Forsyth Barr, one of the biggest investment advisory firms in New Zealand recently saw a return to Macleans College on Thursday, May 18th with yet another speaker session for the Macleans Investment Club.
The Macleans Investment Club was fortunate enough to hear from one of Forsyth Barr’s recently hired graduates, Ben Crozier, who shared his personal insights from his university journey all the way to landing a research position in the financial sector.
During the session, Ben reflected on his time at the University of Canterbury, giving students insights into his undergraduate major in Financial Engineering and his graduate studies in Applied Finance and Economics. In addition to the academic side of university, Ben also discussed the social or networking aspects, which included his experience being a part of his university’s Investment Society, a non-profit organisation that aims to educate tertiary students on financial literacy to address inequality. Ben’s reflections were followed up by insights into what his current role as a researcher at Forsyth Barr was like, which involved keeping up with company updates and digging up all relevant information regarding companies for investors. To finish off the speaker session, Ben shared his ambition for his future, which was to go overseas and work in cities like Sydney, London or New York, a common goal for young analysts his age.
Throughout the entire speaker session, the students of the Investment Club were fully engaged in everything Ben had to say, evident when they were left with burning questions to ask Ben after he had wrapped up his presentation. Students left the speaker session with enrichment in their knowledge of the financial sector, from university to job placements. For many, this session also left them with an amplified desire to break into finance.
“Investment Club is great! I love how Macleans offers extracurricular activities like these, teaching young students skills they might need later in life. Every single talk – or lecture – always brings new and useful information that students might want to utilise now, or when they’re older. Come along, you might just learn something.”
Emma Li, Year 9 Student
August 14th, 2023
Written by Aaron Huang
Photography by Emma Li
