A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO

INSTI FINANCE

BY

Investmentetc
FINANCE MAGAZINE OF IIT MADRAS
EDITOR'S NOTE
ABIVIDYAA N

Exploring a completely new field can be hard, especially one which you have no prior education in. The
finance culture in insti has been growing rapidly over the years. The number of fintech startups, the kind of
companies that come on campus for recruitment and the registrations for finance certifications has
skyrocketed. Unfortunately (or fortunately), there's been a plethora of content (and noise) on finance
related learning. It's easy to get lost in this ocean.

How do you then decide your ideal finance path, if there is one? Whether you like Finance can be a
complicated question, but which path within Finance is even more complex.

In such cases, awareness about a) the opportunities available within insti, and b) options popular among
insti peeps (promising a good learning curve) can help you in making good decisions.

It doesn’t matter which stage you are at - a novice or expert, you can expand your financial acumen both
breadth wise and depth wise.

Breadth-wise expansion

This includes trying out different aspects but at a superficial level. An example could be being a
correspondent and writing finance articles in your first year, then dabbling in stock market or doing a prof
project with DoMS professor during your second year, applying for internship at a bank like JPMC or
Goldman Sachs in your third year and clearing CFA in your final year or starting a Fintech Startup. You may
not be an expert at either of these but you have widened your horizon.

Depth-wise expansion

Here, you pick one area and delve deeper. This becomes your area of expertise. Example: Joining Trading
club in your first year, reading up on portfolio and stocks, practically implementing it, writing algorithms,
learning related skills for specialization and then doing multiple internships at various HFTs or Hedge
Funds and ultimately joining or starting one.

Irrespective of which category you belong to, there are ample opportunities for either. And it's never too
late to start. Personally, talking to a diverse set of people from different backgrounds has been my go to.
There are good websites, books, YT channels and so on that could help you on this path. Globally acclaimed
certifications can give you a major resume boost. Alternatively, you could take an afternoon walk to the
Research parks to see many fintech startups started by our alumni in action. Lastly, you could spend your
time learning another crucial component would be personal finance, an key skill for any professional.

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This guide is by no means a comprehensive handbook. If anything, it gives you a quick overview on how the
finance culture in insti currently looks like and gives you a list of resources to get you started.

How to use this guide:

As an avenue to explore what aspects of finance excites you (or not)
As a handbook containing preliminary resources accessible to any insti student
As an awareness regarding placement scenario in the college
As an event pamphlet regarding important competitions
As a snapshot into what a typical fin-enthu senior's resume looks like

About InvestmentEtc
With over 21,000+ subscribers, InvestmentEtc is the Finance Magazine started by Finance Club 2 years ago,
focused on making your finance journey simple while also catering to people well versed in the domain.
Check out our website.

Our team consists of a bunch of enthusiastic undergraduate students from IIT Madras, working on
presenting a simplified version of the financial concepts, economical events, market movements
happening across the globe with minimum jargon and more creativity through our magazine. From
significant economic events to exciting investments in India and across the globe to crucial concepts, we
have it all. This is in addition to guides, training exercises, and interviews to crack your dream company.
We are eager to serve as a bridge, connecting you to the world of Finance, business, Investment etc.

Acknowledgements

Guide ideation, design & compilation

Abividyaa N
Chief Editor, InvestmentEtc

Contributing Authors

Janisha B L Lakshya Singh Bhuvanesh P

Correspondent 2022-23, Correspondent 2021-22, Correspondent 2022-23,
InvestmentEtc InvestmentEtc InvestmentEtc
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

We had no clue when we started out on this path. So we decided to talk to many, many people
who have trodden this path before. What resulted is a checklist of sorts, a basket of all the
necessary steps to get you started. We wish you the best on your journey forward!!

4 Placement Scenario at IITM

6 Course Recommendations

8 Global Certifications

10 Competitions to look out for!

12 Useful Resources
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PLACEMENT SCENARIO
LAKSHYA SINGH

IIT Madras is one of India's finest engineering institutes, renowned for its expertise in research in various
disciplines. Corporations from a variety of industries, including analytics, finance, and consulting, have
come to campus for recruitment. Recently, the Quant & Finance culture has been growing at the campus
with the many new changes including introduction of an IDDD in Quantitative Finance, introduction of
Trading Club, expansion of Finance Club, and increasing number of Financial firms coming to the campus
for recruitment.

