Department of Finance

First Major Selection

BSc in Quantitative Finance
2015/2016

1
 Department of Finance UG Team

Department Head: Prof. Vidhan Goyal

UG Committee: Prof. Alminas Zaldokas (Chair)

Prof. Darwin Choi
Prof. George Panayotov
Prof. Xuewen Liu

UG Coordinator: Prof. Ekkachai Saenyasiri

Program Assistant: Ms. Venus Tai

2
 What is Finance?
“Finance is at the core of so many successful companies
that no CEO aspirant can afford to avoid schooling in it. . .
This will help you understand, among other things, how
your company raises and allocates capital. It will also
make clear why that new product your team has designed
might not be launched, despite its sensational showing in
test markets: The numbers indicate that most likely the
returns on the item will never clear the hurdle rate that will
cover the cost of capital it requires and deliver a profit as
well.”
- Really important things you need to know (to advance
your career today), Fortune magazine, January 15, 1996

3
BSc in Quantitative Finance Program

• Prepares you for quantitative careers in finance.

• Provides a strong analytical background for

careers in asset/investment
management/trading/risk management/financial
information technology.

• Helps you develop an understanding of

quantitative models of financial markets
drawing on tools from a variety of areas such
economics, statistics, mathematics, computer
science and information technology.
4
When Compared to BBA FINA, BSc QFIN has

• Statistics
More • Mathematics
• Computer/Programming

• Courses from other business  
Less disciplines such as Marketing and 
Management

5
 Compare to Other UG Programs
BSc in QFIN vs. BSc in Economics and Finance
QFIN: More Courses in Finance / Math / Computer 
Programming
QFIN: Fewer courses in Economics

BSc in QFIN vs. BSc in Risk Management and Business 
Intelligence (RMBI)
QFIN: More courses in Finance
RMBI: More focus on Risk Management, Data Mining, Math, 
Computer Programming Courses

6 6
 BSc QFIN Major Selection
(for school-based admission route)
Requirements
• CGA 3.0 or above
• B- or above in MATH1012/1013/1020/1023
• C+ or above in LANG 1002 & 1003

Ranking Criteria
Holistic assessment based on CGA, selected
course performance, CV profile, interview
performance, personal statement.

7
 Program Highlights
• Finance program with enhanced quantitative skills on
Statistics, Mathematics and Programming

• Most related to:

Investment & portfolio management
Development & pricing of equity & debt securities
and derivatives & structured products

• World-class research faculty and close connections to

Hong Kong’s financial firms

• Access to latest financial software such as Thomson

Reuters, Bloomberg and Morningstar Direct
8
 Value-Enhancing Support
from the Department of Finance
Ample career training
• Workshops on CV writing, interviewing and communication skills
tailored for finance industry
• Company visit opportunities
• Mentorship opportunities with finance professionals
• QFIN alumni sharing sessions

Partnerships with
• CFA Institute: Department of Finance nominates around 5-10 UG
students each year for CFA Awareness scholarships
• Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA)
• Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA)
9
 Value-Enhancing Support
from the Department of Finance
Finance Speaker Series by industry experts
We have finance professionals coming to campus every
semester to equip students with industry knowledge and
talk to them

10
Our Students
78 students in total from
year 2, 3 and 4 (as of
November 2015)

11
 Exchange Study of Final Year QFIN Students, Class of 2016 (27 Students)
University Number of students
Boston College, USA 2
Carnegie Mellon University, USA 1
City University, U.K. 1
Harvard University (Visiting), USA 1
New York University, USA 2
Peking University, China 1
University of Califonia, Berkeley, USA 1
University of Califonia, Davis, USA 1
University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign, USA 1
University of Minnesota, USA 1
University of New South Wales, Australia 1
University of Pennsylvania, USA 2
University of Southern California, USA 1
University of Texas at Austin, USA 3
University of Virginia, USA 1
University of Wisconsin‐Madison, USA 1
Washington University in St. Louis, USA 1
Decided not to study abroad 5
Total 27 12
 2015 Summer Internships of Final Year QFIN Students, Class of 2016 (27 Students)
Company Number of Students
J.P. Morgan 4
HSBC  4
Goldman Sachs 2
Boston Consulting Group in Seoul 1
China Renaissance Securities (Hong Kong) 1
CITIC Securities 1
Citigroup Global Markets 1
Credit Suisse 1
DBS Bank 1
FXCM 1
Haitong International Securities 1
Jefferies  1
OCBC 1
Scotiabank 1
SDIC Fund Mangement Co 1
Shanzhai City 1
Standard Chartered Bank 1
State Street Asia Ltd 1
UBS 1
United Overseas Bank  1
Total 27 13
 Competitiveness & Well‐Rounded Students
Recent competitions won by teams with QFIN member(s)

