#20 Interested in tech and finance? 3 fields you should know

As I figure out my career and my interests in the crossings of Finance and Technology, I’ve come across three key fields which lie at the heart of it: Financial Technology (Fintech), Quantitative Finance and Financial Engineering.

In this edition, I’m going to talk about the key differences and similaries within the three fields, major companies and job profiles, and the skill sets required.

Fintech involves the integration of technology into financial services to create new and innovative ways to make and deliver financial products. Fintech companies mostly aim to make financial services easy to understand, accesible and user friendly. Key skills needed for a career in this field include software development, data science and machine learning, product management and cybersecurity, along with a basic understanding of financial services. Companies such as PayPal and Stripe are fintech companies, with Cred, Razorpay, Upstox and Zerodha serving as examples of Indian fintech companies. Roles such as software developer, data scientist, product manager, and UI/UX designer are prevalent.

Now, quantitative finance focuses more on the mathematics side of it. The field makes use of mathematical models as well as statistical methods to solve problems in finance, examples of which include risk management and pricing of financial instruments such as options and derivatives. Unline fintech, this field requires a strong foundation in mathematics, statistics, some programming and knowledge of financial markets. Examples of companies (that I’ve heard of) include Jane Street, Tower Research Capital, and investment banks such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Roles here include quantitative analyst, more commonly termed as “quants”, portfolio manager, algorithmic trader etc. I first got interested in this field when I read about High-Frequency Trading (HFT).

Lastly, financial engineering takes on what quants have built and applies it to the practical world. It tends to focus on the applicative part of the models that have been built. Again, deep understand of mathematics, finance, and computational methods are needed. Major companies include Citadel, BlackRock, and BNP Paribas.

While there are certain differences between fintech and the other two fields, the lines kind of blur between quantitative finance and financial engineering. For me personally, it is hard to distinguish between what quantitative finance is and what financial engineering is.

Overlapping areas in the three fields mostly include the role of advanced technology and computational methods, heavy reliance on data analytics, with keen focus on customer insights in fintech, market analysis for quantitative finance, and product development for financial engineering. Risk management is also a uniting element in these fields, to manage financial risks as well as cyber security.

Which of these fields would you like to make your career in? Reply back to this email and let me know!

If you have any feedback, let me know in the comments, or or reach out to me via LinkedIn.

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