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Investing in the future
Mr Tay looks forward to taking on more responsibilities in his job.
PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
WHEN he got a chance to fulfil his dream of studying overseas, Mr Jonathan Tay wasted no time in seizing the opportunity.
Now 26, the former Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) and Raffles Junior College student recalls: "The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) had visited my junior college and invited some of us to visit their office so that they could tell us more about their scholarship."
"I applied on the spot," he says, referring to the GIC Global Scholarship. It was an easy decision for him as he "had always wanted to study overseas" but did not wish to burden his parents financially.
Mr Tay also liked what he learnt about the global investment management company that manages Singapore's foreign reserves. He says: "I felt that the scope of work at GIC seemed very interesting. I would have to keep up-to-date with the markets and be responsible for Singapore's financial security in the future."
"I believe that it is very important to understand the scholarship you will be applying for, since it will define your entire career. You have to be interested in the work that you will be doing," he adds.
He spent four years in the United States pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master of Science in Financial Engineering at Columbia University.
Mr Tay says GIC gave him a good headstart in understanding the workings of the company and the fund management industry, even before he completed his studies and returned to Singapore.
"I came back to GIC for two of my three summer vacations," he says. "The first time, I attended the Comprehensive Training Programme. This was a classroom-based training programme that covered the basics of finance. During my second summer vacation, I interned with GIC's Management Reporting Group, which is responsible for reporting asset performance to management."
Mr Tay is now an associate with GIC's Investment Policy & Strategy (IPS) Department, a role he was eased into through the Associate's Programme when he first started work.
He explains: "New associates and returning scholars are first put through a two-month classroom boot camp. Subsequently, they do four 10-week rotations. The IPS Department was my top choice for rotation departments and I was posted here once my rotations were finished."
"The IPS Department’s main role is to formulate and recommend investment policy decisions to GIC's senior management. We also monitor the effects of existing policies. We strive to be at the forefront of investment thinking, adapting the best ideas from industry or research for use by GIC."
Mr Tay says his department gets to explore many interesting new ideas on a regular basis. "I think the most challenging aspect of the job is not the technical side of the research we do, but summarising it in a straightforward way so that it is easy for senior management and our Board to understand. It requires us to extract the essence of our research and explain it in an intuitive manner."
Mr Tay is one-and-a-half-years into his six-year bond, and says that he is "very happy" at the IPS Department. "I think it is the best fit for me in the organisation," he says. He hopes "to be given more responsibility" as he settles into his role.
The self-confessed bookworm, who reads science fiction and fantasy novels and enjoys watching anime in his spare time, has also proved that long distance relationships can survive the rigors of separation - a common concern among some young Singaporeans bound for overseas studies.
Mr Tay and his girlfriend have been together since their Secondary 4 days. They maintained a long-distance relationship even after he went overseas and she emigrated to Australia. They married in 2007, just before he started work at GIC.
"While it can be difficult, I think that it is certainly possible to maintain a long-distance relationship while studying abroad," he says.