 3.00% would be worth at maturity?" All you need to do is type $1,000 (press "PV"), type 5 (press "n"), type 3 (press "i"), and then press "FV" and within seconds it will give you the correct answer of $1,159.27. Of course this problem could have been made more difficult by telling you that the interest compounds monthly (rather than annually), but this only requires the slightest of adjustments (i.e. adjust the number of periods for "n" from 5 to 60 (5x12 months) and for "i" from 3.00% to 0.25% (3/12 months).

They can also ask you the question in reverse by requiring you to choose between two payment options by calculating PV. For example, say "you won the lottery and your two options are to either receive a lump sum of $1,000,000 today, or receive $2,000,000 at the end of 10 years with a interest rate of 4.00% compounded annually over that period. Which is the better option?" Begin by figuring out the PV of the future lump sum by typing 10 (press "n"), type 4 (press "i"), and type $2,000,000 (press "FV"). Then press PV and you will discover that it is worth $1,351,128.24 in today's dollars, and therefore the better option. Of course, good luck, postponing your purchase of a Ferrari for 10 years! With practice you an easily master time-value questions. After all, I majored in Political Science (minor in Philosophy) in college and now look at me crunch out these numbers!

You can also solve for the number of periods ("n"), or interest rate ("i"), provided you are given the PV and FV, as well as a third variable. For example, you may be asked the question: "What is the yield to maturity (YTM) on a corporate bond that was bought for $980 and pays a semi-annual 5.00% dividend, which will mature in 10 years at a face value of $1,000?" To solve: type 20 (press "n" 10 year bond x 2 annual dividend payments), type -$980 (press "PV" negative sign to signify outflow), type $1,000 (press "FV positive sign to signify inflow), type $25 (press "PMT" signifies semi-annual 5% dividend inflow based on $1,000 par value). Once you've input these 4 variables, press "i" and after about 10 seconds (btw this is a harder calculation) the calculator will tell you that the answer is 2.63%, which you must then multiple by 2 to get the annual rate (after all, we were working with semi-annual payments), giving you a final YTM answer of 5.26%. Predictably, the YTM is greater than the 5.00% dividend rate, because the bond was bought at a $20 discount ($1,000 - $980), which must be included into the overall investment return. In contrast, if the bond was bought at a premium to face value, say $1,020, then the YTM would have been lower than the dividend rate. One last point, to avoid future aggravation for why your HP-12C is not processing properly, you MUST follow the convention of using the negative sign to signify cash outflows (money-out), and the positive sign to signify cash inflows (money-in). Otherwise, in the previous example, you would have seen the "ErroR" sign if you used positive signs for PV, PMT, and FV. Again, this will be critical later when accounting for cashflows when solving for "IRR" and "NPV."

Continuing with the trend of asking increasingly difficult (but solvable) questions, see if you can answer this final question: "Your oldest child is currently 22 years old and just completed their undergraduate degree, when she mentions to you, that in 6 years (after they gain some work experience) she would like to study for an MBA at Oxford University. Currently, tuition for the Oxford MBA is £31,000, and has been steadily rising at 5% per year. How much money money do they need to invest per month now to have enough money to pay for the MBA assuming an annual 9% investment return?" You must first calculate the FV of the price of tuition, by typing £31,000 (press "PV"), type 72 (press "n" 6 years x 12 months), and type 0.417% (press "i" 5.00% inflation rate divided by 12 months). The FV is £41,819.55. Now start the second calculation by storing the £41,819.55 (press "FV"), type 72 (press "n"), and type 0.75% (press "i" 9% investment rate divided by 12 months). Once you press "PMT" you will see that you need to invest £440.17 each month in today's pounds for 6 years to afford tuition at tomorrow's inflation adjusted price. Stayed tune for more MBA boot-camp!

giving big by going small through micro-finance

2009-07-30T12:04:00.005-04:00

Thank you everyone for helping me pass 500 hits on my blog since first starting it about 4-months ago! I try to keep things interesting and informative by primarily writing about my journey through the Oxford MBA. I've also enjoyed posting information regarding my path to the CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation, which is of interest to many people working in finance. And of course, with the extra free-time I have, I volunteer by teaching financial literacy (through Operation Hope), and promoting microfinance through my Board position on the Microfinance Club of New York (MFCNY) - a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to serve as a forum and network for all things microfinance.

