Episode 28: From UBS to LBS and the Decision to Explore Again - with Pearl Thakrar

Episode 31: How Non-Traditional Backgrounds Survive Trading and Markets - with Chloe Shepherd

Is trading really what everyone thinks it is? 📈 Welcome to the THIRTY-FIRST episode of The Smart Money Show; today, we are joined by Chloe Shepherd, a Credit Repo Trader whose path in the market is anything but conventional. Growing up in Lancashire, Chloe became the first in her family to attend university, studying History and Maths at Glasgow, before breaking into top institutions like Citi and RBC Capital Markets. Alongside her career on the trading floor, she serves as a Development Board Member for upReach. Across this conversation, we explore Chloe’s journey into trading, starting with the early moments that made certain paths feel out of reach. Chloe opens up about the realities of working on a markets desk, the pressure that sometimes follows you home, and the parts of the job that rarely get spoken about. We also explore what it means to navigate moments of self-doubt, the role of a strong support system, and the ongoing work of managing imposter syndrome. This episode is an honest, grounded, and inspiring look at resilience, identity and what it means to carve out space in an industry that wasn’t built for everyone in mind. Contact: Chloe Shepherd - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloe-shepherd-7bb45410b/ 🎥 Recorded: 14th January 2026 Chapters: 0:00 – Intro 🎙️ 2:59 – Growing Up in Morecambe & Education as a Way Out 🌊 6:37 – A-Levels, Rejections & Choosing Glasgow Over London 📨 9:41 – Switching Degrees & Landing a Trading Internship 🔁 11:48 – Grades, Apprenticeships & Rethinking Talent 🎓 18:37 – Validation, Money & The Emotional Reality of Success 💭 20:31 – Breaking Into Markets Without a Traditional Background 🚪 27:15 – RBC and Citi: Culture, Teams & Learning on the Desk 🏦 39:08 – Repo Trading Explained & Life on a Trading Floor 📈 46:13 – Soft Skills, Pressure & Taking Work Home 🧠 55:53 – Identity, Class & Belonging in Finance 🧬 1:02:30 – Social Mobility, UpReach & What Firms Still Get Wrong 🤍 1:20:00 – Outro 👋🏼 As always, stay tuned to us regularly as we bring you unheard insights, professional guests and a few laughs! 💚 Check out our work and connect with us here: https://www.thesmartmoneyshow.co.uk/ Please be advised, none of our episodes constitute as financial advice and we will never attempt to do so.

Bonus Episode: The NEFS Conference and The Students Building It - with Haaris Khan and Misgana Berhane

A massive finance conference OUTSIDE London FOR students!? 🤔 In the season of giving - here’s a BONUS episode of The Smart Money Show, about the University of Nottingham’s Economics and Finance Society 2026 Annual Conference. Firstly, we're really excited to announce our partnership with the NEFS Conference. As part of this collaboration, we’ve got exclusive access to a range of professional speakers from elite financial institutions, and on the day of the conference we’ll be setting up a studio to record interviews with speakers and senior professionals in attendance! So to kick off our collaboration, we are joined by their two co-presidents Haaris Khan and Misgana Berhane. After experiences across financial services and healthcare, Haaris is an incoming Industrial Placement Analyst at Lazard. Misgana completed spring weeks at Jefferies, Citi, and Scotiabank, alongside internships at Octopus Energy and Grosvenor, and is gearing up for a return internship at Jefferies this summer. In this bonus episode, we unpick their career journeys so far, their time with NEFS and why you should attend their flagship conference in the new year! Plus a Happy New Year from the team at The Smart Money Show! 🙌 Contacts and Details: Get your tickets here! - https://www.instagram.com/uonnefs?igsh=cWc3OWlwbTI1emNn Haaris Khan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/haariskhanlinkedin/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_detail_base%3BhS%2BbHsVcRh6soIKalYihbg%3D%3D Misgana Berhane - https://www.linkedin.com/in/misganaberhane/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_detail_base%3BhS%2BbHsVcRh6soIKalYihbg%3D%3D NEFS TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@nefsconference?_r=1&_t=ZN-92dI7LvKENy NEFS Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/uonnefs?igsh=cWc3OWlwbTI1emNn 🎥 Recorded: 23rd December 2025 Chapters: 0:00 – Intro 🎙️ 1:07 – NEFS Conference Partnership Announcement 🤝 1:40 – Guest Introductions: Haaris Khan & Misgana Berhane 👋 2:44 – Why Finance? Early Motivations 💡 5:57 – Early Perceptions of Finance & Misconceptions 🧠 7:52 – Degrees, Backgrounds & Transferable Skills 🎓 9:42 – Breaking the “Non-Finance” Barrier 🚪 11:20 – The Moment Finance Became Real 🎯 16:22 – Testing Career Paths & Gaining Exposure 🔍 20:59 – Rejection, Resilience & Bouncing Back 💪 24:28 – Converting a Spring Week into a Summer Offer 🔁 26:36 – Why Societies Matter for Careers & Confidence 🏛️ 29:10 – Inside NEFS & Its Growing Influence 📈 31:36 – Stepping Into Leadership Roles 🧠 34:37 – Balancing Academics, Societies & Applications ⚖️ 40:51 – Building the NEFS Conference Vision 🎤 45:27 – Why the Conference Matters for Students 🎓 46:23 – Who Should Attend & What You’ll Gain 🎟️ 48:02 – Getting Involved & Making the Most of It 🚀 49:16 – Final Reflections & Key Lessons 🌱 55:30 – Outro 👋 As always, stay tuned to us weekly as we bring you unheard insights, professional guests and a few laughs! 💚 Check out our work and connect with us here: https://www.thesmartmoneyshow.co.uk/ Please be advised, none of our episodes constitute as financial advice and we will never attempt to do so.

