Graduate working in capital markets with an MBA + CFA shares his experience

Michael Gurman explains how an MBA in investment management, integrating the CFA charter, kickstarted his capital market career.

For people passionate about finance, a career in investment management has a lot to offer, such as working in a fast-paced environment with international exposure and interesting challenges.

These coveted roles can be tough to break into, however. Michael Gurman chose to improve his chances by working towards two qualifications at once, combining a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and an MBA program. A portrait on how he launched into a fulfilling career in capital markets.

Michael Gurman—getting an edge in investment

As long as he can remember, Michael has been fascinated by investment markets. 

“I always wanted to deal with money,” he explains, “but on a scale that could make an impact.” 

Michael began his career in asset management, and although he enjoyed the work, a few years in he felt unable to access the decision-making opportunities he wanted.

To get these roles, Michael needed to increase his knowledge base—earning a CFA charter seemed like an obvious route.

“But when I went on LinkedIn and looked up every job I could have wanted in the future, every person who held those jobs had an MBA and the CFA charter,” he notes.

With this discovery, Michael decided to undertake the MBA in Investment Management at John Molson’s Goodman Institute. Having studied his bachelors at the school, he was confident in the quality of its faculty, and its international reputation. 

When he entered the classroom, he was inspired to learn not only by the professors, but also his peers.

“We had a Facebook chat, and we’d talk all the time about what’s going on in the markets,” he recalls. 

In the summer of his second year, Michael landed an internship with National Bank Financial in Toronto, acting as an analyst for corporate and investment banking.

It was a huge step toward his dream job, and he was determined to make the most of the opportunity. “I would always take a tonne of notes, and I wasn’t shy to ask questions,” he recalls.

By the end of the summer, Michael had converted the internship to a full-time job. Today, he works as a credit capital markets analyst, helping make decisions about which companies the bank should lend to.

The skills he learned at John Molson School of Business have been integral to his success, he states. 

“A lot of my job involves reading, playing with, and understanding financial statements,” he explains. “Before the MBA, I didn’t have really sound knowledge of accounting. For me, it’s really a dream job that I wouldn’t have got without the program.”

 

Text provided by Concordia University