This article will provide you a basic understanding of how financial organizations operate, the placement
landscape at IIT Madras, and who the primary recruiters are for various types of firms. Important pointers
have also been supplied to help you prepare for these profiles for placements and internships.

Introduction
At IIT Madras, there’s a plethora of Financial roles coming for recruitment for both Internships &
Placements. Mainly the roles are divided between the Quant firms and the Financial firms :

Quant firms refer to organizations that use advanced quantitative methods to generate and implement
investment strategies. These organizations employ a team of experts with skills in mathematics, statistics,
computer science, and other related fields to analyze financial data and build algorithms that can be used to
predict market patterns and find profitable investment opportunities. Financial firms, on the other hand,
are organizations that provide a variety of financial services to clients. These companies could be banks,
investment banks, asset management firms, private equity firms, or hedge funds. They provide services
such as investment banking, wealth management, risk management, and trading.

Quant & HFTs (High-Frequency Trading) Firms

The Firms coming to the campus for recruitment generally recruit students for different roles decided by
the Team under which they’re selected for. The 2 major divisions that students are placed in are :

Front Office:

Quantitative Researcher : The role involves using mathematical and statistical techniques to analyze
financial and market data. You are also responsible for developing and implementing complex models
that help firms make better investment decisions, manage risk, and generate profits

Trader: Traders execute trades based on the strategies and models developed by quantitative
researchers. They monitor market conditions, manage risk, and make real-time trading decisions to
maximize profitability.

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Mid & Back Office :
Risk Analytics : The role entails analysing and quantifying the risks that a financial institution may face,
as well as creating risk-mitigation solutions. Assessing the credit risk associated with loans, evaluating
market risks linked with investments, and identifying operational risks that could damage the
company's operations are all examples of this.

Software Engineer : The role is crucial in developing and maintaining the technology infrastructure that
drives the firm's trading strategies and execution capabilities. HFT firms heavily rely on advanced
algorithms, sophisticated software systems, and low-latency technology to execute trades at high speeds
and capture market opportunities.

Banks & Asset Management Firms

These Firms coming to the campus for recruitment generally recruit students for different roles decided by
the Team under which they’re selected for. The 2 major divisions that students are placed in are :

Front Office:
Sales & Trading : The role involves analyzing financial market data to identify profitable trading
opportunities. Also, you analyze market data using a range of approaches such as technical analysis,
fundamental analysis, and quantitative analysis. Under the Sales part you work alongside experienced
employees to learn how to build the client base and establish and maintain long-term client
relationships.

Global Markets Analyst : The role involves analyzing global market trends and looking for lucrative
investment opportunities and arbitrage opportunities. Generally, these roles require an in depth
understanding of Financial Markets

Mid Office:
Credit Analyst : The role involves assessing the creditworthiness of individuals or businesses seeking
loans or credit. You’ll work for financial institutions such as banks, or investment firms, and your
primary role is to analyze the risk of lending to a specific borrower.

Major Recruiters

Quant & HFT Firms Banks & AMCs

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COURSES
JANISHA B L

This article by Janisha outlines some courses that insti junta (your seniors) have found helpful over the
years while sitting for interviews, especially from a resume boost pov. Also note that IDDD in Quantitative
Finance is available now (Check smail for details)

Insti Courses
Principles of Economics (HS3002A/B/C/D) - 9 credits
This course walks us through the consequences of people’s behavior on an economy, as a whole, the
trade offs between two or more parties, the opportunity costs and so on.
Includes a decent amount of terms and definitions that are pretty easy to understand.
A good course for a beginner to get to know about the impact of us being decision makers in the global
economy.

Accounting and Finance for engineers (MS3610) - 9 credits

This course gives a fair understanding of financial management in corporations through cash flow
statements, different ratios used in the accounting, net present value of future cash flows which will be
used as a benchmark for deciding whether to take up a project or not, bond & stock valuation, budget
making, risks and returns.
It's a proper course for beginners in the finance domain who want to learn the basics of financial
accounting and will be useful for personal finance as well.

