SOP Sample for MS Financial Data Science in India

Statement of Purpose

From 2008 to 2009, the world's financial systems buckled under the immense pressure of the failing economy. The unemployment rate in India rose to about 5.61% in 2009, with many people losing jobs, especially in IT. And so, even though I liked Computer Technology, family and friends advised me to take the then safer option of Electrical and Electronics Engineering in my undergraduate studies.

While I committed myself to four years of the rigorous academic program, the deep impact of the economic crisis compelled me to research the limitations of financial systems. Over time, as I read more about the financial institutions, markets, instruments, services, and the details behind the crisis, the information I garnered exhorted me to commit myself to the task of contributing towards building a stronger financial sector in my country. Thus, I logically traveled down the path of a Masters in Business Administration specializing in Finance to equip myself with the know-how and experience to become an adept financial consultant.

I have provided expert financial guidance and knowledge of stocks and bonds to investment advisors, brokers, and individual investors during the last five years. Besides giving accurate valuation, fulfilling investment objectives, and determining optimal capital structures to maximize return on investment, I have also analyzed new investment prospects, raised funds, created financial models, managed portfolio investments, and given periodic reports and presentations.

Through this experience, I began appreciating the dynamic nature of the financial sector characterized by constant innovation and transformation, which increases the level of risk involved. To solve these financial and risk management problems, a necessity to solve increasingly complex models that allow firms to do business and financial and business decisions are there, and one of the main parts of being a financial consultant is adapting to the changing market environments and that is the primary reason behind my decision to pursue a Masters program in Financial Data Science. With this program, I aspire to reinforce my skills in mathematics and statistics and gain technical expertise in data mining, data analysis, and programming to transform raw data into intelligent business strategies.

My experience at [UNIVERSITY_1] was novel; I was blown away by the high quality and extent of the case studies done at my university. [UNIVERSITY_1]'s Case Study center is the largest in India, and I benefited immensely from its study. Also, from the first year, I began exploring various clubs and attending many workshops and seminars to broaden the spectrum of my knowledge and network. [CLUB_1], a Capital Markets club, was where I learned more about stocks, researched, wrote reports, and did other activities like a brokerage company. The things I learned here and the events I organized and participated in gave me confidence and expertise, shaping me into a fund manager and a research analyst.

The college magazine published the research articles I wrote for the club. In addition to collaborating with 47 members of the group, I headed the pharmaceutical research wing as the Sector Research Head, consisting of five members. In the club, we also managed funds and investments within the club, and during the year I headed the fund management, I helped generate a return of thirty-two percent, whereas the NIFTY index gave only eighteen percent. The work in [CLUB_1] helped me perform excellently in my first job.

My perspective towards education changed when I joined Masters; it was because I could easily visualize the theories on paper in the real world, and it encouraged me to engage myself more and more with the subject. Though I hailed from a non-commerce background, I did not let it deter me and took more effort to keep abreast of everyone else who had a head start in the field. To learn by experience, I began working on my first internship at [COMPANY_1]. I reported to the Head of the Finance Department at the company, who assigned me to perform a comparative analysis of working capital management of the major players in the Indian Steel Industry to identify areas of improvement. One of the main reasons I applied to this company was to gain hands-on exposure to accounting in the manufacturing industry instead of working in a bank. I also conducted a detailed study on the global steel industry and the Indian Steel industry's contribution to the worldwide demand and India's GDP.

While working in the treasury department, I not only prepared detailed financial statement analysis for top five Indian manufacturing companies to identify trends on cash management techniques, but I have also learned about how the company raised finances, valuated the securities owned by [COMPANY_1], and understood interest payment methods and currency risk management. Furthermore, I examined the impact of the currency risk, operational risk, and liquidity risk on the company's financial statements and performance by performing scenario and stress testing, which gave me insight into the company's position, and I offered suggestions that reduced the cash conversion cycle to 36 Days from 43 days further improving the liquidity that helped them maintain a buffer to help deal with unexpected situations. The company awarded me the best internship award for my contribution.

[EVENT_1] is an annual conference conducted by the [UNIVERSITY_1] to encourage innovative ideas adhering to the 5Es of Energy, Environment, Employment, and Entrepreneurship. Since I felt strongly about the conditions of the farmers in my country regarding the various logistical, strategic, and business issues, I decided to conceptualize ways to solve different problems faced by the farmers in an affordable and executable manner that would make farming a profitable occupation supported by leading organizations thereby generating employment that would pay them continuously rather than seasonally, from managing crop cycles to transporting, I came up with several logical ideas which were well received by the jury and sent to the [STATE_GOVERNMENT] Entrepreneurship Cell for implementation.

