Naeem Aslam

"I imagine there are very few people who can wake up every morning and say that they love their job. As a trader, I am very lucky to say that I absolutely love mine. 

"Wall Street always excited me and I had every confidence in myself that after graduating I would be on this career path. I used my time in Leeds to prepare for my future by going to career events and making the most of the networking opportunities. My defining memory of the Business School was spending time with my professors, especially Martin Carter, who always challenged my ideas to bring the best out of me.

"The job market was extremely competitive when I graduated, during one of the worst financial crises in history. Fortunately my hard work paid off and I was lucky to secure a role as a Senior Client Portfolio Executive at the Independent Trustee Company. Despite working long hours I found time to continue my education and passed both the qualified financial advisor exam and the chartered market technician exam. After nearly three and a half years I moved to BNY Mellon to work in hedge funds on the Trade Execution Desk before moving to Ava Trade in Ireland where I am the Global Head of Market Analysis and Chief Market Analyst. 

"Every day in the trading world is different, but I also work to a strict routine. I will wake up around 4:35am, as 04:30 is just a little too early! I catch up with Asian markets while I am getting ready for work. On the way to work, I send my predictions to media companies such as the Financial Times, Reuters and Bloomberg, on how I see the market developing that day. I have to be fully informed about the global markets, although I specialise in European and US markets. Everything is so connected these days that one event in the smallest market can have a ripple effect across many others. 

"Once in the office, I manage a team of eight traders and analysts. I am not the kind of person who can sit at a desk and do the same thing every day. I like new challenges to push myself and come up with strategies that are beneficial for both me and my employer.

"Over the years, I have developed a well-respected reputation in the financial markets and I regularly appear as a guest on Bloomberg, CNBC, WSJ, Marketwatch, Thomas Reuters and many other financial media channels, giving my predictions about the market and where investors should invest their money. It is one of the most difficult parts of the job, because when you are on the national and international stage, your reputation is your craft and there is no room for mistakes. 

"I do travel a lot for work, mostly in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. My travel, however, is very different compared to my fellow passengers; while they are at the airport shopping, or relaxing, I am still fully responsible for my team, monitoring the markets and making my predictions.

"In 2010, at the peak of the financial crisis, I won the Young Irish Broker Award. I was really proud of this achievement. I like to keep challenging myself today, so that I can prepare myself for the future. For this reason, I keep the bar very high; my goal is to own the most profitable hedge fund ever."

Twitter: @NaeemAslam23