The Wall Street Lab

Alina Sychova has more than 18 years of experience in Investment Banking. Currently as the head of capital markets origination at Sova Capital, a UK based Broker specializing in Emerging Markets. Previously, Alina was a managing director and the head of equity Capital markets at Gazprom bank. And before that, the head of ECM origination in Russia and CIS that's the Commonwealth of independent states at City. Alina clan the ranks at Bank of America Merrill Lynch from an Analyst to Director. All those jobs have a strong focus on investment banking for emerging markets across Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Alina holds a master's degree in finance from London Business School, a bachelor's degree in finance, and a bachelor's degree in international finance, both cum laude from pyramidal College of New Jersey.

In this episode we deep dive into Investment Banking, more specifically into IPOs. Alina leads us through the entire process a company does from deciding to go public, to the first days of trading on an exchange. We talk about the checklist IPO items, as well as the creative, artistic parts of taking a company public as an investment bank. We explore Investment Banking in Emerging Markets and the differences to developed markets. Alina shares with us her views on industry trends, opportunities for young bankers, especially women interested in IB. Alina also shares and her own story making career in this male dominated IB world. And of course she gives great advice for young professionals and many jumping off points for a round 2.

Michael Berns is Director for AI & FinTech at PwC. Michael has a broad background across blue chip names such as Morgan Stanley & Moody's as well as a range of smaller innovative AI Firms. Michael has been a Mentor and Judge for organizations like Startup Bootcamp, Virgin Money Startup, Cocoon Network, Level 39, MIT Inclusive Innovation Competition and the United Nations World Food Program. Michael is als a guest lecturer at London Business School and Mannheim Business School. Michael holds an Executive MBA from London Business School.

In this episode we revisit AI in Finance and Banking and we are busting some myths about common misconceptions people have about it's adoption. We also get into the difference in AI adoption across several regions across the world. We talk about regulation, use cases, and much more. Michael also gives some advice on getting your career path right and resources on how to start with AI.

Lutfey is a Visiting Professor-in-Practice (IDEAS - "Ranked #1 university-affiliated think-tank 2020") at LSE, the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he also is aMember of Scientific Advisory Board at the LSE Systemic Risk Centre. At LSE he is also Co-investigator of the Inclusion Initiative, a Former member of the LSE Court of Governors & Investment Committee.

He is also an Adjunct Professor at the National University of Singapore, where he also is part of the Advisory board of the Centre for Governance & Sustainability.

Furthermore, Lutfey is a Member of the Global Agenda Council or Global Future Council of the World Economic Forum. He is also a member of the Bretton Woods Committee and on several more boards.

Previously Lutfey was the Global Head of Emerging Markets (FX, Rates & Credit) and Founding Head of the Knowledge Network at UBS, where he also was a Sustainability Council & Opinion Leader. Before that, Lutfey was the Head of FX Distribution & Corporate Risk Advisory for Asia-Pacific at Barclays Capital and Head of FX Structuring at Deutsche Bank.

In this episode we explore the realm of global risk management and then deep dive into a key ingredient in making financial firms more resilient: inclusion and diversity. Lutfey takes his impressive vita as a baseline to talk about the changing understanding of risk in the context of a global financial institution. We go into leadership and inclusion frameworks firms and leaders can apply to have a more stable setting for risk management. We talk about the short term cost and obstacles of inclusion and diversity, and why it's worth the initial trouble due to the sustained long term benefits. Lutfey gives advice on what to possibly anchor your career on in the next decade, how to prepare for a global leadership role, and other great tips for professional improvement.

Robert Almgren is the Chief Scientist and co-founder of Quantitative Brokers. Rob was previously a professor of mathematics at the University of Chicago, the University of Toronto, and currently teaches High-Frequency Markets at Princeton University. Prior to QB, Robert was a Managing Director and Head of Quantitative Strategies in the Electronic Trading Services group at Bank of America until 2008. Robert Almgren completed a B.S. in physics and a B.S. in mathematics at MIT, then an M.S. in Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. He holds a Ph.D. in Applied and Computational Mathematics from Princeton University.

In this episode we nerd out a bit: We get deep into the weeds of optimal trade execution, particularly in Fixed Income and Futures markets. We talk about the history, theory, and practice of minimizing trading costs by minimizing slippage in fixed income markets. We learn why trade execution is an important topic to think about, how to measure optimal trade execution and what research is done to further improve it. We dive into the ideas of the quantitative models and methods used and get some tips on where to learn more about the increasing quantification of financial markets.

Hello and Welcome to another episode of the Wall Street Lab Podcast.

I am currently in the offices of Solactive in Frankfurt. The second in person interview in a very long time. With me is today's guest: Timo Pfeiffer. Timo is the Chief Markets Officer of Solactive and in charge of Research, Sales, and Communications. He joined in 2017 as Head of Research & Business Development, after working for more than 15 years at Deutsche Bank, where he has held various management positions in London and Frankfurt. Most recently, he served as Managing Director in charge of Structured Products distribution in Europe. He holds a bachelor's degree from the Berufsakademie in Mosbach.

