Where did my money go?

😓 My investing mistake

When I started working in this industry I knew shockingly little about finance � I was two weeks out of an arts degree when I was plunked on the trading floor and told to learn about mortgage-backed securities (the stuff from the movie The Big Short). It was a steep learning curve! The bank provided a bunch of support but I also did the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program as a way of educating myself more formally. A mix of on-the-job experience and hours studying for those exams got me fluent in financial jargon fairly quickly � and thankfully I was moved off the mortgage-backed securities desk.

I really wish I had spent more time as a young person developing my math skills. The financial jargon and concepts can be learnt, but there are certain fundamental skills that need to be molded over a much longer time period � which is one reason you see so many math, physics and engineering graduates on Wall Street.

I invested in a Chinese sportswear company that went bankrupt when the founder disappeared � presumably with my and my fellow investors� money. On paper, it looked like a great investment � but I should have known that it was too good to be true. Thankfully it wasn�t a large investment and it was my own money (this was before I started managing money for others). The lesson is to stay away from high-risk companies that lack transparency.