curriculum vitae

Tony Watts, CFA

CONTACT DETAILS

Tel: +358 (0)50 565 0297
Email:
URL: http://www.tonywatts.info

CAREER AIMS
I aim to continue developing as an expert in the finance business, expanding and deepening my knowledge of the global financial markets.

RECENT EMPLOYMENT

January 2009 onwards

 Nordea Markets, Senior Structurer, Helsinki
Financial services

Developing, marketing and hedging structured products for the Finnish market across asset classes. As part of the team at the local leader in structured products, I am involved in every aspect of their production, from inception to sales, hedging, after-sales service and maturity. My main focus is on private placements for professional clients and on pricing derivatives - especially equity derivatives but also interest rate, credit, FX and commodities. I am also an expert on our systems and trading setup.

September 2006 to January 2009

 Nordea Markets, Senior Controller Structured Products, Helsinki
Financial services

One of the initial members of the dedicated team founded to control risk in the Structured Products business at Nordea Markets, I was responsible for many different things, from approving new products to monitoring trade bookings and risk limits. I was also deeply involved in many projects, such as:

  • cleaning up old positions so risk and profit and loss could be monitored more effectively
  • replacing old systems that required large amounts of manual work, were susceptible to error and difficult to monitor
  • developing an application to share information between different stakeholders

    		•
    view previous employment

    QUALIFICATIONS

    February 2007 to February 2008

    Nordea Trainee Programme, Nordea Bank

    A series of seminars held throughout the Nordic region, which introduced me to Nordea's full range of business and offered me in-depth personal development. I had the opportunity to hear from and discuss with experts from across Nordea's wide range of business areas, from home loans and credit cards to shipping and international markets. I also explored my strengths, weaknesses and other personal characteristics to help set goals. The seminars were a great opportunity to network with talented people working in all different areas of the bank.

    July 2002 to September 2006

    Chartered Financial Analyst, CFA Institute

    After four years of studying, I earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2006. The CFA is a globally recognised qualification in investment management, which covers areas from economics and market fundamentals to portfolio management and derivative valuation. Since then I have continued my education through seminars and workshops offered by both the local society, CFA Finland, and the global CFA Institute. The CFA Institute's code of conduct demands that I, as a charterholder, adhere to the highest standards of ethical responsibility.

    September 1997 to June 2001

    		 MSci Mathematics and Computer Science, University College London
    First Class Honours Degree

    Mathematics: Foundations in pure mathematics were built upon with courses such as combinatorics, graph theory, linear programming, economics, finance and valuation.

    Computer Science: Analysis, design, programming and computing theory (e.g. concurrency and complexity), as well as applied courses such as systems modelling and database systems. Completed an extensive individual system development project.

    The degree increased my problem-solving and analytical skills, as the subjects required great attention to detail and methodical application. Coursework required both teamwork and management of individual projects.
    view pre-university education

    ORGANISATIONS

    September 2006 onwards

    		 CFA Finland ry
  • Vice-President, 2011-2012
  • Technology Chair, 2010-2012
  • Board member since 2009

    • March 2009 onwards

    		 Finnish Structured Products Association

    July 2004 onwards

    		 International English Speakers' Association of Finland
  • Board member since 2004
  • Treasurer, 2004-2007

    • SKILLS & EXPERTISE

    FINANCIAL

    		 Experienced in trading and pricing vanilla and exotic derivatives across asset classes (equity, rate, FX, commodity, alternatives).

    TECHNICAL

    		 Highly computer literate and able to adapt easily to new systems. Wide experience of different commercial and custom applications.
    Office applications: Excel, Word, Powerpoint
    Trading Systems: Infinity, Qtools (scripting), Adaptive, Murex, WSS, Bloomberg, Calypso, Reuters.
    Programming: SQL, Java, C++, PASCAL, Miranda, Perl, Basic, HTML, Visual Basic

    LANGUAGE

    		 Native English speaker, intermediate level Finnish.

    PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT

    April 2005 to September 2006

    		 Oxter Ky, Partner & Finance Manager, Helsinki
    Web and print services

    Responsible for the company's finances, including financing, forecasts, pricing and invoicing. Additional duties included maintaining the web servers and programming web applications.

    August 2003 to May 2006

    		 Stalmark Ltd Oy, Helsinki
    Steel import/export

    Responsible for all aspects of the import of steel products from Spain, including making orders, setting prices, invoicing, accounts payable, financial forecasting and investments.

