Annie Feng (2011)
Paul Galea:
Annie Feng from 2011 at IGS. It’s Paul Galea. How are you going?
Annie:
Hey, Paul. Good, thanks.
Paul Galea:
That’s good to hear, Annie. And you’re living in New York, I believe.
Annie:
Yep, that’s correct. I’ve been here for over four years.
Paul Galea:
Oh, well, actually, I didn’t realise it had been so long. So four years in New York. Give me a quick rundown on what’s good about living in New York, and then maybe some of the less good things.
Annie:
Yeah, for sure. I mean, it’s a very exciting city. Lots of opportunities here professionally, but also plenty happening in terms of social activities. It’s really choose your own adventure here. So really exciting and I moved over here for a job previously, and it has been good for my career, in terms of what I wanted to pursue a bit more professionally. So that was really the rationale for moving here four years ago, and I’ve been here since then. Yeah. To the second part of your question. In terms of, you know, the downsides? Well, first of all, it’s very far away from Australia; probably the furthest you could be. So that’s sometimes been hard. But I guess otherwise, it’s a pretty hectic kind of lifestyle, but also, it’s a very high density space. And that comes with the magical elements of what is happening all the time, but also what I would call some quote, unquote, adult privileges, where compared to a lot of other cities around the world, you probably live in very cramped conditions, probably not unlike Asia. But at the same time, there is just so much happening all the time. I think maybe like Asia, despite cramped living conditions, sometimes they tend to be a bit more modern versus New York where it could be old in some parts.
Paul Galea:
Very good. Okay, now, I might embarrass you here, but I’m going to. I taught at IGS for a long time. And I’m going to say, I reckon you were, if not the cleverest, then certainly in the top few cleverest kids that I ever had anything to do with at IGS. So that’s spanning a lot of time and a lot of students. So you are a very, very clever young woman. And you know what, as well, you’re also a very nice young woman. So you managed to combine those two — they’re not always going hand in hand! So I really appreciate you talking to me, Annie and I want to know what you’re doing now in New York. And then I want to know the journey that you took to get there.
Annie:
Yeah, no, absolutely. That was very kind, Paul. So what I what I’m doing now is, I’m an investment manager with a UK firm called Aberdeen. And what Aberdeen does is, they’re an asset manager. So as part of investments for big companies, retail everyday ‘mum and dad’ investors, all of that-they help the entire process in identifying what to invest in, as well as keeping your investments, the nuts and bolts of actually how does your money go into an investment and realise your return. So the full spectrum. In a nutshell, that is what an investment house, an asset manager is. So they are headquartered out of the UK; Scotland, Edinburgh, actually, but what I do in New York for them specifically is that I invest in private debt opportunities. So effectively, I lend money to companies and government bodies, for various needs, just like how you might need to look for a mortgage with a bank, companies need to borrow money also. They can absolutely go to a bank loan, like us, typically for a mortgage, but they can also go to other sources and that includes institutional investors such as Aberdeen.
Paul Galea:
Okay, how did you get to be doing this?
Annie:
Yeah. So I guess maybe to take it a bit further back to my time at school and during the time of when you knew me, Paul, when I was a lot younger, I was very, very transfixed on becoming a doctor for many of my years in high school. It wasn’t really until over the last twelve months, really starting my formal Year 12 education, I would say, that I just so happened to be in a bit of tutoring session with someone that was helping me with some Maths. And they explained that they were a cadet at KPMG. All those words meant nothing to me at the time because like, “What’s that?” This girl, she seemed really nice and really sociable; bubbly. And you know, that’s probably what got me curious. And she told me about that kind of job. I had no idea. And at that time KPMG, along with three other companies, were considered to be the ‘big four’ accounting firms. So she was doing accounting, effectively, as part of her university degree, which was a Bachelor of Commerce. So I got curious but had no idea what accounting was, I had no idea what a balance sheet was, had no idea what any of this stuff was. I mean, up to this point, I was very obsessed with becoming a doctor. I loved science; I still love science. But then I did a few interviews for those kind of programs, which is like a longer internship. Instead of doing it over a couple of months, in the summer in university, you are employed for two years to do a program of full time work with these big four accounting firms or finance professional service companies. I worked with, got approached by Ernst and Young, which is one of the similar big organisations, to do auditing and taking that up meant that they prescribed what university degree I was supposed to do. And that was a Bachelor of Commerce. So from there, I went on to pursue accounting and finance from that. So I did that cadetship in university. From that time I identified that I wanted to move into banking and the investment banking kind of aspect, which is a lot more like the selling of investment opportunities and securities. So in the same way a bank might sell your mortgage, banks also help companies borrow money, and connect up with investors. And then that’s what I did after university-exactly that-how to connect companies with people who were willing to lend money that wasn’t the bank themselves. I did that with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. They moved me to New York four years ago. And then, I moved on to Aberdeen, where instead of selling the investment opportunities, I buy the investment opportunities now.
Paul Galea:
That’s quite a journey. Okay, now, I’ve got to ask this. I remember you had been excellent at science. I also vaguely remember you setting your sights on being a doctor. That’s a pretty big turnaround in a short time. And you explained a little bit about that. But was there one particular moment where you said, “You know what, doctoring is not for me, I’m going to pursue this.” Is there one particular moment you remember that you had on the route that was completely changing your focus and direction?