.
• Champion ‐ SCMP/IFPHK Financial Planner Awards 2014
.
• Champion ‐ CIMA Global Business Challenge 2014
.
• Champion ‐ Asia Investment Banking Conference Case Competition 2014
.
• Champion ‐ Credit Suisse INSPIRE, Investment Banking Competition 2014
.
• Champion ‐ AXA Tomorrow’s Leaders Competition 2014
.
• Champion ‐ CFA Institute Research Challenge Hong Kong  2014
.
• Champion ‐ Forex Master Trading Challenge 2015
.
• Champion ‐ KPMG & Qlik Risk Insight Challenge 2015
.
• Champion ‐ Alcoa Mergers & Acquisitions Case Competition, 2015
.
• Champion ‐ SCMP/IFPHK Financial Planner Awards 2015
.
• Champion ‐ CFA Institute Research Challenge Hong Kong  2015

14
Champions
Connect with Current Students and Alumni

16
Career Prospects of BSc QFIN Students

Potential employers
• Investment banks
• Asset management firms
• Commercial banks
• Insurance companies
• Consulting firms, Regulators, etc

17
Career Prospects of BSc QFIN Students

Possible jobs
• Equity analysts
• Fixed-income analysts
• Derivatives sales and traders
• Risk control and trading system support

18
Bloomberg (21 September 2015)
After the retail sector, financial services are the biggest employer 
in Hong Kong, according to government data

19
Distribution of BSc QFIN Graduates by
Employment Status

Population: 17
Respondents: 16
Source: 2014 Graduate Employment Survey

94%  Full‐time employed
6%  Further studies

20
Distribution of BBA FINA Graduates by
Employment Sector

Respondents: 15
Source: 2014 Graduate Employment Survey

14  Commerce & business
1 Government & related organizations

21
AIA Accenture  Bain & Co
Bank of China Barclays Capital  Blackrock
Bloomberg Bank of China Citibank 
Credit Suisse Daiwa Capital Mkt DBS
Deloitte     Deutsche Bank  Goldman Sachs 
Hang Seng Bank HSBC   JP Morgan          
KPMG Macquarie Capital  MTR    
Nomura  OCBC     PWC
Royal Bank of Scotland  Rabobank Merrill Lynch  
Standard Chartered Bank Silverhorn Swire Group 
Tower Watson UBS    Uniliver
Bank of America Fidelity Fortis Bank
Bank of Tokyo‐Mitsubishi Value Partners 
Securities and Futures  
Commission of Hong Kong And many more 
EMPLOYERS
22
Gross Monthly Income of BSc QFIN Graduates
(in HKD per month)

BSc QFIN School of Business & Management

Mean 28,421 19,437
Median 25,000 15,000
Minimum 13,000 7,000
Maximum 92,833 113,000

Source: 2014 Graduate Employment Survey

23
Who should apply to join QFIN Program?
Excellent Work Ethic     Maturity
Teamwork Positive Attitude
Integrity/Honesty           Courtesy

Students with a strong desire to work in the finance 
industry

Students with strong mathematical backgrounds

Students with an exceptional analytical and 
communication skills
24
 Information and Enquiries
Website: http://www.bm.ust.hk/fina/web/

BSc QFIN Program Coordinator

Prof. Ekkachai Saenyasiri, esaenyasiri@ust.hk

BSc QFIN Program Officer

Ms. Venus Tai, venustai@ust.hk

25