Summer Internship Spotlight: Billy Cook (MSF’19), Citibank

Each year, our students spend their summers in Washington, D.C., across the nation, and around the world working in corporate, nonprofit, and government organizations. This month, we’re featuring Master of Science in Finance (MSF) students with particularly interesting summer internships. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Billy Cook (MSF’19)
Asia-Pacific Markets Summer Analyst, Citibank
Hong Kong

What was your internship?

I worked in sales and trading in Hong Kong for Citi, focusing on East Asia/Pacific, so there were nine or 10 different markets that we traded, everything besides Japan and Australia. I lived in Hong Kong for the summer. I had never been before, so it was really very interesting for me. I don’t speak Cantonese or Mandarin, but it was easy to get around; everybody spoke English, and all the signs were in English. I did two rotations in the 10 weeks. For the first five weeks I was in equities — stocks across the nine or 10 different markets in Asia. And then the second five weeks I did credit — bonds, credit default swaps, again covering all of Asia. I definitely learned a lot. It opened my eyes to what goes into trading, including what it’s like being on a trading floor.

How did you choose this internship?

My grandfather worked for GE for a long time and he got to travel a lot for work and always used to show me pictures. I wanted to find something where I could also travel. I attended one of the virtual information sessions on campus, went through the process, and followed up with everyone afterwards.

What are your plans after graduation?

I received a return offer, and I’ll be moving to Hong Kong in July. So it’s exciting, and I’d love to do it for a few years.

Do you have any advice for other finance students?

With Asia being the fastest growing market in the world, I think it’s a unique time to be there. It will be a really interesting time there for the next five years. Don’t limit yourself to New York or the typical locations that people might go after undergrad.