I never considered working in finance because coming from a country where the finance industry and asset management are not very developed (Russia), I never had exposure to them.

It all started when I moved to Australia and I walked into a bank and saw a couple coming out of the office and they were thanking one of the branch staff for assisting them. They looked so happy. At that moment I thought to myself that the person that they thanked must have done something really lovely for them. So I asked another branch staff who that person was and they told me his job was a Financial Planner. I went home and did my research on financial planning and my biggest takeout was that so many people working in finance industry helped others to reach their financial goals and make others happy. I decided then and there that I also wanted to help people to achieve their financial goals, be that buying their first house, building wealth or comfortable retirement. It has been 5 years since I started in finance and I have never looked back. Since then I’ve had a number of roles working in retail banking, private banking, financial planning and now wealth management. In each and every one of these roles I had multiple opportunities to help other people.

A career in finance is very rewarding as it teaches you so much and provides various opportunities be it having exposure to different areas (wealth management, insurance, investment banking, etc.) as well as opportunities to work overseas. A career in finance has provided me with the opportunities to meet amazing people from all over the world and I look forward to continuing my journey in finance for years to come.

Ksenia Zaychuk, Investment Research Analyst at Commonwealth Bank