Programs

On the afternoon of April 16th, Kelly Xu and Qiansheng Zhang from MF 2010 were invited to share their life and work experience with students from class of MF 2015. More than 30 students had a close communication with alumni from MF on this Alumni Reunion Day. Kelly Xu now serves at the Research Division in Financial Markets Trading Center at CCB (China Construction Bank). Her work mainly involves research in precious metals and commodities, as well as product innovations management. Kelly shared with students her feelings for the MF program when she was still a student, and she is interested in the current development of MF program. She then introduced the Financial Markets Trading center at CCB and answered questions raised by students related to precious metals and commodities. She also expressed her own opinion on risk control for commodities trading and its price quoted in RMB. Qiansheng Zhang is now Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions Department at Haitong Securities. He has rich experiences in mergers and acquisitions business for domestic companies, designing merger and acquisition deal structure and business negotiations. He played a leading role in helping Giant Interactive get listed on A-share market as well as completing its acquisition for Playtika. He also acted as a chief leader in helping Greenland Holding Group acquire Shanghai Jinfeng Investment Corporation in a reverse merger, and helping Shanghai Huayi Group become listed. Qiansheng Zhang introduced the current situation in domestic capital markets on refinancing, M&A and IPO. He also shared his perspectives on cross border M&A and domestic capital market cycle, and answered students’ question about financial constraints at the end of 2016. He additionally shared his work experience and encouraged students from MF 15 to accumulate more knowledge and build a solid foundation at the beginning of future career. Wonderful time always seems to be transient. Inspired by their knowledge and experience in respective fields, students from MF 2015 are looking forward to start their own career in the near future.

On March 18th 2017, 6 students from MF 16 participated in the volunteer work of “Stray Animal Adoption Event” launched by “Think Adoption” and “Cats and Dogs League”. The event was meaningful in that it not only enhanced the teamwork among students, but also increased the awareness of animal protection. The adoption event consisted of two parts, including stray animal adoption and a charity sale. The 6 Volunteers from MF 16 were assigned different responsibilities in the event. 3 of them were responsible for the charity sale and the other 3 helped to care for the animals. 46 dogs and 19 cats were at the adoption, most of which were stray cats and dogs abandoned by their previous owners. These stray animals were rescued by the charity organizations and were temporarily fostered by them. The merchandise of the charity sale was provided by different animal charity organizations, including pet food, pet accessories, pet sterilizers and etc. The money raised from the charity sale would all be used to cover the temporary foster expenditure. The result of the adoption was inspiring. 6 dogs were adopted and found new homes. The volunteers were all proud of the efforts they made while realizing the fact that a lot of homebred animals were abandoned due to the irresponsibility of their owners. Furthermore, they became aware of the fact that purchase of pets can be replaced by adoption.

On a sunny afternoon in early spring, students from MF16 were exhilarated to have the chance to talk with Professor Charles Chang and Mr. Alan Qiu during Coffee Hour. Discussion topics ranged widely, from career pursuits, market trends to personal lifestyles. Professor Chang and Mr. Qiu both have a variety of experiences in the financial industry. Professor Chang has great achievements in academic researches, spanning the fields of investments, corporate finance, and behavioral finance. He also served as top management in asset management and private equity firms. Mr. Qiu also have an impressive experience of working at JP Morgan for over seven years as well as opening several famous fashion retail stores in China. Future trends Rapid development of high digital technology has brought huge benefits to students but also posed threats on our society. Professor Chang addressed this issue with students and talked about his opinion on disruptive changes that the future may bring. The conversation heated up between an eloquent professor and active listeners. Students kept raising questions and discussed with the professor regarding ethical and economic concerns of technology advancement. Career pursuits Impressed by Mr. Qiu’s brilliant life and professional experiences, students mainly inquired him about career choice, market outlook and lifestyles. Mr. Qiu shared his early life experience in investment banks, his love stories and fitness tips. Mr. Qiu’s easygoing and energetic personality inspired students and laughter accompanied the whole session. He emphasized that the most important for students is to find what one really loves and dedicate to it. Students had a great time talking with Prof. Chang and Mr. Qiu. The activity was especially meaningful as it not only taught students how to start a successful career, but more importantly, how to live a good life. Prof. Charles Chang Professor of Finance, SAIF Faculty Director, Master of Finance Program Faculty Director, LIVE Learning Center Ph.D. in Finance Haas School of Business Berkeley, CA, Teaching Interests: SAIF LIVE, Overseas Study Module, SAIF LIVE MIT China Lab Alan Qiu Senior Lecturer, SAIF Worked in the world-leading Yankee Bond Group at JP Morgan & Co.'s Fixed Income Capital Markets Department in New York, specializing in deal origination and participating in the execution of over $10 billion Yankee bond offerings.