During my studies at Goethe University in Frankfurt, where I earned both my bachelor's and master's degrees, I discovered my passion for asset management—particularly systematic investing. Currently, I work as a Fixed Income Portfolio Manager at Quoniam, a leading firm in quantitative asset management in Germany, where I manage fixed income portfolios for institutional clients. 
 

Quoniam is a quant-focused and data-driven firm, where expertise in modeling is as crucial as financial knowledge. This emphasis on sophisticated modeling was a key factor in my decision to pursue the CQF. Although I studied mathematics at university, my education was largely theoretical with minimal real-world application. This gap in real-world relevance motivated me to advance my skills through the CQF.  
 

The program’s structure, with exams designed as small projects, allowed me to apply the skills and techniques learned to real-world financial problems. This project-based approach gave me the opportunity to experiment, apply my knowledge to diverse scenarios, and solidify my understanding. 
 

On the logistical side, I organized my study schedule around work, watching lectures in the evenings. I divided the CQF program into two stages (Level I and Level II), which allowed me to thoroughly review the material and apply it to real-world problems in my job. For instance, working with machine learning techniques, I reinforced my understanding by experimenting with various datasets and identifying areas for improvement. One of the most valuable aspects of the CQF is the ability to immediately bring new knowledge into the workplace, allowing you to test ideas on data that is directly relevant to your work. 
 

In my current role, I manage fixed income funds for institutional clients, with a focus on global credit strategies. All of our strategies are systematic, relying on quantitative models to drive investment decisions. Given the data-intensive nature of our work and the use the data science techniques continuously improving our models is essential. Although markets generally become more efficient over time, they are far from static. New market regimes often arise, introducing fresh challenges for investors and disrupting established patterns. In just the past few years, we've witnessed historic movements in interest rates, and rates volatility has taken on increasing significance. This constant interplay between market dynamics and model development is one of the most challenging aspects of working in investments. 
 

With the CQF’s Lifelong Learning offerings and continued access to its lectures, you have valuable opportunities to revisit the material and explore the CQF library, which covers a wide range of quantitative topics. Since completing the program, I’ve revisited several lectures beyond the core curriculum, particularly those on fixed income topics. These sparked fresh ideas, which we eagerly explored in team collaborations. 
 

I highly recommend the CQF to anyone interested in quantitative finance. I pursued it to expand my skills and deepen my understanding beyond pure mathematics. It was also invaluable for accessing innovative ideas and applying new approaches to the challenges in asset management.