Sameer Somal, CFA, CFP®, CAIA

The Digital Revolution is accelerating our access to knowledge and revolutionized how we communicate. Finance is grounded on quantifiable metrics and knowledge gained through the rigors of academic & professional development programs. While a technical framework is required and fundamental to a successful career in finance, we overlook the importance of what we can only measure qualitatively, including networking. Success in life is a function of our interpersonal relationships. Networking is a learned skill and does not require the personality of an extrovert. A memorable introductory conversation and exchange of business cards will increase relationship capital after applying a process for patient and purposeful follow-up. Creating a network of trusted friends and colleagues, who will provide information, introductions, mentoring and partnership, will expand your personal and professional opportunity set. Results follow planning, practice, and commitment.

An entrepreneurial mindset represents a truly unique opportunity for today’s students and tomorrow’s leaders. Flexibility, creativity, and intellectual freedom often catalyze an entrepreneur’s desire to start a business. Entrepreneurship, a fundamental driver of our global economy, is defined by French Economist, J. B. Say [1767–1832], as a shift of economic resources out of an area of lower productivity into an area of higher productivity and yield. This is also true of intrapreneurs, defined as those who apply an entrepreneurial to their employment culture. Intrapreneurs often become entrepreneurs. The intangibles or "soft skills", represent the tipping point between achieving great success and simply remaining average. These skills are rarely taught in college or graduate school. How does one quantify trust, relationships, communication and emotional intelligence? The interdependent of our global economy places a premium on these soft skills.

Every day people are empowered with unfiltered information and global communication access from a device that fits comfortably in our pocket. It took the Internet 12 years to gather its first billion users, and a third of that time to reach three billion. The Digital FinTech Revolution is accelerating our access to knowledge, transforming how we communicate, and creating a wave of digital disruption that will reshape the financial services industry. As regulators and banks refocus on updating their policies and operating models, the next generation of Fintech platforms, including robo advisory, blockchain, digital payment, Bank in a box, security, and P2P lending, are already off to the races. Global investment in financial technology rapidly increased by 3,770% from $930 million in 2008 to $36 billion in 2016. The opportunity to innovate for quantitative finance professionals has never been more compelling than it is today.