Early Stage
Sprout and Seedling.
On a vacation trip to London at the age of 12, I came across a family friend who had established an online magazine that tailored to investment strategies. He explained to me how the stock market worked and I was hooked immediately (to the embarrassingly point of dressing up as a stock broker for every event that involved costumes.) I began exploring the financial markets by initially setting up demo account to trade the FX and stock CFD markets. I would scan the web for technical analysis strategies and test them out using my demo account to see what worked. I understood pretty early on that sticking to TA as a sole analysis tool was not providing me with sufficient confidence levels. I needed a much stronger understanding of the capital markets, and so signed up to a MSC degree in Investment and Risk Management at the University of Westminster.
Knowledge Stage
Vegetative and Budding.
During my time at the University of Westminster, I gained a strong foothold in fundamental analysis, econometric forecasting, quantitative valuations, portfolio management, and risk management. I learnt to utilise a number of accompanying tools such as Matlab, E-views, Bloomberg Terminal and R. My dissertation focused on testing the efficiency of ARIMA modelling on GBP and FTSE100 post brexit. I also took on a role at the Barnet Council to develop a financial dashboard from scratch allowing them to instantly assess their fund position compared to boroughs across London.
Fund Management
Flowering.
After my time at university, I managed to secure a total capital of $1,500,000 from friends and family to begin managing. I developed a strategy to diversify the portfolio across asset classes that included : US equities, Bonds, Option derivatives, REITS and ETF’s. The objective of the portfolio was to achieve returns in excess of the S&P500 benchmark whilst maintaining a maximum 25% drawdown goal. The strategy incorporated a combination of systematic trend processes along with valuation modelling. The process of managing the total portfolio allowed me to develop my risk management skills, reporting skills and analysis development.
The Future
Ripening.
I am hoping to leverage my digital experience, financial experience and merge it with my core personality – one that wants to save the world. In essence I am looking to work within the SRI world. I truly believe that the wealth management sphere can make a huge impact on the future generations through allocating resources in line with the UNDP Sustainable goals. Coming from humble beginnings of East Africa, I understand firsthand the need for impact investments and the potential to make a difference.