Our theme this week is Dream Team – how the stars can align, and the destinies of people can intertwine.

We are joined today by two QUAAF alumni, and MFIN class of 2019 co-presidents Romel & Yacine.

Romel was born and raised in Montreal, and became a financial advisor at National Bank after graduating from a BBA in Finance from HEC Montreal. After passing the first two CFA levels, Romel decided that he wanted to dive deeper in the world of investment analysis and left his job to focus on personal research, analysis, and his investment portfolio. Romel joined the Smith MFin program where, in addition to school, he participated in and won multiple case competitions, and became involved in QUAAF, becoming the Director of Portfolio management. Post-graduation, Romel joined a leading private equity firm and has since moved to his current role at Scotiabank in Equity Research covering the REITs.

Yacine grew up in Montreal after moving from Morocco at the age of 10. During high school, Yacine dabbled in electronic music and dreamed of having a career as a DJ and music producer, and even got a record deal, but ultimately decided finance was a more suitable path. Yacine attended Concordia University’s finance program, passed the first two CFA levels, and sought out a graduate program to take his knowledge and skills to the next level. During his time in the Smith MFin program, Yacine was a finalist in the CFA research challenge and graduated top of the program. Yacine then joined Fiera Capital’s Canadian equities team for a 10 month internship and has since moved to his current role at Scotiabank in Equity Research covering the technology sector.

To assist in navigating the episode, some highlighted areas of discussion are:

3:20 – Background and schooling

3:42 – When did you know finance was it?

8:03 – What made you want to pursue grad school and the MFin

13:52 – Which markets were you investing in? [Opinion]

17:54 – Comment on The Intelligent Investor

19:37 – How did you two meet?

21:51 – Joint campaign

24:44 – What was the most impactful experience in the program?

34:07 – Life in equity research

38:04 – What do you see changing in the finance industry? [Opinion]

40:10 – What variables do you see evolving that may put current roles at risk if they don’t change? [Opinion]

41:35 – How do commissions work in Capital Markets?

43:23 – How does this impact your overall market approach?

46:58 – How did QUAAF help your career?

50:21 – What advice do have for people wanting to be an analyst?

56:15 – Investment strategies [Opinion]

1:02:31 – Any final thoughts / plans down the road

1:06:00 – Fan Favorite – Rapid Fire Questions [Just for Fun]

1.14.32 – Outtakes, including recommendations on poutine spots [Just for Fun]