Later today I'll be taking the Long Island Rail Road into NYC to attend this month's MFCNY event, featuring Elisabeth Rhyne, who will be talking about her new book entitled: "Microfinance for Bankers and Investors." This event will be held tonight at Deutsche Bank on Wall Street, beginning at 6:30pm. Generally, the MFCNY Board members (including myself) try to organize about 9 events a year, with most of us drawing from the support of our employers. For example, last year, with the help of Citi Microfinance, I was able to arrange 2 events with the Global Director of Citi Microfinance, who flew in from London to speak to our members regarding the risks facing microfinance, and on the niche role that institutions play in remitting money between countries.

I recommend anyone interested in learning more about microfinance to attend one of our events. The MFCNY lists events on their homepage: www.mfcny.org. We also work with the Microfinance Club UK and the Silicon Valley Microfinance Network for those of you who are living in either London or California. You can also find a list to some great books and publications on microfinance from Grameen, the winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. Good luck, and feel free to write a comment below if you have any questions!

cfa: 1. ethical & professional standards

2009-07-28T13:30:00.006-04:00

My books arrived on Thursday, and I began studying over the weekend. The first 166 pages dealt with "Ethical and Professional Standards," which lays out the 7 Standards that all CFA charterholders and candidates must adhere to, including: Professionalism, Integrity of Capital Markets, Duties to Clients, Duties to Employer, Investment Analysis/ Recommendations/ Actions, Conflicts of Interest, and Duties to the CFA Institute. Half of the 4 Readings comprising this section also dealt with the "Global Investment Practice Standards (GIPS)," which has already been adopted by 25 countries as the standard for measuring and comparing investment performance. What surprised me most to learn, however, was that according to the CFA Topic Areas, the Ethics section had a higher percentage of test questions (15%) than every other section on the test besides "Financial Reporting & Analysis" (20%) and "Asset Valuation" (30%)!

The 8 sections that comprise GIPS include: Fundamentals of Compliance, Input Data, Calculation Methodology, Composite Construction, Disclosures, Presentation & Reporting, Real Estate, and Private Equity. A typical test question might ask you to recognize the various sections of GIPS, such as:

"With respect to the Global Investment Performance Standards, which of the following is one of the eight major sections that reflect the elements involved in presenting performance information?"
A. Real Estate.

B. Derivatives.

C. Legal and Ethical Considerations.

The answer is "A" by definition of the 8 sections that comprise GIPS.

Most of the 36 questions that followed the Ethics section would describe a potential ethical violation, and ask whether or not it was a violation, and which standard was violated:

"One of the discretionary accounts managed by Farnsworth is the Jones Corporation employee profit-sharing plan. Jones, the company president, recently asked Farnsworth to vote the shares in the profit-sharing plan in favor of the company-nominated slate of directors and against the directors sponsored by a dissident stockholder group. Farnsworth does not want to lose this account because he directs all the account's trades to a brokerage firm that provides Farnsworth with useful information about tax-free investments. Although this information is not of value in managing the Jones Corporation account, it does help in managing several other accounts. The brokerage firm providing this information also offers the lowest commissions for trades and best execution. Farnsworth investigates the director issue, concludes that management's slate is better for the long-run performance of the firm than the dissident group's slate, and votes accordingly. Farnsworth:
A. violated the Standards in voting the shares in the manner requested by Jones but not in directing trades to the brokerage firm.

B. did not violate the Standards in voting the shares in the manner requested by Jones or in directing trades to the brokerage firm.

C. violated the Standards in directing trades to the brokerage firm but not in voting the shares as requested by Jones.

D. violated the Standards in voting the shares in the manner requested by Jones and in directing trades to the brokerage firm.

The answer is "B". This may seem like a trick question at first. It is easy to lose concentration through the sheer size of the question, and the information contained. At face value it seems that Farnsworth lacks objectivity, and is not serving the best interests of his clients. More specifically, the two main issues of concern are: 1) does Farnsworth violate the standard of "Duties to Client: III(A) - Loyalty, Prudence, and Care)" by voting for the company-nominated slate of directors at the request of Jones, the company president? 2) does Farnsworth violate the same standard by directing trades to a brokerage firm to receive research reports that do not benefit the Jones Corporation? It would be easy to conclude that both of these issues would, in fact, be a violation. However, the reason why they are NOT violations is because Farnsworth came to his own independent decision after researching the issue (it just so happened that it is the same group that Jones recommended), and second, the clients benefit from the "lowest commissions for trades and best execution," so the issue of the research reports are irrelevant in this context. You can imagine a completely different answer had Farnsworth not researched the slate of directors, or if the brokerage firm had not provided the best prices and execution. The questions can be very subtle.

