In Conversation with CQF Alumni: Frederick Tremblay

Tell us about the work you do in your current role?

I lead the Investment Solutions teams for individual investors at Desjardins. This includes the development and management of structured notes, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, guaranteed investment funds, and fixed income solutions (e.g., annuities). My team also monitor and select external portfolio managers when needed. As Head of Investment Solutions, I am also the Chief Operating Officer for a Desjardins subsidiary (i.e. Desjardins Investments).     

Why did you decide to pursue your current career path and how did you get to the senior level that you’re at today?

I had come to a point in my career where I wanted to contribute more to the strategic direction of the organization. I was already widely recognized within the organization for my expertise in quantitative finance when applied to portfolio management, but I began to feel less and less that I wanted to be recognized in just this way. My intrapreneur side started to take over.  

What do you enjoy most about your current role?

In my role, I see a real diversity of issues and challenges. There is a constant need to adapt. Investment is at the center of several disciplines, such as economics, accounting, finance, probability and statistics, and investor behavior. To perform well in investment, you must be willing to learn and adapt. It is also an area where teamwork is essential if you want to be competitive. In my youth, team sport was always important to me. Now, as a manager, some of the most satisfying moments occur during team projects. This is what motivates and animates me daily.

What are some of the biggest achievements or highlights in your career to date?

One of my biggest achievements to date has been the development of the structured notes program for external investors. It was a great achievement for the organization. To be a leading structured products firm requires mastery of several aspects - technology, legal, business development, and product. We had a small group of people who were passionate, knowledgeable, and willing to invest. As a result, the transition to the new program was a great collective success. Since then, the asset has grown significantly, and the organization has been rewarded by the industry on several occasions including being named ‘House of the Year’ in Canada for the past four years and ‘Best House for Capital Protection’ in the Americas at the SRP Americas Awards in 2023*.  This is something that we want to replicate in other business lines.

What have been some of the biggest challenges in your field of work over the past few years?

The external perception of the industry has always been an issue. The public has often viewed the investment industry as opaque, and the 2007-08 Global Financial Crisis did not help that perception. Since then, I think the industry has made progress on transparency, both in terms of costs and in terms of how the products work. The introduction of increased regulation has also greatly helped.

The level of competition in the industry can also be another challenge. Investment management is an industry full of organizations and talented people. It’s a good challenge that I like to take on. I think it forces players in the industry to step up their game to remain competitive for the benefit of clients.

How has the quant finance industry changed throughout your career to date?

Quant finance is an industry that has increasingly opened to other disciplines. There are more and more actuaries, engineers (physics, mechanics, computer), and data scientists trained in quantitative finance. It is also an industry that is becoming increasingly concerned with being transparent and with educating the investor public. Once again, this is an area where the Global Financial Crisis left its mark. That said, the industry, supported by the regulator, has evolved significantly in recent years.

You earned the Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF). Where did the CQF add value to your career? 

The CQF played an important role for me in my mid-career. It allowed me to update my training in quantitative finance and add depth to my skills in this field. The CQF program allowed me to accelerate my level of appropriation of the essential elements in mathematics, finance, and programming. The hindsight of an experienced professional allowed me a better mastery of the models commonly used in the industry. The practical aspect throughout the curriculum was also beneficial in developing the intuition behind the models used to apply them in appropriate situations.

In your opinion, what are the skillsets that are required to be successful in quantitative finance today and do you think different skills will become more important over the coming years? 

The industry increasingly needs people who are committed and willing to fully invest in their organization (intrapreneurship). That wasn’t necessarily the case when I came into the industry about 20 years ago, where it was well-regarded in a resume to have worked in several organizations. The other skills required if you want to succeed in this profession are to have a penchant for questioning, to have the ability to work in ambiguity, and to be a good communicator to be able to influence the organization. This is, of course, in addition to mastering the essential quantitative finance skills needed in this field. This is where the CQF greatly helped me a few years ago.

What would your advice be to someone starting a career in the industry?

Today, quantitative finance professionals must look beyond their own expertise to evolve successfully in their profession. You must enjoy working as a team, be able to adapt, want to continue learning, and be willing to leave your comfort zone. These are essential to enable our respective organizations to benefit from our talents and skills and for us to contribute optimally to their business objectives.

*Structured Retail products. "SRP Americas Awards 2023: all the winners!" - SRP News. [cited September 19, 2023]. Evaluation for the Best House, Canada award and the Best House, Capital Protection award is based on the following criteria and weightings: Annual sales as in the SRP database in the year to the end of March 2023 with a 75% weighting and a survey score with a 25% weighting. The survey score is based on the average rating across various criteria given to each contender by survey respondents. Evaluation for the Best Capital Protected Distributor, Americas award is based on the following criteria and weightings: annual sales as in SRP’s database in the year to the end of March 2023 with a 50% weighting; and sales-weighted average performance as in SRP’s database for products maturing or expiring in the year ending March 31, 2023 with a 50% weighting.