My employment at [COMPANY_2] directly resulted from my dedicated and industrious efforts during my management studies. The company, impressed with my performance in the rigorous interview covering the capital market and client interaction, recognized my capability and growth potential and offered me a job in a demanding sales role involving a private client group with high network clients whose portfolio size was fifty lakh and above. I easily eased the clients into the process with my knowledge and explanation about the capital market regarding the companies, market performance, risk matrices and made portfolios to help determine areas to invest in securities.

Within about eight months, the company promoted me to a financial consultant due to my exemplary performance and skill. I started managing portfolios for more than 200 clients amounting to up to 4 billion AUMS of business. Along with buying and selling securities using trading models for the clients and giving periodic feedback, I also build quantitative models to assess and determine trading opportunities with minimal risks by applying complex derivatives. In record time, I became the foremost authority in handling clients using [COMPANY_2]'s online trading platform ([PLATFORM_1]) across two states [STATE_1] and [STATE_2]. Towards the end of my tenure at [COMPANY_2], my new manager introduced me to applying data science in financial decision-making. I became keenly interested in the concept that I took on the "Comprehensive Class room Training in Machine Learning/Artificial Intelligence, Data Science Certification" course that bridged the gap between financial expertise and technical knowledge. Utilizing this knowledge, I piloted the predictive analysis project with python and excelled in identifying the likelihood of losing certain clients to competitors.

Consequently, I did scoping and UAT testing in a Machine Learning project to analyze the client activity, positions and trade, securities, and services according to the client's risk capability. It enabled accurate business and financial decisions. In this role, I soon rose to the position of top five equity advisors in India for garnering the highest gross volumes of trade.

I wanted to explore a global market with more challenging parameters and environments, which is why I shifted into my Implementation Analyst role at [COMPANY_3]. Here, I worked with the UK-based client deployment team to help augment the services offered to Investment bank and private equity clients. In about six months, [COMPANY_3] was acquired by [COMPANY_4], in which I continued to serve as a consultant, collaborating with internal and external teams to manage clients, products, accounts, and operations. The firm made me responsible for a seven-member team assigned the tasks of performing solutioning, monitoring task efficiencies, and guiding new members. Adding to this work, I effectively handled client onboarding, Data research and analytics, financial accounting and reporting, PE/VC evaluation, and business analysis. Having experienced the power and impact of data science, I put forward ideas of implementing data science to perform valuations of private equity portfolio companies. I applied Power BI modules to generate employees' weekly time tracking reports with utilization details of each employee and how to leverage data to organize the team structures. My manager and team were receptive to my innovative ideas for enhancing existing SAAS-based portfolio monitoring software called [SOFTWARE_1] by implementing heat maps to help users assess the heat maps to make informed decisions. Further, my qualitative recommendations and development of silver ETFs using quantitative financial models bolstered me to the position of a Senior Implementation Analyst within just 1 Year 10 months.

Data Science has become vital in the Finance Industry; Intelligent tools have paved the way for more accurate analysis leading to better decisions that ultimately lead to increased profits for financial institutions. With the growth in data, using technology to process massive amounts of quantitative information has become inevitable, so I believe that a master's program in "Financial Data Science" will be the perfect next step for my career. It will help me become adept at using data science techniques to solve financial issues. I look forward to completing courses such as Machine Learning for Finance, Financial Data Science, Banking and Finance in Digital Age and Programming for Financial Data Science. I am excited to be a part of such a constructive learning environment.

Besides the coursework, I eagerly await the opportunities to connect with other ambitious and motivated students through programs like "Global Leadership Programme (GLP)", "Intercultural Development Programme (IDP)", which offer industry-leading experiential training. The management internship/case studies/clubs will help me fully comprehend real-time scenarios and gain mastery, perspective, and confidence. Immediately after equipping myself with the vital armaments in my graduate program, I intend to join a prominent Fintech or a Financial firm, as a Financial Data Scientist/Analyst. Once my skills are honed with about Four years of experience, I plan to shift to a challenging Leadership role. Thus, I would like to request you to accept my application and aid my journey towards becoming a skilled Financial Data Scientist.