Episode 30: Inside the World of Credit Ratings and Global Finance - with Olivier Beroud

Risk, ratings, and a rise in reputation... ⚠️ In our THIRTIETH episode, join Ali and Noman as they meet Olivier Beroud, the Executive Chair of ARC Risk Group, to discuss credit ratings and the future of risk management. With an illustrious career spanning continents and household names, Olivier has held senior positions in risk management at GCR Ratings, Moody’s Investors’ Service, Barclays and Standard & Poor’s. Passionate about risk appetite but also education and mentorship, Olivier's consulting firm allows him to coach executives, lecture around the world and mentor students with financial fanaticism. Elaborating on his various roles and hot-takes on the function of credit ratings as a foundation of the global financial ecosystem, both his theoretical insights and practical advice turn this episode into a must-watch for anyone who envisions themselves with a future in finance! Olivier Beroud - https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivier-beroud-3854423/ 🎥 Recorded: 9th October Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 🎙️ 3:11 - Olivier’s Career Snapshot 🧭 5:03 - What Drew Him to Risk & Credit 📚 6:17 - Mentors, Networks & Early Lessons 🤝 9:57 - Why Accounting Still Matters 🧾 12:21 - Inside S&P: Learning Credit 🏭 15:06 - How Rating Agencies Really Work 📊 19:54 - Handling High-Stakes Meetings as a Young Analyst 🧑‍⚖️ 23:40 - Big Agencies vs Niche Players 🚢 27:25 - How Banks Rate Risk Internally 🏦 30:54 - The ThyssenKrupp Downgrade Case ⚖️ 35:03 - Independence, Conflicts & the 2008 Impact 🧩 42:13 - Tech, AI & The Future of Ratings ⏱️ 46:57 - ESG in Practice: Real-World Challenges 🌍 55:02 - Building ARC into a Global Player 📈 1:03:40 - Key Lessons & Advice for Students ✨ 1:09:10 - Outro 👋 As always, stay tuned to us weekly as we bring you unheard insights, professional guests and a few laughs! 💚 Check out our work and connect with us here: https://www.thesmartmoneyshow.co.uk/ Please be advised, none of our episodes constitute as financial advice and we will never attempt to do so.