That wraps of Ethics, and now it's time to turn to "Quantatative Methods"! I hope to finish this section, which is 356 pages, by next week, at which point I'll post up my findings.

waiting for CFA books

2009-07-23T12:48:00.004-04:00

I registered for the CFA Level 1 exam on Tuesday, and I’m just now waiting for the study books to arrive. UPS tracking says that all 20lbs worth of books are making their way up from South Carolina, and should hopefully be arriving on my doorstep in New York shortly. In the meantime, I thought I would try to wrap my mind around exactly what to expect regarding the CFA curriculum, as well as the history behind the designation and why I thought it worthwhile to devote the rest of my summer to pursuing it.

The current CFA Institute traces its lineage back to the founding of the Financial Analysts Federation (FAF) in 1947. Before then, a few local societies existed for investment professionals, most notably the New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA), which predates the FAF by 10 years. NYSSA was founded by a group of professionals that included Benjamin Graham, the “father of securities analysis” (fundamental analysis), and acknowledged mentor of billionaire Warren Buffet.

The first actual CFA charters were not awarded until 1963, which ironically followed on the heels of great advancements in economic research out of the University of Chicago regarding financial markets, particularly with the development of the “efficient market theory (EMT).” Threatening to negate the utility of fundamental (and technical) analysis, EMT held that it was nearly impossible to beat market index returns through careful analysis of individual stocks, because all knowable information regarding the stock was instantaneously priced into them causing stocks to follow a “random walk” trading pattern. However, the success of value investors (Berkshire Hathaway) and technical investors (Renaissance Technologies hedgefund) largely refute the rigid orthodoxy of the “semi-strong” and “strong” forms of EMT.

Now that I have reassured myself that I didn’t just squander $1,100 on a designation that would be of no practical value to me, I turn to the actual content of the course. First, what does it take to become a CFA:

“In order to become a "CFA Charterholder" candidates must pass all three six-hour exams, possess a bachelor's degree (or equivalent, as assessed by the CFA institute) and have 48 months of work experience in an investment decision-making position. CFA charterholders are also obligated to adhere to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards governing their professional conduct”

Second, what are the most recent pass-rates for each level of the exam:
June 2008: Level I: 35% Level II: 46% Level III: 53%

When we follow the success rate of candidates who pass through each of the 3-successive levels, then we can see that less than 9% of those who started the CFA process ultimately earn the designation. Okay now that we have established that the CFA is extremely hard, what exactly do we hope to learn, and how can this help prepare me for my Oxford MBA core-courses?

When deciding on what material will be included on the CFA exam, the CFA Institute solicits the advice of industry professionals on what the most relevant financial topics that a professional should know. The resulting “Candidate Body of Knowledge (CBOK)” is then parceled into 10 different “Topic Areas,” which are further divided into 18 “Study Sessions.” The topics are:

1. Ethics & Professional Standards

2. Quantitative Methods

3. Economics

4. Financial Reporting & Analysis

5. Corporate Finance

6. Portfolio Management

7. Equity Investments

8. Fixed Income

9. Derivatives

10. Alternative Investments.

At first blush this might not seem too intimidating until you drill-down into "Quantitative Methods,” and realize that without the aid of a formula sheet, you will need to memorize: time value of money, probability, probability distributions and descriptive statistics, sampling and estimation, hypothesis testing, correlation analysis and regression, time series analysis, simulation analysis, and technical analysis. Whew-when I finish this my Finance I course should be a breeze!

next stop...cfa

2009-07-20T23:24:00.003-04:00

Now that my fiancée and I have decided to book our flight to England on September 23rd (orientation begins Sept 30th and classes begin Oct 5th), I am left with roughly 2-months to finish sorting out my pre-MBA plans. You don’t have to be Gary Kasparov to know that the people who are successful in life plan several moves ahead. Of course even Kasparov can lose to IBM’s Deep Blue, so it’s always important to maintain some perspective and humility. Nevertheless it won’t stop be from trying to tip the odds for success in my favor!

First, you need balance. In a previous post I mention having joined a gym, and putting some much needed work into my tennis serve, to better prepare myself physically for the endurance challenge that is the Oxford MBA. Of course I’m also motivated by the fear I’ll be the largest person in the boat rowing for Exeter College in Oxford! Incidentally, I’ve heard from another classmate who swears that yoga is such great exercise that afterwards “you would have felt that you sweated off the equivalent of a small baby!” Regardless of which way you decide to shape-up, it's imperative to find some release for all the stress.

