INTEGRATIVE THINKING AND YOUR CAREER IN...
Investment Management

The Rotman Finance area has been ranked by the Financial Times in the top ten worldwide for five of the last six years, alongside Wharton, NYU and London Business School. But in the competitive world of business education, Rotman has one key advantage that none of those schools can match: an innovative approach built on Integrative Thinking.

Our students receive a solid grounding in all the functional areas of business: Finance, Accounting, Strategic Management, etc. But they also learn how to think beyond them to consider the big picture, approaching each challenge with creativity, a willingness to consider multiple perspectives, and the ability to build new and better models. Our groundbreaking approach can help you shape your business — and the world— for the better.

Currently, more than 1,600 Rotman alumni work in financial services in places like Toronto, Hong Kong, New York and London. Meet some recent graduates who are putting Integrative Thinking to work in the world of Investment Management:

Pavan Mirla (MBA), Senior Analyst, Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board: In the world of finance, failure to assess numerous influencing variables and interrelations among them can be punishing. Rotman taught me the golden rule: For sound judgment, one has to appreciate conflicting opinions, ask probing questions and postpone judgment until all opinions are considered without any bias."

Risa Goldberg (MBA), Private Equity Associate, Clairvest Group Inc.: “As a private equity associate, I am constantly faced with people in different operational roles and from all walks of life. While I initially believed that decision making was primarily driven by numbers, over half is directly related to the human element. I must be prepared on a daily basis to discuss an acquisition with a CFO, analyze sales performance with the sales team, discuss strategy with an entrepreneur, and analyze an investment opportunity with my peers. My Integrative Thinking training has given me the tools to look at each situation and understand the frame of reference I am dealing with – particularly when working with multiple people, sometimes with clashing opinions. It enables me to communicate on a meaningful level and work collaboratively.”

Amin Nathoo (MBA), Investment Associate, TD Asset Management, Toronto: "The training I received at Rotman is extremely beneficial in three critical areas. First, there is a misconception that investment management professionals rely solely on financial data to build their models and analyze companies. However, analysts must take a holistic approach to assessing an organization's strategy and how each business function interrelates with and impacts the others. Understanding the importance of taking a cross-organizational view is one of the first things we learned at Rotman. Second, many investors are entrenched in their approach to investing and many portfolio managers falsely believe that their particular approach is the only one that provides superior returns in the long run. However, as I am learning quickly, those who can look past existing mental models can create a new integrated approach by being more nimble and shifting between value and growth as market conditions warrant. Third, the most critical component of selecting the right stock is not the analysis of a company's prospects or finances. Rather, it lies in understanding investor sentiment and how it impacts the decisions to buy or sell securities. This is where the critical reasoning skills I learned in Dean Roger Martin's course are proving to be extremely useful."

Narinder Dhami (MBA), Consultant, Première Agence de Microfinance, AKAM – l’Afrique de l’Ouest: "Maintaining a 'double bottom line' – i.e., considering both economic and social objectives -- forms the unique foundation of Microfinance Institutions and necessitates the application of ‘outside-the-box’ solutions to multidimensional challenges. Flexibility and creativity are the outputs of practising Integrative Thinking – a valuable tool attained through my Rotman experience. In my current role, the application of Integrative Thinking has proved extremely useful in identifying solutions that fit the local West African environment (Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Mali), creating harmony with cultural norms and addressing the poverty reduction and financial sustainability objectives of my institution."  

Kelley Gauthier (MBA), Associate, Mercer Responsible Investment, Toronto: “My two years at Rotman really opened my eyes to the fantastic opportunities that lie at the intersection of the business and social sectors. There is a strong need for qualified and enthusiastic candidates in these fields, and the leading-edge thinking, academic research and networking opportunities of the Rotman MBA prepared me to move forward in my career.”

Investment Management firms recruiting at Rotman in the past few years include:

• Visit the website for the student-run Rotman Asset Management Association.
  
• Review our majors in Funds Management and Risk Management & Financial Engineering.
  
• Read the MBA Employment & Salary Report, prepared annually by our Corporate Connections Centre.
  
• Review our Finance courses, compulsory and elective.
  
• Review our Integrative Thinking courses, compulsory and elective.
  
• Visit the website for our state-of-the-art Financial Research & Trading Lab.