INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT: FUNCTIONS
COMMODITY
FELIX MAJOU
Title:Senior Associate, Oil and Gas
Corporate Finance
RESEARCH
Current employer: Royal Bank of
Scotland
Previous employers:
Jefferies International; BG Group
University: Universite Laval,Canada;
BY: MAHA KHAN PHILLIPS • PROFILE BY: STUART NEWMAN Ecole Centrale Nantes, France; Ecole
Normale Superieure de Cachan, France
Degrees: Masters in Mechanical
T
o research commodities, you have to understand the Engineering; Ph.D in Mechanical
supply and demands within each diff erent commodity.
Engineering
“Commodities are slightly diff erent to other areas of
Professional qualifi cations:
research because they are generic. Nobody owns them, nobody
Passed CFA Level III – charter pending
manages them, and they aren’t a single entity the way a stock or
a company would be,” explains Ella Brown, CFA, former global
What attracted you to this career path?
head of equity research at ABN Amro Asset Management
I enjoy the analytical and intellectual challenges that the
Analysts must get to grips with a diverse number of factors,
position presents. The day-to-day diversity of the job makes
whether it is the inventory of cattle feeds, the production of
it interesting and I like the team work element as well.
wheat in developing countries, or the price of the oil markets.
What are the major challenges you face in your position?
None of these events are particularly related to each other, apart
Resolving constantly new and unexpected issues is always
from the way the behaviour of other investors will aff ect prices.
a challenge. Also, the depth of information which you have
“Research consists of gaining just about as much publicly
to deal with is quite astounding. All of this has to be
available information as you can on very opaque markets like
considered within a certain time frame and the time
oil, forming a hypothesis on what’s driving the markets, and
pressures can be diffi cult.
then analysing prices to see if your hypothesis is correct or not.
You have to constantly scan credible sources that either
Are there certain skills you would consider useful for
confi rm or deny your overall hypothesis,” explains Hilary Till,
your job?
founder of Premia Capital, the Chicago-based CTA.
It’s important to have all-rounder analytical abilities, in
Commodities are fundamentally diff erent from securities
order to resolve complex situations and deal with all the
varied information (not necessarily fi nancially-related)
coming out of transactions.
get perspective on even some of the most mundane and simple
How do you think the role you’re in now will change over
decisions, such as when people have time to talk.
time?
Over time I think there will be more coordination between
How do you think the role you’re in now will change over time?
several, more varied and larger transactions. There will
When I started, currency was characterised as an environment
also be a movement towards more cross-selling of new
of traders taking a punt with their fi rms’ capital. Increasingly,
products to existing and new clients.
process is becoming as, if not more important than just taking a
view. Currency is becoming a mainstream asset class. One of the
Do you have advice for someone intending to pursue the
reasons I embarked on the CFA course was because I wanted to
same career path?
understand how currency fi ts into the framework of portfolio
You need to be passionate about corporate transactions,
management. I think we will see a continued shift of currency
fi nancial products, fi nancing businesses and helping
away from speculation towards portfolio management.
clients achieve sound, corporate objectives.
Do you have advice for someone intending to pursue the same
markets in that commodities markets are much more
career path?
concentrated in terms of market participants.
My advice to anyone starting out is to be as curious as you can
“Everyone has to go to the marketplace to transact, so
and to guard a seeking spirit. Although, admittedly, these
qualities are equally applicable to any fi eld of endeavor. Even
the trick is to interpret price action, and see whether
basket weaving.
there is real fundamental demand, or whether it is just
a few speculators,” Till explains.
Cg

WWW.CFAUK.ORG CAREERS GUIDE 2009 53
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