Second, to prepare for the coursework, I’m taking several steps, including brushing up on my personal finance by inching closer to completing my CFP® certification. With over 350,000 people claiming to be financial planners in America, only 10% have actually gone through the rigorous qualification process that I am currently going through. As a brief aside, most financial professionals in America widely agree that the following designations mark the highest of achievement in their respective fields: the CFA for financial analysts, the CFP® for personal finance, the CPA for public accounting, and the MBA for general management.

Now to become a “Certified Financial Planner” you must satisfy five principle qualifications, which are: 1) a minimum 3-years of qualifying financial planning work experience, 2) a bachelor’s degree, 3) completion of additional education requirements [typically 6 courses covering the financial planning process, insurance, investments, retirement, income tax, and estate planning], 4) an ethical background check, and 5) pass the 10-hour national Board exam. Currently, I’m waiting for my test results from the Certified Financial Planning Board. Roughly 50% of test-takers pass. I won’t know until I leave for England, however, but I’m optimistic. Nothing left to do but wait.

I believe holding both an Oxford MBA and the CFP® will help me during recruiting season. It would nicely qualify me for a job as a “private banker” on Wall Street. This would be very similar to what I do now as a financial advisor, except I would be swimming “upstream” by dealing with a wealthier clientele who face more sophisticated financial issues like how to finance their G5 private jet! Luckily, despite the recent financial market turmoil, private bankers are still very much in demand by both an aging population in the developed world, and by the increasing wealth of those in the developing world. I'm also excited to apply this background to opportunities in investment banking, private equity/venture capital, or management consulting.

Why relax!? I’m never one to slow-down, or rest on my laurels. So, now that I have the summer off and things are finally winding down, I’m looking for other ways to busy myself, and make my stay in Oxford a success! All the logistics are accounted for: my financing is in place, my accommodations confirmed, my college selected, my Visa applied for, and my post-MBA job search begun. After careful consideration, I have now decided that the best way for me to prepare for the MBA in these last 2-months is to register and study for the CFA Level 1 exam in December! Frank Sinatra has got nothing on me when he wrote "that he bit off more than he could chew" in the song "My Way."

Long considered the “gold standard” on Wall Street (besides the MBA), the “Chartered Financial Analyst” designation has come to symbolize the ultimate cerebral achievement for financial “quant jocks” around the world. In fact, studies show that individuals who hold both an MBA and CFA with 10-years experience earn an average of $250,000 per year! So, while CAPM and the Treynor ratio are still “Sharpe” in my mind from the CFP® exam, now is the perfect time to polish my HP12C financial calculator, and ready myself for the mental gymnastics needed to take-on the CFA and catapult myself ahead of the curve for such upcoming core MBA courses as Finance 1, Decision Science, and Financial Reporting. Keep checking in if you want to re-connect with your own inner quant-jock, as I will continue to post info on the CFA, as well as the Oxford MBA.

consolidated list of info on oxford mba

2009-06-30T19:35:00.010-04:00

I remember when I first decided to apply to the University of Oxford. I spent days scouring the Internet for as many articles, interviews, and blogs that I could find. I was interested in learning as much about the program as I could, to make sure that I was a good fit. I also felt that the more I knew, the better my chances for admission would be, since I could more clearly articulate my reasons for wanting to attend the Oxford MBA program. So, as I come across new resources, I will post them on my blog so that you easily access all relevant information in one place! Keep checking in, as I will continue to modify and add new resources to this post.

BUSINESSWEEK:
June 8, 2009, Oxford SBS admissions manager Anna Farrus:
"Oxford's Saïd: Admissions Q&A"

THE ECONOMIST:
February 9, 2009, Oxford SBS dean Colin Mayer:
"Saïd and Done"

FINANCIAL TIMES:
December 4, 2006, by Linda Anderson
"Oxford's Saïd Aims to Compete with Harvard"

PAGALGUY:
2009-2010 Admission Blog
2008-2009 Admission Blog

video: interview with colin mayer, dean of saïd business school

2009-06-25T20:32:00.005-04:00

pre-mba: preparing for oxford

2009-06-15T10:39:00.015-04:00

One of the most quintessential Oxford experiences is to row for your College. The ultimate, of course, is to be good enough to compete against Cambridge in the annual "Boat Race" for the chance to win a "Blue." But to put things into perspective, this year's boat (2009), which beat Cambridge, had 8 rowers, all of which were affiliated with the Saïd Business School at Oxford, and two of which actually rowed in the last Olympics! Regardless of age or ability, roughly 1 out of 3 Oxford students row at some level for their College. To succeed, even the amateur rowers wake-up for practice by 6am, and regularly run 4 miles to prepare themselves to compete.

