Columbia Business School Essay #1
Given your individual background, why are you pursuing a Columbia MBA at this time?
PART B
My background as a sales-trader in Equity Derivatives at XXX has afforded opportunities to build experience and expertise in highly technical derivative markets and securities. However, I want to continue to gain mastery of new and different disciplines in the financial services industry to pursue my goal of Portfolio Management at an investment management firm so I can have a greater impact within the financial sector.
I am confident a Columbia MBA will diversify my financial skill set beyond derivatives, and help me develop a deeper understanding of corporate finance, accounting, strategy, credit, distressed debt markets, and both applied value and event driven investing to help me attain my short-term goal and prepare me for my long term objective.
The shared passion towards Investment Management that is pervasive amongst Columbia’s student body and faculty is a key reason behind my conviction that Columbia is perfectly suited to my career goals. The CSIMA’s annual investment conference, which gathers leaders like Dan Loeb, Howard Marks, Seth Klarman, and David Einhorn, is an example of Columbia ability’s to attract talent for its student body. These men are legitimate heroes of mine and opportunities to network with leaders of this magnitude will prove invaluable when I begin my search for post MBA jobs.
As someone who worked on the XXX trading floor through the confusing and fearful moments of 08’, as well as the Flash Crash in May 10, I look forward to gaining insights from Professor Charles Jonesand his research and writings on short sellers, automated markets, algorithmic trading, and market liquidity.
As my ultimate goal is Investing, I plan to focus much of my attention at the Heilbrunn Center for Graham and Dodd Investing. While Bruce Greenwald’s Value Investing course is invaluable for achieving my short-term goals in Investment Management, I am also looking forward to learning from the adjunct professors the Heilbrunn center attracts, like David Greenspan, Joel Greenblatt, or Munib Islam of Third Point Capital.
In addition, I plan to use my professional experiences at XXX to apply for a spot in the coveted Value Investing Program. The training and experience the program provides would greatly enhance my potential to having an impactful career in Portfolio Management.
Another component central to Columbia being perfectly suited to my career objectives is the Eugene Lang center. As my ultimate goal is to start and run my own Investment fund, I require not only top-notch financial training, but also a deeper understanding of Entrepreneurialism and Innovation. Columbia’s Entrepreneurship program hinges upon two distinct principles which are both directly applicable to my ultimate goal of launching an Investment Fund: identifying, valuing, and capturing opportunity, and doing so with individual initiative in the face of high uncertainty and/or tight resources. When I learned that CBS had a dedicated Entrepreneurship center with its focal doctrine to institutionalize, emphasize, and formalize the practice and ideas of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, I became even more certain that CBS is the best place to help me achieve my goals.