In this episode we explore the world of indices. You all have heard of the biggest indices, use them probably every day, but how much do you know about their origin, creation, administration? This is our topic for today. We look at the life of an index from beginning to end. Who comes up with the idea? How does the creation process work? What are the use cases? How to maintain an index? And in the end, what is the point of termination for an index? We speak a lot about trends and themes, like thematic investing, ETFs, sustainability, and much more.

Our guest today is Michaela Walsh. Michaela is an activist, scholar, mentor, educator, and author. She was the Founding President of Women's World Banking. Women's World Banking is the global leader in women's financial inclusion. Prior to that, Michaela served as a Project Director for the U.S. Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, and as a Program Associate with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Michaela also was a pioneer woman manager with Merrill Lynch in Beirut, Lebanon, in the '60s, and the first woman Partner of Boettcher & Company in the '70s, and in 1980.

This episode is a rare one. Michaela at 86 years old has a treasure trove of experience and is a true force of nature. We talk about the founding idea of women's world banking, the issues it wanted to solve, the story how it came into existence. We talk about Michaela's experience in female financial inclusion and the positive effects of it. We talk about how WWB financed over 100 million women over the years and became one of the most important financial institutions for female empowerment.

Daniel Faggella is the Founder, CEO, and Head of Research at Emerj Artificial Intelligence Research. He is also a Member of the OECD Network of Experts on AI, a Fellow at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies. Daniel previously founded Science of Skill, CLVboost, and Black Diamond Mixed Martial Arts Academy, so we have someone with a very specific and similarly broad experience set. Dan also hosts a total of 3 podcast: The AI in Business Podcast, The AI in Consulting Podcast, The AI in Financial Services Podcast. Dan holds a Masters degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Positive Psychology and a bachelors in Psychology and Kinesiology with a Minor in business.

In this episode, we get into AI for financial services. Daniel talks about the true distribution of AI funding for banks, how one needs to cut through the tweets and press releases to check where money in AI is actually flowing. We talk about how to research AI use cases, and how to think about investing in AI as a bank. How to think about ROI (Return on Investment) before doing an AI project, and the answer might surprise you: It is not always hard Dollars that might be a project's true ROI. And of course Daniel gives us a lot of places to further dive into AI for the finance space.

Hugo Bongers is the Head of ABN Amro Ventures, the 150 million Euro Corporate Venture Capital fund of Dutch Bank ABN Amro. His mission is to make strategic investments in early-stage (series A and onwards) tech and fintech companies which are relevant for the bank. His job is to scout for innovative companies, invest in them, connect them with relevant stakeholders within the bank. Hugo is on the board of a lot of startups, like solarisbank, penta, crosslend, just to name a view. Hugo has a background in acquisition finance and private equity. Hugo holds Masters degrees in law and economics from Utrecht University.

In this episode we talk about the Corporate Venture Capital arm of ABN Amro. We talk about how Hugo sources his deals, his decision criteria on when to invest in startups. His value proposition to startup founders and how he deals with internal and external stakeholders of the bank. We go into the latest market developments, the recent rise in valuations even in early stages before hitting a positive cash flow. And of course, we give some interesting career advice.

Colin Lancaster is a 25-year Wall Street professional. He has run two of the highest profile global macro businesses for the top-performing hedge funds in the world and has worked directly for a number of the icons in the investing world. Most recently he was Head of Global Macro Strategies at Citadel and prior to that he was Head of Global Macro at Balyasny Asset Management. He has managed investment operations in London, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Colin is a graduate of Princeton University and is a lawyer by training. Colin is also the author of the book "Fed Up! - Success, Excess and Crisis Through the Eyes of a Hedge Fund Macro Trader". It tells the story of a global macro trader working amidst the greatest market panic we have seen since the Great Depression.

In this episode we talk about hedge funds, and Global macro especially. We get into how the field has changed over the years. We also talk about Colin's experience about modern financial markets chronicling the men and women who make them move. Can they beat the markets, or will the markets beat them? We further talk about the aspects of repositioning one's portfolio during a crisis. How does one behave as a trader when the markets crash? We get into Colin's book and the learnings he wants to bring across in writing it.

Jean-Christophe or JC de Swaan is a lecturer in the economics department at Princeton University, where he is affiliated with the Bendheim Center for Finance. He teaches courses on ethics in finance and on Asian capital markets to undergraduate and graduate students. He also teaches at the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. In the past he has taught at Yale University, Hong Kong UST, and Cheung Kong Business School in Beijing. Separately, JC de Swaan is a Partner at Cornwall Capital, an investment fund based in New York. Prior to Cornwall, he was a senior advisor on China at a global macro fund and an investment professional at an Asia-dedicated hedge fund. Prior to that, JC de Swaan worked at McKinsey & Company. JC de Swaan received his B.A. from Yale University in Political Science, an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, and a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School. He is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an Associate Fellow of Ezra Stiles College, Yale University. He is the author of Seeking Virtue in Finance: Contributing to Society in a Conflicted Industry (Cambridge University Press).