Zachary Eskelson
Vanderbilt MS Finance Class of 2007
Redwood Trust – Associate
San Francisco, California
My New Career
I’ll be working as an Associate for Redwood Trust, a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), in San Francisco. My role is in the corporate finance group and will be responsible for generating aspects of risk analysis, forecasts and internal operating reports for the company’s mortgage backed security (MBS) portfolios. The role will require me to evaluate hedging instruments, prepare documentation for derivative accounting, gather mark-to-market information for MBSs, and build models to project future income streams.
The Right Fit
This is exactly the type of role I was looking for. It provides exposure to many parts of the organization, incredible opportunity for professional growth and the chance to put many of the things I’ve learned through the MSF program to the empirical test. The offer exceeded my expectations in multiple aspects.
Fulfilling My Goals…and More
I’m extremely excited about what the future holds. Having found a career opportunity that seemingly fits so many of the things I was looking for (function, location, culture and compensation) I couldn’t be happier. It’s definitely a great feeling after many months of hard work. The MSF degree is paying dividends already! I’ve always had lofty goals for myself, and as the MSF program came to fruition I started to envision even greater things for my career.
How the MS Finance Prepared Me
The quantitative knowledge imparted through classes such as Econometrics, Derivative Markets and Fixed Income Markets prepared me well for the technical aspects of the interview process at Redwood Trust. Being able to intelligently talk about some of the intricacies of complex fixed-income instruments was definitely an advantage over candidates that did not have an advanced finance degree. In addition, the overall Vanderbilt experience instills a new level of confidence that I’m sure helped as I went through the process.
The Owen Community
The Owen community has been fantastic! Preferring a job on the west coast, I joined some the MBA students on their annual “West Coast Forum,” a job hunting trip to the Bay area. Not only did I have a great time, I was also introduced to my future employer. I found that taking advantage of as many parts of the Owen experience as possible was key to getting the richest experience. Every conversation I had, whether it was with a fellow MSF’er, a MBA, an alum or faculty member, added something positive to my experience. Of course, the finance faculty at Owen is outstanding. Being able to learn from greats like Hans Stoll and Bob Whaley is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