I more modestly aspire to condition myself to pull my own weight in the boat. Although I have always played sports, even at the collegiate level, my greatest fear are the curses and mumblings I'll hear from my teammates as they see me try and squeeze into our tiny boat. Therefore, I decided last week to take fate into my own hands, and join a gym. Every day this week I've been jogging 3-miles on the treadmill, and then hitting the weights for another 30-minutes. Plus, I've been working in some tennis. For just $10 per/month I joined "Planet Fitness" to begin my quest to lose 15-20 pounds within 3-months before shipping off to England.

During my admissions interview at Oxford in February, I attended an "Open House" where the MBA administrators told us all about what to expect during out MBA course. At one point, they neatly presented a bar chart on the wall that clearly laid-out our day-to-day schedule: 3 hours of outside study, 3 hours of job search, 1 hour of sports, and 1 hour of debauchery. The rest of the day was presumably spent eating, sleeping, traveling to and fro, and actual class-room time. They recommended finding a balance between the very serious work at hand, and a chance to network with the larger university. According to their recommendation, though, it would be unwise to partake in more than 2 outside activities. So, after deciding on rowing, I had just one more arrow in my quiver before having the next year planned out exactly to the minute.

In addition to rowing I thought I'd take up tennis. I've been playing tennis for 13 years now, and although I'm rusty, it's perhaps the best sport I have a chance to "really" compete in. During my undergraduate years I played for one year for my college team. Currently, I play in a Mens 3.5-4.0 USTA League in New York, but I've got a lot to work on! I would recommend anyone interested in sports, even at the recreational level, to find the appropriate contact at the Oxford University Sports Club page.

In conclusion, no one disagrees that attending the Oxford MBA will be a hugely transformational experience, both professionally and personally. Part of that experience is to immerse yourself in the sporting tradition of the University, particularly rowing. But just as you would start preparing for your classes by brushing up on your math, it is also a wise idea to prepare yourself physically for what is sure to be an immensely mentally and physically grueling year!

pre-mba: exeter college

2009-06-11T21:34:00.011-04:00

On 06/02/2009 I learned that Exeter College at Oxford accepted my application! It took them about 8-days to make their decision, however, I didn't find out until a week later, and it would've been longer (no doubt) if I had not contacted the b-school to inquire! As a newly admitted grad student I become a member of the Exeter MCR (Middle-Common Room), as opposed to the JCR (Junior Common Room), which is reserved for undergraduates. Technically, MCR students may also benefit from all the JCR activities, as well, so it's a no-lose situation for MBAs!

One good thing about Exeter is that it offers grad student housing at the newly renovated Exeter House on Iffley Road. Although it's located a little further from the b-school then I would like, it gives me a chance to get some exercise by riding my bike. Plus, I'll get to live with 50+ other grad students studying all different subjects, which will allow me to make life-long friends independent from the b-school, which is good. It also saves me the additional airline flight (and frustration) in finding my own apartment, and flatmates to share it with. Plus, at about $500USD per/month for my own room, it's a steal!

Having been founded in 1314, Exeter is the fourth oldest College at the University of Oxford. As one of the three "Turl Street Colleges," the other two being Jesus and Lincoln, Exeter is centrally located on the Turl Street, which links the High Street with the Broad Street. From what I hear, Exeter has a fierce rivalry with neighbor Jesus College as they hurl more than just insults across each others' medieval walls. Of course, Exeter has a reputation for being laid-back. We're known for possessing a quiet confidence, yet without the pretension, so it's unlikely that an Exeter student would ever instigate a fight.

Exeter most often makes it into the Travel Guides, because of its chapel spire that was constructed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, a famous British architect, who based this design on the Sainte Chapelle in Paris. The chapel, perhaps the most well-known in Oxford, also boasts artistic designs by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, who attended Exeter in the 1850's with friend, and writer, William Morris. But besides its fair share of Nobel Prize winners, statesmen, and Rhodes scholars, Exeter is perhaps best know for having been the undergraduate College of J.R.R. Tolkien, expert on Anglo-Saxon history, and writer of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. More recently, contemporary writer Philip Pullman, another fellow Exonian, returned to Oxford to film the movie, "The Golden Compass," which was based on his popular "Dark Materials" book series. I'm proud of my College, and hope to add to its distinguished history! But even more important, I can't wait to invite my family and friends who visit me to sit at the "High-Table" for a candle-lit dinner in our medieval hall pictured above!