Other courses
A few other fin related insti courses that can be explored are
Money, Banking & Finance (HS course)
Financing Mega Projects (DoMS course)

Online Courses
Fundamentals of finance : Coursera
https://www.coursera.org/learn/finance-fundamentals
Introduces us to corporate finance: different types of valuations, interests, annuities, etc. It helps us to
calculate the risks and returns to optimize investments for a firm. Involves a generous amount of
numeric formulae and calculations. The problems in the quizzes give a good understanding of the
topics covered.
It’s a part of Finance and Accounting specialization in coursera (one can do the course without opting
for the specialization as well). Financial aid is helpful to get access to the quizzes and get a certificate on
completion of the course.

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Financial Acumen for non financial managers : Coursera
https://www.coursera.org/learn/finance-healthcare-managers?=&page=1
About Financial statements and non financial metrics measuring financial performance
More emphasis on accounting healthcare
But all basic financial modeling discussed

Algorithmic Trading and Quantitative Analysis using Python: Udemy

https://www.udemy.com/course/algorithmic-trading-quantitative-analysis-using-python/
Deals with quantitative analysis of financial data using python, coding technical indicators, building
trading strategies, performing backtesting and finally building an automated trading set up.
A very useful course for someone who wants to start learning algorithmic trading as we encounter a
huge number of Algo-trading startups and projects coming up.

Financial derivatives- Quant : Udemy

https://www.udemy.com/course/financial-derivatives/

Financial Markets (Coursera)

https://www.coursera.org/learn/financial-markets-global

Importance of Current Affairs

Along with courses, one can keep themselves updated with Current affairs.

During the interviews and Group Discussions, current affairs is something that comes to help. Especially
when asked about the world economy or about our nation’s financial matters, the only thing that can be
thought of is the current happenings. Current Affairs, as we all know, refer to the events and problems
taking place around the world at the present time which are of great importance.

Many (some) of us would have the habit of reading newspapers at home but in Insti, not a lot actually
manage to do that. So here’s a splendid alternative to stay updated about the hard news:

Finshots
A 3 min daily newsletter focused on simplifying financial, commercial and economic concerns in a crispy-
insightful way. Subscription is free of any cost and there exists the mobile app as well.
Subscribe freely here - https://finshots.in/

The Ken
The Ken is a subscriber-only Indian business news website that publishes one story each day on Indian
business, healthcare, and other related topics. In 2021, The Ken launched "The Stack," a business
newsletter bundle that produces newsletters focusing on certain areas such as Climate Technology,
Financial Technology, and Personal Finance, among others.
Subscribe freely here - https://the-ken.com/

Together, these courses and daily happenings strengthen your fundamental understanding of the industry
while keeping you on top of the financial world.

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CERTIFICATIONS
LAKSHYA SINGH

Certifications are similar to doing courses, except they are more vast, they are recognised globally and tell the
world where you stand in comparison to your peers. They are a good indicator of your acumen, especially for a
recruiter. This article by Lakshya covers two such certifications.

The Financial Risk Manager (FRM) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certificates are two of the most
esteemed and well-known certifications in the financial sector, both of which require a major time
commitment and effort to complete.

In this article, I’ll provide a thorough review of these two certifications, outlining each exam's course structure,
dates, employment prospects, and how the certification might aid you during Placements & Internships.

How CFA and FRM can help in Placements

The CFA and FRM certificates are both well-respected in the financial sector, and passing the tests for each
shows a candidate's proficiency in the fields of finance and risk management, respectively. By doing this, they
may be able to stand out from the competition during Placements. Many financial firms have started hiring
students from IIT Madras, and having financial credentials shall help you at IIT Madras in a variety of ways,
including:

Asset management firms such as Worldquant LLC & Arga Investment often seek out candidates with a CFA
or FRM certification, as these certifications demonstrate specialized knowledge in investment
management.

The FRM certification is specifically designed for professionals in the risk management field. Obtaining an
FRM can make you a suitable candidate for Risk management companies such as Credit Suisse and
J.P.Morgan

Hedge funds & HFTs such as DE Shaw, Jane Street, Alphagrep Securities, Maverick Derivatives often seek
out candidates with specialized knowledge in alternative investments, financial analysis, and risk
management. The CFA and FRM certifications can demonstrate your expertise in these areas specifically.

