For Roopam Janda ACSI, head of implementation at the Dubai office of investment platform provider Praemium, being part of an international company (Praemium’s headquarters are in Australia, and it also has an additional six offices worldwide) comes with its pros and cons. "There is a fantastic collaboration between continents and time zones, and it’s a really exciting place to work," she says. However, working with a global team also has its challenges. "The implementation team is spread over three continents, and we cover 18 hours in a 24-hour day, over six days a week."
From London to Dubai
Roopam has been working at Praemium’s Dubai office since November 2018. She relocated from London in 2013 when the firm she was working for at the time, investment management firm ARIA Capital Management, opened an office in Dubai, and she took on a promotion as business operations manager.
One of the elements Roopam enjoys most about her relocation is working with people from different cultures and speaking to people from different walks of life – "an enriching experience". The change in her working pattern, however, took a little time to get used to. "The working week is Sunday to Thursday, which totally confused me for about two years. But I find working on Sunday great now – it’s my quiet focus time before the rest of the world is online again on Monday."
She now leads Praemium’s UK and international implementation team on both the Investment Platform and WealthCraft, a back-office CRM system designed for financial firms, in helping new and existing clients with platform adoption, training requirements, helping the client refine their investment proposition and ensuring the technology aligns to the client’s internal processes. Her role focuses on supporting the team to ensure the client is getting the most out of their platform and CRM experience. “We want to ensure new clients are using the systems with confidence, so we build training plans to suit the firm and carry these out as planned," she explains. “This is important as each system is bespoke and each client has their own requirements”. The role sits between the client, back-office and IT teams to ensure any new platform enhancements and features are aligned to client needs and expectations, she says.
"The diploma was the icing on the cake and made everything I do that extra bit worthwhile"
Roopam is well suited to the role, having experience in both IT and investment management. After completing a degree in business and information technology management at Manchester Metropolitan University in 2002, Roopam gained her first insight into financial services, working as an administrator at portfolio management company Berkeley Fund Managers for 18 months before going travelling. "Being IT-competent helped a lot with learning new systems and getting up to speed quickly, and in some cases understanding the logic of how some systems work," she says.
After her travels, Roopam was determined to put her degree to use, so jumped back into the world of IT. But after four years, she realised that her previous experience of the financial sector was a better fit. "I felt I had a stronger connection with, and found it more enjoyable, working in the financial sector," she says.
The timing of Roopam’s official entrance to financial services – at investment management firm ARIA Capital Management – was interesting to say the least. "I joined the financial services sector in 2008 as an investment administrator, during the financial crisis, which meant I had an extremely steep learning curve. I learnt a lot about what was happening across the world and about the strategies and portfolios that were being built in-house to help investors in the crisis." Roopam found herself in a fast-paced environment where no two days were the same. She built up her career at ARIA, receiving a promotion in 2012 to head of investment administration, before relocating to Dubai in 2013.
Lifetime achievements: a promotion and a diploma
Roopam says that her promotion to her current role is her biggest career achievement to date. The second is achieving her CISI level 6 Diploma in Investment Operations in September 2020. "The diploma was the icing on the cake and made everything I do that extra bit worthwhile," she says. "The CISI is a highly regarded body in the sector in the UK and internationally, and as a manager it helps colleagues and clients know that you hold yourself to a high set of standards."
Achieving the diploma was no easy feat. With a full-time job, studies were the reserve of her weekend. "The diploma was extremely helpful in understanding the wider aspect of the business I was in. As I progressed through the diploma, I progressed in my career." The narrative exams are based on case studies that replicate real-world scenarios, and students are required to analyse and write reports based on the data, just as would be required at manager level.
Achieving both her promotion and her diploma is testament to Roopam’s hard work and ambitious attitude – putting her career in her own hands. "Take the time to learn and develop yourself. You never know where it will take you," she concludes.