Admission tip #3: I've read at least one other blog of an MBA student who created an intricate Excel spreadsheet featuring certain characteristics of each College to help him determine which one he should choose. I must confess that before reading his blog, I too, created my own spreadsheet, which included such variables as: date College founded, academic ranking (according to the Norrington Table), number of MBA students in attendance, selectivity of college, and notable alumni.

Once I narrowed down my list from 38 Colleges to my "top 8," I researched who the MCR student President was on Wikipedia and emailed them my interest in their respective College. I asked them to refer me to current MBA students so that I could get the inside-scoop. The responsiveness and comments of these MBAs also influenced my decision. I should note that normally this would be a moot point because you "pre-select" your top 2 College choices in your initial application. However, after acceptance, all students are allowed to change their choice although this is generally frowned upon. I had no choice, because my first College choice (New College) had already been filled during application Round 1.

Anyway, I actually went a step further by searching the Oxford homepage for the Management professor at the my next College choice (Balliol). I found a hyper-link to his working papers, and I proceeded to read the abstracts for all 100+ of his articles (etc.). I then pro-actively emailed that professor indicating to him that I had applied to his College, and that I thought I would be a good fit based on his research and my background. I proceeded to briefly state the true relevant areas of overlap. The professor was very kind, but informed me of the limited number of students that that College accepts. It's true. The b-school told me that this College accepts only 1-3 students, and that they had already accepted 3 and rejected 5 others. Donald Trump is fond of saying that it never hurts to ask, because the worst someone can say is no. So, although my efforts were in vain, I can rest easy knowing that I did everything within my power to try and influence events. After Balliol rejected me, of course, I had my application forwarded on to Exeter where I was happily accepted.

pre-mba: college selection process

2009-06-10T23:01:00.016-04:00

I've written elsewhere on this blog about how "Oxbridge" differs from many American colleges (or any college for that matter) in that Oxbridge uses a system of Colleges whose role is to matriculate, care for, and graduate their students. Undergraduate students apply directly to their College of choice, rather than to the University itself. It differs for graduate students, who first apply to the appropriate program department (i.e. b-school). Then, once accepted, the student must produce a "financial guarantee" (unlike American colleges) that proves they can finance the tuition and room & board (I needed to prove 48,000 pounds total). MBA students must also pay a 15% down-payment credited toward tuition within 30-days of the acceptance offer to secure their seat in the program. Only then, does a student's "dossier" (aka: application) get forwarded on to their first (and if need be, second...and so on) choice of Colleges. All accepted grad students are guaranteed College admission, the twist is...where?

By latest tally, students can choose to have their application sent to any of the 38 Colleges and 6 Private Halls. The 5 oldest Oxford Colleges are: University, Balliol, Merton, Exeter, and Queens. However, GreenTempleton is the de-facto b-school College. Plus, Worcester is most closely located to the b-school. Also, I hear that St. Hughes has the best food, although it's located in northern Oxford (Jericho). Further, if you're a rower (1 out of 3 students row at some level at Oxford), then Oriel might be the choice for you (just watch "Oxford Blues" with Rob Lowe). You can see that students pick Colleges for many different reasons & they are all wonderful choices!

It might help prospective Oxford MBA students to know how my own time-line unfolded. I applied to the Oxford MBA program for the Round 2 deadline on 01/16/2009 (there are 4 Rounds). I found out that I was accepted on 03/27/2009, which was the R2 admission decision deadline (early notification is only given if you are under time-pressure to choose between a competing MBA offer). Things moved fast. I paid my deposit 15-days later, because I wanted to get a jump-start on my classmates for College selection.

I had my application sent to Balliol first, which happens to be the most popular College at Oxford (as measured by the total volume of applications received). I heard that in the past Balliol had accepted just 1 MBA student who happened to be a Rhodes Scholar from Harvard that had majored in micro-cell biology. Still...it didn't hurt to try. Balliol received my application on 04/27/2009, the same day my "financial guarantee" was confirmed by Oxford (I was waiting on my student loan approval. It took me just 5-business days from application to approval through SallieMae, but don't wait!) Unfortunately, Balliol rejected me 2-weeks later.

