What's your job about?
In the investment team, we are split into three sub-divisions: data analytic, operations and relationship. All divisions share a common goal, which is to provide the best solution by analyzing investors’ portfolio, make sure investors get their returns on Investment (ROI) and to answer our investors’ inquiries swiftly. In my first two months, I helped my mentor in data analytics. The tasks given to me have well-structured SOP so it is easy for an intern or newcomer to follow and perform our job. In my case, I was lacking excel skills and I made up for it by studying the logic behind each formula during my weekends. Hence, it is good to know some data analytics formulae beforehand (VLOOKUP, SUMIFS, COUNTIFS etc.). After two months, I was given a task to onboard investors who opened an investment account on CapBay’s mobile app. This task, known as KYC, was mildly challenging but also doable for novices like me. Other than that, I constructed some graphs from the past data to have a better understanding of our investors. Furthermore, I was also tasked to obtain data of our competitors to have a better grasp of the market, our position in the market relative to that of our competitors’.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Yes, someone with a different background can do my job. This is because my mentor guides his intern step by step and explains his expectations clearly. Furthermore, the well-structured SOP definitely helps me to do my jobs properly. While someone with a basic understanding of excel formulae and data analytic would have an edge in the job, critical thinking and learning are key to eventually mastering the work. In addition, professional writing skill is a plus; one must be able to draft professional emails to communicate with other departments, investors and your superior.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The reason why I like this job is because I get to learn concepts that I have not heard of in school. For instance, jargon specific to the fintech industry. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to join external meetings in which two companies discussed the possibility of future collaboration and other matters. In these meetings, one can understand the uniqueness of the company and the industry better.
What are the limitations of your job?
In these four months of my internship placement with CapBay, I think I received just enough responsibility as an intern. My current position is not physically demanding as all we need is to move our fingers. If one would like to fill in my current position, my advice to him/her is to get a back rest cushion so you do not feel stiff after a long time sitting in the office. Furthermore, we do not need to work on weekends unless there is an event. However, the only limiting factor I have in my current job is my communication skill, which puts a barrier when I need to communicate with other departments to request data, clients’ or investors’ information. Due to my lack of communication skill, I am unable to properly express my uneasiness. My advice to everyone who is in my shoes is this: voice out your worries, people in CapBay (or ‘CapBaes’) don’t bite; in fact, they are very friendly and helping beings!