    September 2003 to August 2005

    		 Nivial, Finance Director, Helsinki
    Management and leadership training

    		Responsible for finances in this start-up company: creating forecasts, budgeting, writing business plans, obtaining financing and other administrative tasks.

    August 2001 to January 2003

    		 Towers Perrin, Associate Consultant, London
    Actuarial and change management consultants

    		Advising clients on levels of remuneration for their executives, specifically designing and valuing their short and long-term incentive schemes. I was a member of Towers Perrin's internal Share Incentive Plan interest group and the Private Equity team, and was heavily involved in developing valuation methodologies for share option schemes and similar incentives. The incentives were linked to many different financial performance measures; this meant we had to select and analyse appropriate measures.

    Thorough knowledge was required of the market, of all kinds of compensation plans and of valuation and calculation methods.

    Towers Watson (formerly Towers Perrin) is a leading global professional services company that helps organisations improve performance through effective people, risk and financial management. With 14,000 associates around the world, it offers solutions in the areas of employee benefits, talent management, rewards, and risk and capital management.

    July to September 2000

    		 Dresdner Kleinwort Benson, Risk Controller, London

    This was a summer internship in the Equity Derivatives Risk Control section of the investment bank that is now part of Commerzbank.

    My task was to optimise the process of the monthly independent pricing of derivatives. I started by teaching myself about derivatives and then went on to automate the process with VBA. The automated system, completed well within the deadline, was much faster than the old process, and also greatly reduced the risk of human error. I gained an extensive knowledge of investment banking, risk management and derivatives.

    July to September 1998,
    June to September 1999

    		 Towers Perrin, Seasonal Compensation Analyst, London
    Actuarial and change management consultants

    		These were two summer placements I completed at Towers Perrin, where I also worked after I graduated (see above for details).

    I was working as part of the European Databases team, on all aspects of compensation surveys. I gained highly transferable skills in client liaison, teamwork and producing large-scale projects to tight deadlines, as well as a good knowledge of compensation issues.

    Part-time work:

    Swimming teacher for the Dolphin Swimming Club, London (September 1998 to June 2001)

    Lifeguard at University of London Union (September 1997 to July 1998)

    Recreation assistant at Bitterne Leisure Centre, Southampton (April 1996 to July 1998)

    PRE-UNIVERSITY EDUCATION

    1995-1997

    		 Peter Symonds College, Winchester
    Sixth Form College

    A-Levels, June 1997:

    Physics: A

    Computing: A

    Mathematics: A

    Further Mathematics: C

    General Studies: B

    1990-1995

    		 The Gregg School, Southampton

    GCSEs, 1995:

    Mathematics: A* (1994)

    Information Systems: A*

    Chemistry: A

    Biology: A

    History: A

    French: A

    Physics: B

    English literature: B

    English language: C

    Cambridge Certificate in Additional Mathematics: A

    Advanced Supplementary Mathematics: A

    Deputy Head Boy, 1994-1995

    Work experience at the Ford Motor Company's Information Systems division

    FINNISH LANGUAGE COURSES

    		My Finnish is at an intermediate level, which allows me to interact effectively with clients and bond with colleagues.
    Completed courses:

    Advanced Finnish for Foreigners (Suomea maahanmuuttajille, jatkokurssi): Kirkkonummen kansalaisopisto (September 2006 to April 2007)

    Finnish for Foreigners Level 5,6,7,8: Helsingin Seudun Kesäyliopisto (June to August 2003)

    Finnish for Foreigners Conversation Course: Helsingin Seudun Kesäyliopisto (June 2003)

    Finnish Grade 2: Centre for International Mobility (CIMO), Kuopio (July 2001)

    Finnish I: School of Slavonic and East European Studies, London (September 2000 to June 2001): grade B

    Finnish for Foreigners Level 1: Helsingin Seudun Kesäyliopisto (September 1999): grade 3/3


    OTHER INTERESTS

    Sport and fitness

    Golf, swimming, boxing, cycling, cross-country skiing, racketball,badminton.

    Outdoor activities

    Camping, hiking, climbing, abseiling, caving.

    Music

    I play the Bb cornet. Between 1988 and 1997 I was a member of the Southampton Youth Brass Band.

    Scouting

    I reached the Venture Scout level, at which I was Chairman of the Unit Executive. I was selected to attend the World Scout Jamboree in Holland in summer 1995.

    REFEREES

    Names and contact details of referees will be provided promptly upon request.