Fall 2016: SF Fed and FAME VIII

Notes from the 2016.10.20 “Meet the Fed” meeting at the San Francisco Federal Reserve [MTF] and the 2016.10.29 Financial Asset Management Education VIII conference at San Francisco State University [FAME]

Making yourself more marketable

  1. Excel is used everywhere public and private. [MTF]
  2. Advanced training in Excel will help you move up in the organization. [MTF]
  3. Interview question you will hear: “Tell me about an Excel project that improved efficiency.” [MTF]
  4. Build up your programming skills, quantitative skills, and sales skills. [FAME]
  5. Facebook is looking for 10 economists but can’t find them. [MTF]
  6. Facebook looks for people who can take unstructured problems from start to finish. [MTF]
  7. You must work harder than those at Ivy League schools.  Those at Ivy League schools are lazy and arrogant. [FAME]
  8. You must get good grades to signal
    • how serious you are about what you are doing
    • your commitment to being a professional [FAME]

The economy

  1. Average educational attainment growth has slowed.  This places downward pressure on productivity. [MTF, John Williams]
  2. College graduation problem is greater than college debt problem.  Enrollment is up, but not graduation. [MTF]
  3. In the short-run, technology displaces jobs.  In the long-run, technology fuels productivity and job growth. [MTF]
  4. Indeed, Glassdoor: data analysis jobs are plentiful and growing. [MTF]
  5. IMF, World Bank, etc.: good starting point for recent grads to exercise their economics understanding. [MTF]
  6. No evidence that ACA affected part-time employment. [MTF]

SIF-related

  1. Capture research in a systematic fashion. [FAME]
  2. Establish a systematic process to screen a large set of available securities. [FAME]
  3. Price target based on P/E or P/B multiple. [FAME]
  4. Be patient and move slowly to avoid mistakes. [FAME]

General

  1. An expert is someone who has made a mistake in every possibly way. [FAME]
  2. Tinder has done you a disservice.  People do not know how to meet people. [FAME]
  3. Be passionate about whatever career your choose.  Those people move up the ladder. [FAME]
  4. Pay attention: the right place and right time happens all around you. [FAME]