Without hesitation I called, and had my application forwarded on to Exeter College, which is centrally located on Turl Street. Exeter also provides recently renovated housing for its grad students for low cost at Exeter House on Iffley Road. Home to J.R.R. Tolkien during his undergrad years, Exeter College also served as the setting for the fictional "Jordan College" in the movie, "The Golden Compass," based on the book(s) by former Exeter student, Philip Pullman. If you can't already tell, I was accepted by Exeter on 06/02/2009. They took just 8-days to make their decision. In another post I will write more about Exeter College and post some photos. in the meantime, enjoy the "Admission tips" below:

Admission tip #1: no matter what they say, you improve your chances for acceptance (and getting your choice College) by applying in Round 1 or 2. Later Rounds do get more difficult as space fills up, and students start looking less unique. By R4 you better have a 700+ GMAT, a 3.5+ GPA from an Ivy-league college, have worked for an investment bank or management consulting firm, and have spent 2-years as a Peace-Corp volunteer building schools in Africa.

Admission tip #2: it is critical that you email (and call to follow-up on your email) the Oxford administrator in charge of College placement, otherwise, you will invariably get lost in the crowd. Although they will get to you eventually, you can't afford to miss even a week as spaces fill quickly. Christ Church and New College filled-up before R2 students were admitted for the 2009-2010 academic year. And, similarly, the following colleges were full before R3 students were admitted: Balliol, Brasenose, Exeter, Jesus, Lincoln, Magdalen, Merton, St. John's, and Worcester.

I think that the most prestigious remaining choices for R3 and R4 students are (in alphabetical order): Corpus Christi, Oriel, Pembroke, Queens, and Trinity. I think that Oriel is waiting to admit an Olympic rower. And it appears Trinity only accepts SBS scholarship winners. Meanwhile Queens offers no housing, which has undoubtedly deterred some students from applying. Some of the other Colleges fill quickly because they take few MBAs (1 each for Balliol & Magdalen) while others possess the holy trinity of prestige, academic rankings, and central location (8 each for Merton & Brasenose). In fact, Brasenose just opened very desirable grad housing directly across from the b-school for 2009! But, perhaps, Christ Church stands alone as the penultimate of all the Oxford Colleges having left indelible images in both literature (Alice in Wonderland, Brideshead Revisted) and in the movies (Harry Potter) - plus, it's filthy rich! (their £228,744,460 endowment as of 2006 is the 2nd largest endowment of any Oxford College other than St. John's)

delta-force barista in action!

2009-05-27T08:47:00.002-04:00

This Memorial Day, Lisa and I helped my brother at his café in The Hamptons during Memorial Day weekend. The busy season lasts from Memorial Day (May) to Labor Day (September). However, most of the summer help doesn't come until school ends in June.

After passing the Series 24 Principal exam on Thursday, I changed out of my suit and into my black-and-tans as I went to work over the weekend as the "Delta-Force" of baristas. Although I have worked at Hampton Coffee Company (http://www.hamptoncoffeecompany.com/) in some capacity or another since I was 18 y/o, delivering coffee from Montauk to Manhattan, now I'm only called in for special situations to provide speed and surgical precision as I leave the confines of Wall Street to make non-stop vanilla-soy lattes for 6-straight hours. Quite humbling, but I'm quite proud to think that in some small way I may have helped contribute to Dan's Papers readers having voted us as the "Best Cappuccino" and "Best Breakfast Restaurant" in The Hamptons year-after-year.

video: intro to oxford mba

2009-05-16T22:15:00.003-04:00

Oxford University MBA - Studying at Oxford - The best bloopers are a click away

"adam smith was incomplete!" - john nash

2009-05-13T23:29:00.002-04:00

Many people unfamiliar with Oxford are surprised to learn that the University is not actually a physical location, but is rather comprised of 39 colleges and 5 halls that are semi-autonomous.

Finding the University is like finding the key to the "batter's box" - it just doesn't exist. This means that Oxford students, like myself, not only belong to the University, but we also matriculate and graduate from one of these many Colleges.

The collegiate system represents the defining characteristic of the "Oxbridge" (Oxford and Cambridge) experience. Ever since the first Colleges originated during the 13th century (Balliol, Merton, and University) to protect students from suspicious townsfolk, Colleges continue to look after the welfare of their students by providing a central location for dining, housing, praying, and teaching. All four functions are conveniently located among the four walls that comprise the quintessential Oxford "quad."

Once accepted into the MBA program, the businesss school forwards the student's "dossier" (application) to their first College choice. Only 1 College can review your application at a time, and the process takes 3-4 weeks. Rejected applications are then forwarded onto the student's 2nd choice (etc.) until a match is found. All admitted students are guaranteed College membership.

