Hometown: Montreal, Canada
After earning his bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in philosophy from McGill University in Canada, Alex Marchi was ready to relocate to New York City to pursue his Master of Science in financial engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. He has chosen to focus on quantitative trading because that is where he envisions his professional future.
Alex found this program to be highly appealing due to its unbeatable location in New York and its expansive breadth. “You can create your own track and develop a finely tuned skill set to help you reach your goals,” he explains. “At the same time, the large number of courses offered allows students to sample different fields within financial engineering to help unlock your passion. I would strongly recommend this program.”
The classes Alex selects are concentrated both on bolstering his existing strengths and developing in-depth expertise. His favorite class so far was Statistical Arbitrage because it was the first course that allowed him to apply his theoretical background and attain tangible results. Alex was impressed by Professor Daniel Totouom-Tangho’s considerable classroom talents, as well. “He made the course material accessible to all,” he says. “And his passion was contagious!”
Alex is also broadening his abilities through the practical approach taken by many of his professors. “The majority of my courses have final projects that require a heavy amount of work and thorough understanding of the material,” he says. “I find these projects to be hugely beneficial as they require me to go above and beyond the content we have covered in class.” Next up, Alex will be putting his work ethic and knowledge to use as a quantitative trading analyst for UBS.