Student spotlight: Shelina Fernando

Tell us a little about yourself

I’m 21 years old and originally from Sri Lanka but moved over to Melbourne for uni. I’m currently one semester (6 months) away from graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Economics & Finance at Melbourne Uni. My hobbies are pretty basic such as binging sitcoms, religiously watching MasterChef Australia, going for runs/play badminton with my friends (only to have sore legs and arms for the rest of the week), and a massive foodie.

How did you first hear about Future IM/Pact?

I heard about Future IM/Pact when one of my friends received a spot in the Top Talent Group. Additionally, just about that, one of my friends from uni had just taken part in the Future IM/Pact Investment Competition and was advanced to the finals. Upon hearing about the great opportunities those in my network were receiving, I was super eager to give it a shot. I received a spot in the Top Talent Group in 2023 so I’ve been a part of the program for nearly 2 years now.

What do you find most valuable about the program?

1. Mentoring Circles – These almost felt like virtual group coffee chats with industry professionals except you’re not getting just 30 mins of their time, it’s 2 hours a week for 3 weeks.  Got some raw insights into the industry but also into what the specific mentoring company specialises in which is rare to come by. I personally believe the best way to get to know about something / someone is by conversing rather than reading and I was proven right during these mentoring circles as the mentors were in their element, sharing what they do on a daily basis is their cup of tea and having the time to dig deeper into the insights they shared and the opportunity to get all our questions clarified was something we couldn’t have gotten from any other networking forum.
2. Investment Competition – I participated in the 2024 Investment Competition and although we didn’t advance from the screening round, it was a challenge that was unlike any other competition I’ve seen / taken part in. This competition tested your knowledge on the subject matter and the technality behind managing investments in detail and this is exactly was us university students need. We are taught so much of these technical content at uni and often it feels like none of them are actually applicable in the real world but a competition like these shows us that side of the world where you get rewarded for having the best technical / subject-related knowledge and shows how important it is to know your subject well. Moreover, the best part about it is we get to apply that knowledge in a real world context which is helps you stay one steo ahead of everyone else in your shoes who measure their ability and the world through a narrow lens.
3. Monthly eNewsletter – One of my favourite newsletters to read honestly because I know that there’s something new curated into it every time be it a job opportunity, or purely just another way to stay connected with this industry. For a uni student, there’s nothing better than having a heads up of the industry you will be stepping into upon graduation while you’re still studying. This was exactly was the newsletter was for me. Every time it hit my inbox, I was reminded to keep my hustle going, look for more ways to be involved with this industry and try to squeeze the most out of every opportunity presented. Sign up here
4. Conversations with the Future IM/Pact team – My main point of contact was Laila from the Future IM/Pact team and I’ve got to say, catching up with her and getting insights into the latest opportunities in this industry is something I’ve never gotten from any other forum. Every time I spoke to her, I got to know about an opportunity/ aspect within this industry that I hadn’t thought of before and every time I was disheartened at the fact I didn’t get what I had applied for, that chat was exactly what I need to refocus and steer my focus onto another direction that’ll still get me to my goal.

What interests you about a career in investment management?

I was interested in a career where I can crunch numbers since I was in high school. Working with quantitative data helps me really visualize the impact I’m making and numbers is how piece my vision of the bigger picture so this has always been in mind. After commencing my Bachelors degree majoring in Economics and Finance, it was a no brainer that I would love to follow a field which helps you solve economical problems using numbers.

But I hadn’t heard of the investment management path until I joined the Future IM/Pact Top Talent Group. I got the gist of what this industry primarily focuses on through Future IM/Pact and it interested me to dig deeper and find out whether it’s what I envisioned myself to be in. Once you get to know something and if you believe it aligns with your goals for yourself, you just want to keep at it and that’s what happened to me when I got exposed to the opportunities within this industry. The first thing I realised was that the learning curve within this field is massive and that I’ll be learning something new and technical everyday and that itself was more enough of a driver to still keep hustling to find opportunities within this space.

Tell us about your experience participating in Mentoring Circles

I was a part of the TCorp Mentoring Circle and I chose this because I lacked exposure to how investment management is done in the public sector and I was curious in understanding how the push for more sustainable forms of investing is affecting the management of them by a public sector firm.

Going in to it, I was concerned whether we’d be able to get the bottom of the technicalities behind what TCorp does given there’s so much so we can cover within 2 hours. However, I was proven wrong as the 3 mentors allocated to us managed to break down their work in to the simplest form possible and they really communicated their role to us through the perspective of a university student. That not only got me excited to give it a shot myself but also made me realise how much of an impact you can have in this industry regardless of your ‘job title’. Additionally, they were some of the most encouraging words I have ever had from any of the chats I’ve had with industry professionals over the past 2 and a half years. It made me really believe that there’s a chance for all of us in this industry if we hustle with passion.

The 3 mentors had 3 different levels of experience and were playing slightly different roles and had different repsonbilities and this was also one of favourite parts about the mentoring cicle. We weren’t been mentored by just the junior analysts, we had Head of Investment, senior manager and a portfolio manager speak to us which made me believe that this industry can assure longevity within itself for us and it’s okay to have goals of wanting to lead a team one day in this industry.

Tell us about the presentation you gave as part of the Mentoring Circle

My presentation was on the impact of the rise in ESG demands / concerns on the investment management industry. I’ve had my fair share of exposure on how to make ESG a part of your business model and not just your ‘CSR’ but I started seeing this through a different lense through the mentoring circle. When we speak of ESG, keeping up with the ESG demands and regultaions is starting to seem like a burden and a route to burning cash for businesses. But through the TCorp Mentoring Circle, it made me realise that you can actually utilise ESG in favour of your business and drive revenue through such practices. This was a massive eye-opener for me so I wanted to give this a crack myself in the final presentation.

I loved how the presentation went. I could sense the passion I had in me towards exploring avenues within the investment management industry and it was very different to any other presentations I’ve given at uni. I managed to incorporate a bit of my storytelling ability into painting a picture of how crucial it is for investment analysts/managers to drive the new wave of cautious investing and make sure to sustain it as they have the power to do so.