Annie:
Not particularly. I think, partly in the back of my mind, it was, like, if I hate this, I can always go and study to be a doctor. I mean, to this day, I’m still fascinated and nerd out about science and medicine every night. I still remember studying in Year 8 and Year 9, when we were doing the human anatomy, and that was one of my favourite topics. It’s very useful knowledge and I really nerd out on that . Well, I just think I was just curious. It was something to do. And I guess also, the side that really drives me towards what I’m doing now; there still is a very strong quantitative and analytical element, which ties into my love of science and the STEM areas that I studied.
Paul Galea:
Yeah, so you weren’t completely changing direction in terms of what your strengths were, it was just going off in a slightly different tangent really?
Annie:
Yeah, definitely. I think, also, it was just the sequencing of things. I think, if I didn’t get this, I definitely would have pursued science. I remember, if you’ve seen Medicine, there was a lot of an anticipated competitive programs and probably, I wouldn’t say finance, accounting isn’t competitive, but it’s a different level of competitiveness. And I remember everyone in my year group had very different interests. I don’t think that there was a whole group of us that were going to definitely be doing commerce. It was very, very eclectic. Like, yeah, everyone was different. So that was fantastic.
Paul Galea:
I actually think that’s one of the strengths of our school; that you do tend to do quite a bit, have a bit of a look at different things and get a taste for what is there. Just quickly, the person who was tutoring you? That wasn’t an IGS person, was it? No. Okay, so we’re talking about your time in school. Do you want to tell us some of the good things you remember about school ?
Annie:
I loved school; school was the best. I know life was just so much easier back then. I loved all the subjects we did. And I was very academically focused, but I particularly loved the people I was able to grow up with. I am still friends with many of them and I just really appreciated how it never felt like… obviously, there was an academic competitiveness and that’s natural, a good aspect. I think it’s necessary. But I think everyone was definitely respected to pursue their own interests and never criticised or ostracised. I remember, we were definitely one of the smaller year groups. We finished with about 75 people graduating in my year group. And everyone was just very, very respectful and friendly to each other. So that was a really nice aspect of school.
Paul Galea:
Yeah, that’s nice. Now tell me if I’m wrong. I’m pretty sure that your cousin has recently finished at school. Yilan ‘Ed’ Wang-also known as ‘Protein Bar Wang’-one of my favourite people.
Annie:
I love the intel you provide me because this is the side that I don’t get. I knew that sometimes there’ll be stories that he’ll be trying to lift weights or do something that was physically enhancing. Yeah. Didn’t know about the protein bar.
Paul Galea:
Oh, yeah. He’s into it, alright. He had a few shaky times there in his early years but he came good at the end. He’s a good boy. I was very fond of him. He made me laugh. So okay, that’s very nice. And obviously, you enjoyed IGS. Have you got any bits of advice for the students who might be listening or for anyone who might be listening because you’re obviously a very successful young woman. Any ideas about how you’ve lived your life and that have worked for you that you might want to pass along?
Annie:
In retrospect, when I was at school, I was very diligent, and I was very results orientated. And sometimes I felt that if things didn’t go right, it was almost like the end of the world, particularly in the later years in high school. But I think sometimes in retrospect, you don’t know what is going to end up happening. So probably, enjoying it-don’t take it easy, but just don’t be as hard on yourself at the time. And when, for example, I remember, the HSC was like the pinnacle of our academic achievement and of our record at school and whatever we were going to get it. There was a lot of pressure that I think every student gives themselves all the time. And I didn’t believe when people told me,” Oh, you finish your HSC and the next week, you’ll literally forget about it.” And to be honest, that actually happened. So I think my advice is just enjoy the time you have at school, which sounds cliched, but is true. I think the other aspect which I thought was something that I wasn’t naturally leaning into but I think just created such a fantastic environment is absolutely getting involved in extracurricular activities. I think that was so truthful later in life also. And I really think it’s fantastic that, Paul, you were such a champion of this and I hope you still I are. It’s so critical, because it’s what you learn outside of the classroom in terms of social interactions, pursuing interests that is so important. So really nourish that-not just your academics. And I think, combining all of that it’s really just about being the well rounded individual. I think when I graduated from university and entered the workforce, I still had some aspects, which were probably not as well developed as a result of the sheer nature of being the very results orientated person. Some thing’s like social aspects or interacting in the workplace. And I think those kind of aspects you learn through experience but definitely the basis of that can be formed and nurtured when you’re at school. So all those kind of aspects of leadership, not just leadership, but even just like coordination, or just pursuing an interest and really being curious and everything like that, I think, is really what I did. IGS certainly provides that environment. For example, I never thought I would finish the Duke of Edinburgh but I thought, “Give it a try”. And I think the most important aspect of that is just to give it a try.
Paul Galea:
Yeah. Now I’ve got some good news and some bad news on that front. I’m no longer doing the high school or the primary school co-curricular, because I’ve sort of semi-retired. But I’m actually in the process of starting up a whole bunch of ‘Alum Clubs’, where I’m going to try and do something similar to what we did in those primary years and in those high school years, and then get it happening in the next year or two. We’ve already got a couple of things happening. But the idea will be to get a whole series of different things so people can come in to enjoy them. So yeah, watch this space. And Annie, you haven’t disappointed me; you’re still so nice. So clever. So articulate. What a wonderful representative of our school you are. And I just want to say thank you so much for sharing your experiences. And I’m looking forward to when you do visit Australia that you come and contact me and we’re going to have a cup of coffee or something and have a bit of a laugh.
Annie:
That will be lovely. No, that will be awesome. I will definitely do. I do come home every year.
Paul Galea:
All right, make sure you contact me. That’d be good. Thanks, Annie.