Part 2 - Equities

I started CFA to get a handle on valuation and finance. Shortly after completing CFA Level 1, I landed a job at a buyside firm where I got hands-on experience with DCF, stock picking, and writing equity reports. Next, I worked for an investment research firm, kind of like CapitalIQ but less advanced. I created templates like valuation calculators (input - growth rate, cost of equity, FCFF, and output - value) and common size balance sheets among others to help institutional and retail investors make informed decisions.

One of the board members in this firm was really impressed with my work and offered me a job at a different firm with more responsibilities and a bigger impact. I joined the Nepal Private Equity Association.

As the first employee at the organization, I was tasked with building the firm’s activities from scratch. I quickly set three primary goals: improving the quality of PE professionals, lobbying the government for PE-conducive regulations, and creating a pipeline of PE/VC investment-ready firms. I am proud to report that in just 10 months, I was able to achieve all three. I hosted world-class trainers (Training the Street), launched a deal-sharing platform (with 25+ companies listed), opened channels with policymakers and the bureaucracy (including the Finance Ministry and Dept. of Industry) with whom we hosted roundtables to lobby our concerns, and successfully partnered with donors like IFC and USAID to fund these initiatives. Motivated by desire to expand my skills and knowledge, I left for Canada to pursue my MBA in June’23.