Ryan Sohn ’26

I studied accounting in college. I had always known I wanted to be in business, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. During an internship at a middle-market financial services firm, I was exposed to—and became passionate about—capital markets. Accounting had provided a strong foundation, but I knew there was so much more to learn. The Master’s in Asset Management program at SOM offered the quantitative rigor and practical finance applications I needed for this next step in my career.

At SOM, Quantitative Investing has been my favorite class by far. I’m a big believer in the power of mindset shifts, and the class completely changed how I think about investing. It’s taught by the head of our program, Tobias Moskowitz, whose passion for the subject really gives the class that extra boost.

Outside of class, I’m a research assistant for Theis Jensen, a professor of finance. I review mergers and acquisitions documents, work with data in support of his machine-learning algorithm, and collaborate with the other research assistants. I’m also involved with social impact consulting, which has been another great opportunity to apply what I’ve learned in the real world. Two MBA students and I have teamed up with Whiskey Bravo, a military-focused nonprofit founded by a current Yale student. With insights from stakeholders, we’re scoping out how to help it grow sustainably and best position it for success.

This program prepares you for asset management; there’s no doubt about that. But many of the skills you develop here—cleaning and manipulating data, translating data into insights, and communicating those insights—are applicable across industries.

SOM attracts community-oriented people, and my cohort-mates have been a big highlight of this program. Everyone is so kind and welcoming, and we all want to celebrate each other’s success.

The program also brings together people from around the world, with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Some are deeply interested in quant research, and there are others who are focused on fundamental analysis. Some of us have academic backgrounds in finance, but we also have plenty of students from fields like engineering and the social sciences. Each person brings a different passion, and I’m consistently inspired by everyone’s work ethic.