CAFIN Continues to Support Finance Education

In Spring Quarter 2018, for the second time, CAFIN supported a seminar for Economics students
interested in careers in finance, and in becoming Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
charterholders. The seminar is conducted by Dr. Kai Pommerenke, a PhD alumnus of UCSC and
Research Affiliate of CAFIN.

Prior to joining UCSC, Dr. Pommerenke worked as a management consultant advising many
financial institutions on behalf of Booz & Co., founded an EdTech startup, and worked for a
large European FinTech company. He is himself a CFA Charterholder, and was instrumental in
working with Prof. Eric Aldrich, Associate Director of CAFIN, to include UCSC’s Business
Management Economics Program in the CFA Institute’s University Recognition Program. UCSC
was the first UC campus to obtain this status.

Dr. Pommerenke considers the CFA qualification as the “gold standard” in the investment world
(see Helping finance grads hit the ground running, by J.D. Hillard, for an account of the
seminar’s inaugural offering, and its motivation). He describes the seminar he runs, “The course
has two objectives: Giving students insights into the CFA program and helping them get a
perspective on a career in finance. A range of amazing guest speakers shared their experience
with the students and gave them great advice about finding a job in finance and working
successfully in a finance position, whether corporate finance or asset management.”

The list of speakers for Spring 2018 was as follows:

Students from the seminar offered their opinions on their experiences in the seminar and its benefits.

Holly Beckenbach: "This was a great course to discover all of the possible careers in finance."

Miles Miles Mccaulou: "Speakers were inspiring in that they helped clear confusion about the complex finance industry."

Robert Rodier Potter: "Before this course I did not know what I was going to do with myself but this class gave me a better idea of what I wanted and didn't want as a career."

Elizabeth Houseman: "An eye-opening experience about the world of finance and the vast array of job opportunities in contains."

Tenzin Chodak: "A useful class to get an insight in the finance industry while also creating networks and possibly getting an internship."

Shirley Huang: "This course has been valuable because I've gained so much insight about careers in the world of finance. After taking this class, I would definitely consider career opportunities in finance."

Binh-Quoc Pham: "Great array of speakers. Tons of opportunities to connect and learn about potential jobs and careers. An absolute great way to end my last quarter at UCSC."

Joseph Cho: "An amazing resource for prospective finance professionals to learn about the intricacies of the different fields of finance."

Ayushi Parmar:  "Econ 194F was the perfect course to take to complement my other finance courses because it gave me the opportunity to talk to and learn from professionals in the finance industry. The speakers gave really useful academic and professional advice."

William Hernandez: "Great insight into the world of finance."

Christopher Bean: "I feel that this course provided me with some of the most relevant life information from a number of professionals that far surpassed any textbook formulas."