Antonio De Pinho

Before his studies brought him to IE Business School, Antonio completed his bachelor’s degree in business administration at Chapman University in Southern California. As an undergraduate student, he and a business partner launched internet startup Script Haven, an online marketplace used to buy and sell intellectual property in the entertainment industry. Following graduation, Antonio completed a summer internship as an analyst at VanEck, working with an actively managed commodity equities fund. His interest in financial analysis solidified, in April 2021 Antonio began to study the Master in Finance at IE Business School. When the program concludes, he will be moving to Los Angeles for an exciting new position as an investment banking analyst.

Among the several factors that attracted Antonio to IE Business School was location. Antonio had minored in Spanish during his undergraduate studies, which enticed him to broaden his search for masters programs beyond the US. He felt that living in Spain for just over a year would provide him a great opportunity to strengthen his Spanish. As for academics, Antonio was specifically drawn to IE Business School and the Master in Finance because of the remarkable industry experience of the professors and the hands-on, practical approach to classes.

“Your program colleagues are extremely intelligent and hardworking individuals who will undoubtedly go on to have great careers in finance, and the connections you make while here will prove an invaluable network for you.”

In his experience as a Master in Finance student, Antonio appreciates that the majority of professors have impressive resumes in investment banking, private equity and consulting, and that the classes tackle the material from a practitioner’s perspective. In fact, his favorite aspect of the program is how technical and practical the courses are; many are centered around quantitative finance and are spent building financial models in Excel. This method of teaching, which strays from the more traditional theoretical approach, has allowed Antonio to develop a wide variety of core skills such as valuations, portfolio optimization and options pricing.

Antonio emphasizes how important it is to take the initiative and time to connect with classmates. He loves that diversity is core to the everyday classroom environment and says it’s quite a unique experience to hear so many different languages spoken on campus. The opportunity to interact with and learn about the perspectives of so many different cultures globally within the classroom is amazing, and it offers an incredible learning opportunity to understand the interconnection between international financial markets. Your program colleagues, Antonio points out, are extremely intelligent and hardworking individuals who will undoubtedly go on to have great careers in finance, and the connections you make at university will prove an invaluable network for you.ç

“The curriculum is highly technical, taught with a practitioner’s approach by top-tier professionals in investment banking, private equity and consulting.”

Antonio tells aspiring students to be prepared to work hard. The curriculum is demanding, but he feels strongly that the strategic and technical knowledge you gain is remarkable and will be a huge asset to your professional career. Secondly, Antonio urges students to realize that looking for a job is a full-time job. Networking, applications, and interview preparation take a significant amount of time and that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

In Antonio’s experience, it’s important to prepare for applications, online assessments and interviews earlier than you think you should. That way, when an opportunity comes your way, you’re in the best possible position to make the most of it. Ultimately your success, both in and following the program, is determined by what you put in. IE University provides the knowledge, skills and resources you need to make it, and from there, it’s how you utilize those tools that will allow you to achieve your goals.

All in all, Antonio affirms that the Master in Finance at IE Business School has far exceeded his expectations. The curriculum is highly technical and taught with a real-world approach by top-tier professionals in investment banking, private equity and consulting—and the results speak for themselves. Since beginning the program, Antonio has accepted a full-time offer at Raymond James as an investment banking analyst at their Los Angeles office. He says the Master in Finance has played an integral role in achieving this. The technical financial knowledge he gained from the curriculum was essential, as well as the wealth of interview prep resources from IE Talent & Careers. We couldn’t be more proud to see Antonio launch his professional journey, and we can’t wait to see where this opportunity takes him.