Finance, according to Investopedia, is a term broadly describing the study and system of money, investments, and other financial instruments. A pretty wide and sometimes opaque field but one to which many ODs gravitate. Such allure does it have that, under the stewardship of Craig Vintcent (1986S), on the right in the photo below with James Johnston (2015G) the UK Branch has launched a dedicated Finance Forum to cater for this segment.

The inaugural meeting was held at the end of last month at The Antelope (rapidly becoming an OD pub of choice) in Belgravia. 23 ODs attended along with 8 Old Boys from Michaelhouse, St Andrew's and Hilton to mix, swop some get-rich-quick investment tips, build networks and listen to the insights of the speaker.

The speaker was Niall Carroll (pictured left in the photo above) who talked about his journey in finance. It started, bizarrely, with his passion and skill for the trombone (sic!), a B.Com from UCT, then articles, stockbroking, investment banking, and running the investments of the Royal Bafokeng Holdings. And now, boots and all, in the entertainment business, which sort of gets him back to where he started. He had some useful words of advice about working very hard at one's network, especially as "foreigners" in a strange land. Which was why, he said, combining our events with Michalehouse, Hilton and St Andrew's made so much sense.

In all, a very well-crafted, insightful and relaxed address, enjoyed and appreciated by all.

There are two further Finance Forum events planned for the remainder of the year: one with Magda Wierzycka, founder of Sygnia Asset Management and the other with Maria de Perverelli a Partner with Stonehage Fleming who will speak about "Art as an Asset Class". Details to follow.