Financial consulting firms such as KPMG, Deloitte, and Accenture often look for candidates with a diverse
skill set, including expertise in financial analysis, risk management, and investment management.
Obtaining a CFA or FRM certification can help you stand out to potential employers

The CFA and FRM designations also have large professional networks and associations that students can
become a part of once they pass the exams. These networks can provide opportunities for networking, job
search assistance, and professional development.
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CFA Examination
CFA is a widely accepted qualification in the field of investment management. The examination has three
levels and is administered by the CFA Institute. You’re allowed to only take the Level 1 examination during
your undergraduate studies, whereas the Level 2 & 3 can be taken upon graduating. The CFA Level 1 mainly
evaluates a candidate on their basic knowledge of investment tools. Ethics, mathematical methods, economics,
financial reporting and analysis, corporate finance, equity investments, fixed income, derivatives, alternative
investments, and portfolio management are just a few of the topics that are covered at each level in relation to
investment management.

Moving to the next level, the complex analytical concepts and understanding of asset valuation are examined.
Then, for level three, the advanced level concepts of Finance and Investment are assessed including portfolio
management, and wealth planning, amongst others.

The CFA Level I Exam is offered 4 times in Feb, May, Aug, and Nov every year. The CFA Levels II Exam is
offered 3 times in May, Aug & Nov every year. The CFA Levels III Exam is offered 2 times in Feb & Nov every
year. The CFA program requires a significant amount of commitment, with an average of 300 hours of study
time recommended for each level. The fees for each level range from $900 to $1,200, depending on the
registration deadline (excluding the first time registration fees of $350).

Job Opportunities after taking the CFA Examination

The CFA designation is well-respected in the financial sector and can lead to employment prospects in a
variety of fields, including corporate finance, equity analysis, investment banking, and portfolio management.
Since it shows a candidate's dedication to the profession and their understanding of investment management
concepts, many firms in the investment management sector favor applicants who have successfully completed
the CFA program.

FRM Examination
FRM stands for Financial Risk Manager, which is a professional certification for risk managers in the finance
industry. The FRM exam is conducted by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), and passing the
exam is a way for individuals to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise in financial risk management. The
FRM exam consists of two levels, and candidates must pass both levels to obtain the certification. FRM
Syllabus covers the fundamental tools and techniques used in risk management and the theories that underlie
their use. Specific areas of coverage FRM Part 1 are Foundations of Risk Management, Quantitative Analysis,
Financial Markets & Products, Valuation and Risk Models.

The FRM Level I & II exams are offered thrice a year, in May, August and November. The exams are computer-
based and consist of multiple-choice questions. The pass rates for the exams vary from year to year, but on
average, less than half of the candidates pass each level. The FRM program requires a significant amount of
commitment, with an average of 250 hours of study time recommended for each level. The fees for each level
range from $550 to $750 (excluding the first time registration fees of $400)

Job Opportunities after taking the FRM Examination

The risk management sector has high regard for the FRM qualification, which can lead to employment as a
risk manager, credit risk analyst, market risk analyst, or operational risk analyst, among other positions. Many
firms in the banking sector favor applicants who have completed the FRM programme since it shows their
dedication to risk management and their familiarity with its principles.

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COMPETITIONS
BHUVANESH P

Competitions are a great way to gain a lot of insights and experience which is highly valued in lots of places.
Working in a competitive environment also gives morale to the person, moving forward in life. More often
than not, most of the higher level competitions come with huge prize money and the chance to collaborate
with people leading in the Industry. Here are some of the Fin based contests that you can apply to every
year.

International Level
Global case competition at Harvard
The Global Case Competition at Harvard is one of the world’s most prestigious student-organized case
competitions. ​The competition has attracted 750+ teams (3000+ students) across the world to compete for a
chance to win $10,000. Teams are given 3 weeks to prepare and submit a solution, and the top 10 teams will
be invited to pitch their solutions to a panel of judges composed of distinguished business executives and
Harvard Business School professors in April. The registrations usually begin in the month of November and
the case study is usually released during February. The competition requires a registration fee of $150.

National Investment Banking Competition

Usually held with the National Investment Banking conference as well, the competition allows all
undergraduate and graduate level students to participate in a case study-based competition for a prize pool
of $10000. The registrations usually begin in fall and the problem statements are released around Nov- Dec
with around 6-8 weeks given for the final submission. The second round happens around March along with
the conference giving a chance to network with various top investment bankers and leading officials in the
grand mela.