The pecking order is in large order determined by academic performance, as calculated annually in the popular "Norrington Table": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norrington_Table. However, the practically minded take into account other qualatative factors such as quality of life (food and housing), as well as the history and identity of the College.

The "Oxford College Pros and Cons" article at the http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/ offers good anecdotal advice. For example, Balliol College is considered politically liberal, while neighbor Trinity College is known to lean more conservatively. Oriel College developed a reputation for rowing, while Merton College is popular with the Japanese because Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan studied there. As a Round 2 admit, I'm considering Balliol, Brasenose, Exeter, and Queens.

I loved studying "game theory" in college (A+ grade!). The whole College selection process reminds me of John Nash's equilibrium (cue "A Beautiful Mind") where, in this case, you must calculate the expected "pay-off" of getting accepted into a particular College (your 1st choice, 2nd choice, etc.), as well as the probability of getting accepted into your top choices...

...meanwhile, the College is busy at work making its own calculations and decisions independent of you. On top of all of that, the student has imperfect information regarding accurately calculating both the pay-off (unfamiliarity with the different Colleges) and the likelihood of acceptance (lack of transparency). Bring on those decision tree matrices...B-SCHOOL HERE I COME!

oxford's ranked #1 (again!!!)

2009-05-12T13:24:00.002-04:00

Earlier today "The Guardian’s 2010 University Guide" ranked the University of Oxford at the top of its league table for the fifth year in a row! Similar to the "US News & World Report" rankings of the top 1,400 colleges in America, the Guardian ranks the top 117 colleges in the UK. Rounding out the top 5 are: 2) Cambridge, 3) St. Andrews, 4) Warwick, and 5) the London School of Economics. You can access the Guardian's complete UK rankings at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/table/2009/may/12/university-league-table

"24" (and I don't mean the tv series)

2009-04-29T21:30:00.002-04:00

With about 4 1/2 months to go before I leave for Oxford, I'm doing everything I can to ensure that the brief year I'm there for is as productive as possible. I want to leave as little up to chance as possible. I've already begun my post-MBA job search, including pre-filling my job applications online to save me time later in the year when I'm buried nose-deep into my macroeconomics textbook trying to figure out the relevance of a logarithmic function when constructing a marginal utility curve.

When not solving quadratic equations, I always thought it made good business to model your behavior after others that you admire, or aspire to be. For example, after businesss school, I thought about returning to Citi to work as an investment banker at Citi Capital Strategies. Since all of their "I-bankers" were previous financial advisors with their Series 24 Principal license, I decided to muster up some courage last week, and ask my boss to sponsor me for the Series 24 exam, which he did!

While not as glamourous as a guest role on the TV series "24" with Jack Bauer, within the world of Wall Street, it is impressive. I have to climb-up 3-wrungs on the corporate ladder before I find another person who holds the Series 24, so it's a big honor, even though right now there are few jobs to be had.

So, now I'm busy studying. I plan to take the 3 1/2 hour exam in 4-weeks so that I can clear the way for studying for the CFP exam in mid-July. Thankfully, Lisa agreed to look the other way when I posted up my white board near our computer desk to help organize myself. I'm going to need to make the most out of my 24-hours over the next 4 1/2 months!

tribute to my fiancée and family

2009-04-27T11:50:00.002-04:00

On March 27th, earlier this year, I learned that after my second application attempt, I was finally accepted into the MBA program at the Saïd Business School at Oxford University. It was truly a dream come true. Nearly 10 years earlier in 2000, I had studied abroad at Oxford while an undergraduate student at the State University of New York. That was when I first heard of the business school as they had just started breaking ground on their new state-of-the-art building. I immediately knew then what it would mean to me to return to England one day, and earn my degree from "the city of dreaming spires."

However, a lot happened during those intervening years. For one, I finally finished my undergraduate degree! I also transitioned careers from managing my brother's beucolic Hamptons cafe to investing other peoples' money as a financial advisor for some of the top Wall Street investment banks. But most importantly, I finally woke up and smelled the coffee, and realized that the love of my life was right in front of me all along. After 10 years of due diligence I am happy to say that my now fiancée did not hold it against me, and she agreed to marry me.

Of course, this made the prospect of leaving to do my MBA nearly 3,500 miles away in blighty ole' England problematic. Thankfully, I have a very understanding fiancée, and as long as I bring home the bacon I will have a very happy household to return to. That is why it is my great pleasure to thank my fiancée and family for all of their understanding, and continued support, as I take one great leap into the unknown with the hope of making a difference, and improving our family's fortunes. Wish me luck - I look forward to sharing my journey with you!