Vadim Gracie, CFA
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Director of Investment Risk Management at OMERS
• Chair of the Risk Management & Alternative Investments Committee since 2013
• Vice-chair of CFA Society Toronto Derivatives & Risk Management Committee from 2011 to 2013
• CFA, FRM, FCSI

Congratulations on your appointment to CFA Society Toronto’s Board of Directors. What are some of your goals for the new Member Services portfolio?

The main goal is to promote the Society and its activities, as well as facilitate communication with all members. I’ll be working to make recommendations for new member services and activities and to enhance the overall experience of being a member. I’ll seek to improve membership recruitment and retention rates through these efforts. In addition, my role is to support the Career Management Committee in fulfilling its mandate of leadership and professional development.

You’ve been working in the financial industry for more than 20 years. What factors have led to your long and accomplished career?

I constantly upgraded my skills, either by obtaining new designations such as the CFA, Financial Risk Manager, and Chartered Investment Manager, or by constantly learning new things, such as new technology and new markets, by attending conferences, and by reading books and research papers. The financial industry is not unlike science, where it’s assumed you always have to stay at the forefront by reading and learning. In the investment industry, you must constantly upgrade your skills so your knowledge remains relevant. You have to evolve and learn about what’s becoming important in the industry.

Your university education was not in finance. What initially attracted you to a career in finance, and how did you make the transition?

When I obtained my degree in physics from Moscow State Technical University, the whole defence industry was falling apart due to the end of the Cold War, and there were few jobs in aerospace and defence. A lot of people switched to the financial industry because it also relies on large amounts of data and the use of statistics and probability. Today, many financial organizations continue hiring people with fundamental degrees in science. Finance is becoming more sophisticated, and mathematics is one of the key components required in the investment business.

What career highlights are you most proud of?

The biggest highlight was working at Citibank in Eastern Europe when the financial industry was in its infancy there. I was in charge of payments and accounting. We had to learn everything as we did it, and the environment changed every day. In developed markets, it might take months or years for new regulations to come in or for changes in financial systems to be implemented. In emerging markets, it could happen within days.

During my time at Citibank, the company evolved from a small foreign bank into one of the largest banks in Russia and a key player in the country’s financial industry. That was an exciting time, and I’m proud of my contribution to the growth of the financial services industry in that country.

What do you find most rewarding about volunteering?

The opportunity to meet high-profile people from a variety of backgrounds. Through volunteering, I’ve met a lot of people in the industry and in academia from all over the world. This helps me broaden my horizons beyond the interactions of my day job.

What advice would you give to those starting out in the financial industry?

First, I would say to put your clients’ and your employer’s interests first. Think about your company as a whole and its future direction.

Second, constantly upgrade your skills and learn new things so that when there’s an opportunity, you’ll be able to capitalize on it.

And, of course, volunteer—this will be a very rewarding experience.

Are there any books or research papers you would recommend?

I find publications by the Center for Risk Management Research at the University of California, Berkeley very insightful and forward-looking. The topics that are discussed today, such as factor modelling and determinants of levered portfolio performance, are likely going to be on everyone’s minds in the next couple of years. In particular, I enjoy reading the works of Lisa R. Goldberg, the Center’s Director of Research.

How do you see the industry evolving over the next few years?

The industry will become more sophisticated technologically as investors and market participants utilize increasingly sophisticated tools such as mobile technology. I see investors becoming more aware of the underlying nature of their investments, the trade-offs between risk and return, and the explicit and implicit costs of using various investment vehicles.

Name a person whose brain you’d most like to pick for an hour.

Richard Branson. It would be very interesting to talk to him and learn how he makes decisions.