CFI Financial Modelling Case Competition

The CFI Financial Modelling Case Competition challenges participants to build a financial model for a
business and value the company. It is based on a private equity case study, where contestants receive a
Confidential Information Memorandum and must build a model, make recommendations, and create a
pitch to the judges on whether or not they recommend investing in the business. With a total Prize pool of
around $10000, The competition begins in November every year and over the course of a week, participants
must work to build a financial model and create a pitch to the esteemed panel of judges.

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National Level
Some of the famous case study contests around the country include Flipkart’s Wired, Hindustan Unilever’s
LIME, Amazon’s ace, Colgate’s Transcend etc which involves a lot of money including PPO offers. But
unfortunately these top contests are only open to the top MBA institutes in the country. Although there
might be very few contests that happen regularly which are open for all, there are a variety of contests that
happen every year across various colleges in the country also by companies. Especially keep an eye out
during the tech fests of the top IITs, NITs and IIM where many contests with huge prize pools of money
keep going on. Some of the popular ones organised this year are given below.

Finesse
Cryptocurrency Trading Contest to display your trading prowess organised by IIM Lucknow. The event will
be conducted on the CoinSwitch App and participants will be given 5 days to trade. The participant with the
maximum overall portfolio return rate during the length of the competition period wins. e esteemed panel
of judges.

IIT Madras’s own Shaastra and E-summit events

Every year during Shaastra and E-summit times, many finance and case study based activities are organised
in the Insti. Some of them organised this year include FINVENT which is a fin based quiz and case study
event with a prize pool of Rs 40,000 . Eco matrix is another case study event where the contestants were
tasked with a quiz and latest economic dilemma which demands concepts of economics to solve. The
competition consisted of three rounds with a prize pool of over Rs 40,000 again.

Shri Ram trading challenge and Olympiad

Organised by Shri Ram college of commerce , the contest is an intense Trading Challenge, an online mock-
stock competition to test your investment acumen. The competition will take place on the platform
StockGro, where the participants must create a virtual portfolio with virtual money. Over a one-week
period, the competition would be held on a virtual platform, but with real stocks and real-time price
movements. The trading champion would be the team with the highest portfolio value at the conclusion of
the one-week period. With a prize pool of over 5 lakhs, the competition happens usually in the month of
April. While the Olympiad happens in the month of November with a prize pool of over 10 lakhs.

Inter IIT and tech soc events

While these competitions don't involve money, it provides the well deserved recognition while also helping
your institute and hostel in the process. A variety of contests ranging from algo trading to quant events to
case studies to guesstimates, most of these competitions are team events which happen every year letting
you to participate in for as many number of times as you can with your enthu and ideas being your only
limitation.

In addition to this there are a variety of quizzes and contests around the Insti, so keep checking out your
emails often for more Information regarding those.

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OTHER RESOURCES
JANISHA, LAKSHYA, ABIVIDYAA

Analyst Role Prep

Analyst role is the most common campus profile.
Here are some important resources for those applying for Quant roles.
PS: Do your probability and coding prep well!

Puzzles & Probability

Brainstellar.com , Heard on the streets, CAT previous year papers, Bertsekas, 50 questions in probability

Coding - DSA for Quant

Practice on Leetcode, Hackerrank, Hacker Earth

In addition there are many good video resources (free YouTube channels). Example -
https://youtu.be/rHzggZDdtc4

Lastly, Some helpful practices !!

Read Financial articles daily on either Economic Times, Moneycontrol, or Finshots

Learn about the Stock markets & its functioning through the app - Zerodha Varsity

Have a strong understanding of Probability & Statistics and Puzzles as the tests of these companies
generally involve a lot of such topics besides the Coding section

Attain either the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or Financial Risk Manager (FRM) certification to
gain a big edge over others

Participate in competitions related to Finance such as Trading competitions, Equity research

competitions

Try to Intern at any Financial firm to gain practical experience thus making you a better fit for the
roles at the firms during Placements

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Summing up...
The most important thing at the end of the day is to
explore and leave insti with no regrets! So put yourself
out there and be crazy!!

Talk to equally crazy seniors, pick up a newspaper,

podcast or newsletter. Participate in any event or
competition that excites you, pair up with new people.

Remember, no goal is impossible.

Suits and Wolf of Wall Street ain't that far away :P

GOOD
LUCK!!

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