Episode 29: From Bank Warnings to AI Issuance and Buffett's Patience - with Dylan Ilett and Wahy Yahya

Another month, another market shake-up... 💡 Welcome to our October economic recap, the TWENTY-NINTH episode of The Smart Money Show! We analyse a month full of evolving macro narratives and noteworthy corporate stories with our Head of FICC, Wahy Yahya, and Head of Equities, Dylan Ilett. Tune in as we uncover how the US and UK economies have been performing since the beginning of Q4, as well as the performance of indexes like the S&P 500 and FTSE. Major banks have also been reporting a string of losses and Dylan will be sharing what has been causing this and how markets have been reacting. 📉📈 We also look at Buffett's so-called "noninvestment" strategy, Gunvor's $22 billion deal with Lukoil and its effects on the energy market, Microsoft's earnings and the AI momentum driving Big Tech, and why inflation in the Eurozone may finally be in a "good place." This is also the final appearance for Wahy on The Smart Money Show. We are sad to see him go and wish him the best for the future - savour the last time we hear him! Guest Contacts: Dylan Ilett - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylan-ilett/ Wahy Yahya - https://www.linkedin.com/in/wahy-yahya-1b1563301/ 🎥 Recorded: 5th November Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 🎙️ 2:31 - US Macro: Shutdown & Fed Rate Decisions 🇺🇸 5:59 - UK Macro: Sticky Inflation & Bank of England 🇬🇧 11:14 - S&P 500 vs. FTSE 100 📈 14:14 - The $200B AI Credit Issuance Flood 🤖 18:23 - Bank Earnings: Regional Losses & Systemic Risk 🏦 24:09 - Norway's $2.1T Fund vs. Elon Musk's Pay Package 💰 28:44 - Microsoft Earnings & The Hidden $3.1B OpenAI Loss 🤫 39:14 - Commodity Risk: Gunvor's Deal with Lukoil 🛢️ 43:10 - Warren Buffett's $382B Cash Pile: A Warning Sign? 🤔 48:36 - Good News: Euro Zone Inflation Nears Target 🇪🇺 53:10 - Show Announcements & Schedule Change 📢 53:54 - A Farewell to Wahy 🤝 57:50 - Outro 👋 As always, stay tuned to us weekly as we bring you unheard insights, professional guests and a few laughs! 💚 Check out our work and connect with us here: https://www.thesmartmoneyshow.co.uk/ Please be advised, none of our episodes constitute as financial advice and we will never attempt to do so.

Episode 28: From UBS to LBS and the Decision to Explore Again - with Pearl Thakrar

Early internships, the buy-side and risky decisions... 🫡 Welcome to the TWENTY-EIGHTH episode of The Smart Money Show! This week, we sit down with Pearl Thakrar, whose journey from Warwick to UBS and now London Business School is anything but linear. From first-year internships to the fast-paced world of alternatives and private equity, Pearl’s story is about saying yes early, learning fast, and staying open-minded throughout. We unpack what it’s really like to break into finance before you’ve even graduated, how to turn short-term chances into long-term wins, and how to prioritise self-growth and academic curiosity in a fast-paced work environment. Guest Contacts: Pearl Thakrar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pearlthakrar/ 🎥 Recorded: 4th October Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 🎙️ 3:29 - The "Warwick Finance Bubble" & Early Influences 💭 5:14 - Why She Chose Management Over a Pure Finance Degree 🎓 7:29 - Advice for Non-Finance Students Breaking Into the Industry 🔑 10:55 - The Internship Grind & The Power of Networking 🤝 17:01 - How Firms Actually Evaluate Interns (Beyond the CV) 📝 19:32 - The Secret to Converting a Spring Week to a Summer Offer 🔑 22:28 - Inside UBS: Graduate Training, Rotations & Team Culture 📈 28:18 - A Deep Dive into Alternatives & Real Estate Private Equity 💼 31:30 - The CFA Grind: Balancing Full-Time Work & Intensive Study 📚 35:31 - The Big Pivot: Why She Left UBS for a Master's at LBS 🔄 37:53 - LBS vs. Warwick: The Master's Experience 🏛️ 40:57 - Master's: Career Accelerator or a "Reset"? 🤔 42:42 - Final Reflections: Proudest Moment & Advice to Self ✨ 44:17 - The Biggest Takeaway: "Follow Your Gut" 💌 45:49 - Outro 👋 As always, stay tuned to us weekly as we bring you unheard insights, professional guests and a few laughs! 💚 Check out our work and connect with us here: https://www.thesmartmoneyshow.co.uk/ Please be advised, none of our episodes constitute as financial advice and we will never attempt to do so.