Vikram Iyer, CFA, is an experienced Senior Analyst, mentor, and teacher with a passion for helping others. A decade after beginning his Canadian investment career, he walks us through the challenges of entering the workforce as an immigrant in Toronto. 

You immigrated to Canada and landed in Toronto in 2011. How did you adjust to the employment landscape compared to Mumbai? 

The move was different and scary for several reasons, mostly because I was not sure if I was comfortable in my own skin. Life in a new city is always daunting. The language was not an issue, but the culture was different. For example, a simple thing like coffee chats took me months to get used to. After graduating from university, I believed that a great resume was all I needed, but that was not the case; you also need to show your face. The art of having multiple conversations and growing your network wasn’t emphasized, even in school. In Canada, students are taught the importance of networking and communication and advised to set up a LinkedIn profile, which acts as a professional canvas and a good benchmark proxy for someone to view you without meeting you. These are things that I had to learn on the go. 

I also wasn’t aware of the art of having multiple resumes for multiple jobs. I would have one great resume and keep that as a standard feature for applying for, figuratively speaking, 500 jobs, but one great resume is really only suitable for one application. As for the remaining 499 roles, you’ve got to do the hard work. Searching for a job is a full-time job in itself. You need to invest the time to get the best out of it. I came with a lot of quality experience, such as investment banking experience with Citigroup and equity research experience with Morgan Stanley, two top notch US-based firms. I felt I would be a shoo-in when I came to Toronto, with these recognizable names on my resume. Once I didn’t see much action in the first three months, I realized I had to change something. There are recruiting agencies that specialize in getting work experience for new immigrants in Toronto. I attended their seminars and spoke with like-minded people. Eventually a door opened to a contract role at Bank of Montreal (BMO), which in turn helped me get a permanent role at RBC Capital Markets. It was a smoother transition from there, but had I not used the agency, maybe the BMO role that started my Canadian career wouldn’t have happened. 

How did you network or position yourself to be visible in Toronto? 

I learned from some of my initial mistakes, and ended up meeting quite a few people. I’d reach out to them through LinkedIn, and even if only 10 percent of people respond positively, that gave me a chance to meet with them. I had tonnes of coffee chats. Those conversations helped, even when we both knew that their job was not something I wanted to do. The general advice was that I needed to reach out. They helped me become more well-rounded, as it’s not only about having a strong technical skill set, but also about having a good likeability factor. I would do quite a bit of research prior to these meetings and list the things I felt I could contribute to their firm; this helped when it came to the actual interview. The most valuable piece of advice I’ve gotten from a coffee chat was to talk less and listen more. I had a habit of spending 25 minutes of a half-hour chat spilling out what I could do and not listening much to what the other person was saying. The coffee chat is meant to be a two-way street. As one person said to me: “You came in for my guidance, but for me to guide you I need to talk.” Bring a notebook in case they provide some contacts for you to connect with and write down points from the conversation. Don’t just try to memorize, because that’s not going to happen; just be well prepared and listen.   

Vikram Iyer CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

• Senior Analyst, Structured Credit and Risk Management, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP)

• Co-Chair of the Multicultural Employee Resource Group at HOOPP

• Over twelve years of experience in varied domains, including investment banking, equity research, and structured products and credit

• Visiting Faculty at Schulich School of Business at York University, and Concordia University

• Member of CFA Society Toronto and volunteer on the Mentorship Committee

How has the CFA designation benefitted your career? 

No two investments are the same, especially in a structured credit investment, so I get to look at every investment as a learning opportunity. Derivatives and structured credit are fancy exotic investment products. There are a lot of floating variables that will impact valuation, such as the probability of default, underlying aspects, exposures, legal agreements, and covenants. All these factors play a part in the eventual evaluation of the investment. Some of those complications are what had me interested, because if these are not challenges worth taking, then I don’t know what is. 

What would you say have been the driving forces behind your career?  

I have always wanted to help people, with no expectation of getting anything in return. It could be either academic-related or project-related, but as long as I’m doing that, there’s karma in that and in what you do. It’s also knowing the pulse of what is going to happen in the industry and just doing the best to help people out as much as possible at work and outside of work. 

Can you share a pivotal moment in your career?

One was getting a role in derivatives/structured products. As I mentioned, an employment agency helped me get into a temporary role in global treasuries at BMO, which enabled me to enter the Canadian workforce. I continued to network with people in the structured investments space, and it helped me get a real break when a role opened in structured products at RBC Capital Markets. Getting into HOOPP was also a significant milestone for me later in my career. I was lucky enough to meet people from HOOPP through my teaching assignments, which eventually led to a position
at the organization.

You have been mentoring with CFA Toronto Society for nearly five years. What are the main advantages to being a mentor?   

I have learned a lot from being a mentor. My initial thought was that I needed to be the be-all and end-all for the protégé, but I started to realize that’s not the case—it’s just a conversation between two people. I do my best to help them, and they’ve also helped me. I also see how prepared they are for opportunities, which has given me further motivation to better prepare for my own work. 

You teach finance at several institutions: how and why did you first start teaching? Has teaching helped you acquire new skills or expertise?   

I was one of the first few from my immediate social circle to pursue the CFA designation. As people started looking at me and wanting to do the same, I would help and teach them. As I slowly started teaching, I realized I liked it. I started tutoring, and that eventually led to university-based teaching; so it all started in a very unstructured manner. Now, I have a visiting faculty position teaching a range of subjects, including derivatives, fixed income, valuations, and corporate finance. 

You are also involved in establishing employee resource groups at HOOPP. How has the experience been so far?   

HOOPP has launched numerous employee resource groups (ERGs) to deepen the conversation around equity, diversity, and inclusion with staff, and to cultivate a workplace where everyone feels respected and accepted and is empowered to bring their whole self to work. I co-chair the Multicultural (MAPLE) ERG. We have been active advocates, helping to amplify marginalized voices, while ensuring that newcomers to Canada have a strong voice and are confident being their true selves. It’s also about learning from each other. MAPLE provides a dedicated space for us to come together and share our personal experiences, stories, and cultures so that we can truly understand one another, raise awareness about cultural differences, and create strong relationships. For example, making eye contact in some cultures may be considered rude and even threatening, while in other cultures it may be considered a sign of respect and engaged interest. MAPLE provides awareness of these important cultural components that are essential in employees being able to bring their true selves to work. 

FUN FACTS

What is the first thing you’re looking forward to getting back to once the pandemic is over?
I’m a sports person: I play cricket, table tennis, and squash. But most of all, I can’t wait to play table tennis with my colleagues.

What is your motto/motivational mantra?  
Create your own path. 

What are you reading right now?  
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi.