Quant Gold Book Honoree - Margit Zwemer

Advanced Trading 2008 Quant Gold Book Banner

Margit Zwemer, The University of California at Berkeley

Margit Zwemer, University of California at Berkeley

Vital Stats

HOMETOWN: Atlanta
Master's Program:
University of California at Berkeley (Haas School of Business), Master in Financial Engineering
Undergraduate Degree:
Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Stanford University
Honors: Graduated with Departmental Honors. My senior thesis on computational topology was awarded Stanford's Firestone Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. I also earned varsity letters in NCAA women's crew (2004-06).
Internships: I will be starting an internship as a credit derivatives strategist at Goldman Sachs in London this October.
Mentor: My senior thesis adviser in college, Dr. Gunnar Carlsson.

Email this Profile

Interview Conducted By Cristina McEachern

Qualifications and Background
Aspirations
Beyond the Numbers

AT: Why did you choose to pursue a master's degree in finance, and why did you choose the University of California at Berkeley's program?

Zwemer: I chose the Berkeley program over the equivalent top five because it has more of a business focus. Coming from a math background, what I was most lacking was the business experience. Also, I went to the interviews, talked to alumni, and it sounded like what I was looking for. I had graduated in 2006 and was living in Shanghai and traveling for a year and a half when I got into the program.

AT: What is your math background? Do you have any programming experience?

Zwemer: I was a math major as an undergrad and started focusing on math fairly young, entering math contests in junior high. As for my programming background, I was the kind of kid who went to computer camp. My father was a technology entrepreneur in Georgia, so my summer internships were generally programming-based. I worked for an engineering company one summer, which was good hands-on experience. Then, while I was an undergrad at Stanford, I thought, "Why not go from math to finance?" And I realized I find algorithms a lot more interesting than theorems. It's not so much why you can do something but how you can do it. In a trading context it's about looking for something that is going to work and making sure it makes money both in the short term and long term. It's an interesting challenge.

AT: What classes are you taking that will be essential to helping you be more prepared for a job on Wall Street?

Zwemer: For me it's been a lot of economics-based classes. My hardest class in the first quarter was econometrics. I was learning how to get rubber to the road -- I know the math; now how do I apply it to finance? If you can't program, you can't actually do anything. Programming is key, and I've picked up a few new languages. Also, my product-specific classes have been interesting. This quarter I'm doing a lot of credit risk, which is especially interesting and relevant right now -- learning how not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

AT: What first interested you in Wall Street?

Zwemer: What really made me seriously pursue Wall Street were conversations with math friends who had gone that track. The opinion I most valued was, is this a place where math skills are useful and valuable, and are they doing well and interested. I was always interested in a wide variety of topics, and financial markets brings a lot of those together. Yes, there's the math, but you have to draw on economics, political situations, behaviors, etc. And being at the intersection of a large number of fields -- taking whatever works from each of them.

AT: How would you rate your knowledge of the business of financial services, on a scale of 1 to 10?

Zwemer: I'm going to put myself at a 5 at this point after living and breathing this for a year. I know more about it than anyone casually reading the paper, but less than anyone actually working there. Book knowledge is great, but I know it doesn't always map into the real world. Ask me after I've been working in the city for a few months.

AT: How has your background prepared you for the practical task of analyzing data?

Zwemer: I was lucky on the programming aspect. The statistical I learned the same way I learned how to cook -- suddenly it became necessary in college. My background involved a lot of programming and a lot of dealing with data that had previously been only amenable to statistical techniques.

AT: Why did you choose to pursue a career on Wall Street?

Zwemer: After I graduated [from Stanford], I was traveling and job hunting, and the idea was to talk to as many math friends who had gone into applied areas as possible. A friend from Stanford went to Citigroup, so I asked if what he was doing was interesting -- "does it use your skills and is what you do valuable?" The answer was yes. And many people he worked with have the same type of quantitative background. One year isn't enough to teach you to think mathematically, but if you have a background [in math], it's enough to teach you how to apply those skills to economic data.

AT: In what type of role would you like to start?

Zwemer: I'm going off to start an internship with Goldman [Sachs] in London as a credit derivatives strategist, and I was thrilled when I got that position. It was exactly what I was looking for. I'd like to convert that into a full-time job if possible.

AT: What do you see yourself doing in two years? In 10 years?

Zwemer: In two years I'll be in a strategist role, more of an expert than I am now. Then, depending on how the market changes in 10 years, to a certain extent I've drunk the Goldman Kool-Aid, so to speak, and would love to make my career there. I can see myself starting on the quantitative sell side then moving to the buy side.

AT: Name three firms you'd like to work for.

Zwemer: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup. Then I'd like to see what's on the buy side further in the future.

AT: What sets you apart from other candidates?

Zwemer: I'd actually focus on the math background first. A lot of my colleagues are physics and engineering majors. They're brilliant people, but it's a different mind-set. Having the math training has a certain flexibility to it and definitely differentiates me. I'm comfortable with the numbers and then can look past the numbers and see what they actually mean.

Also, I have two X chromosomes. This is definitely not a field with a lot of women, and I'm fine with that. My mother is a biology professor at Emory, so I've seen that side and how you can become a female scientist. My mother is going to be my main role model in how to deal with that situation and deal with it well. It's a unique female perspective to see someone who can multitask -- the best of them are usually females.

AT: What three questions would you ask a prospective employer?

Zwemer: Right now they all would have to deal with the current economic situation: When did you realize this crisis was brewing, and what did you do? What are you doing right now [to address the market turmoil], and where do you see things going in the future? The answers would tell me a lot about the culture of the firm, its processes and some quantitative information. I'd want to know whether the firm is going to be around in six months, so I'd ask about risk management: Is that an area that you listen to, or do traders view [risk managers] as the enemy? Is there talent in the risk management department?

Previous Profile

Next Profile

Popular Articles