Mihir Hardas - NISM Experience

The following conversation was conducted with Mr. Mihir Hardas, a PSKA (Prof. Sheetal Kunder Academy) alumnus who passed the NISM XII exam with good grades. He is currently working in the risk management and operational resilience department. We asked him a few questions that would help NISM students in their financial careers, so let’s begin:

Why did you choose to pursue the NISM XII exam first over other NISM series?

I wanted to revise, regain, and revalidate my understanding of capital market fundamentals. Although I have been working in the technology division of various financial organizations within the BFSI space, my work primarily involved the technology delivery and implementation aspects. So, I was exposed to only some aspects of the underlying financial sector. Also, other certifications would be more of a specialization in certain areas of the capital market, something like mutual funds, derivatives, or RA, which I see as quite popular. However, without a solid understanding of the foundation, it would have limited my comprehension of the overall capital market. Okay, understood.

Did you have a finance background in academics or any finance experience before?

Only the financial models that I studied as part of my master's degree, i.e., in 2000. So, that post-graduation, which I did in MBA-IT, focusing on information technology, focused more on models. That was the only exposure I had. After that, I worked at the Bombay Stock Exchange, then a travel FOREX company, and subsequently several investment banks.

Was it mandatory at your job or in your business to pursue NISM?

Okay, so you already had finance experience before, but you still needed to revise the concepts and initiate with academics. Exactly. I can give you one example: working on the technology side of, let's say, exposure calculation involves getting deeper into how current exposures are calculated, what the stages are in an organization, and then more on the technology reporting because when we reported (this was for the US market, so now it's for reporting), it doesn't give any kind of comprehensive understanding or solid foundation of what the primary market and secondary market are. I see probably four important pillars of the entire range of the capital market, and that is possible only once we delve into academics, and it does help. 

So, your second question asked if it was mandatory. The answer is no, not mandatory. Continuous learning is encouraged in the organization, and we have a range of continuous learning as part of our culture. Certifications are an important part of that continuous learning process. You have LinkedIn Learning, solid certifications, you know, where a disciplined approach is very much appreciated even by the highest ranks in the organization.Even NISM has vetted that curriculum, and it makes it more thorough to make the candidate capable of working in the capital market. Right. And the post was also very good, and I had that booklet from the NISM website. So, the courses were also designed very well, and the chapters are very complete in their own way. The language is very good, and there are some good examples. But despite that, you know, after a person has spent a decade in the industry, joining a professional course actually gives that kind of focus and concentration on your academics.

As per your finance career, what critical insights will you give to NISM aspirants (who are afraid of AI taking their jobs)?

Newer opportunities, especially in fintech and financial analysis, are massively powered by AI.Even from RBI and regulatory bodies, AI may not be in the nascent stage, but it hasn’t reached a point where human involvement is not very much needed. The other important thing they mentioned is that AI is only as good as the underlying data, with the secret sauce of AI being the LLM and the tech that could power that for retrieval at a very high level.There also, as you mentioned, we’d need a human in the loop, and we may not completely rely on AI. However, tasks that are very predictable where humans are involved will be highly regulated. For example, the interesting path is that from an algorithm perspective, driving a car is comparatively simpler, but human life is involved there, so you see a lot of regulations there, even in trains and other sectors.So, they could be more predictable, and harmful aspects could be lower.It’ll augment our capabilities. The mechanical industry gained several pairs of hands where the independence increased stupendously.

Which finance job roles do you think will evolve in 2025?

AI-based wealth advisors, the tech part of management where I roll into, there also we would be in a better position where we could analyze the risk of third-party companies.Financial analysis is being impacted by AI. With large datasets and big trends in the markets, it’ll undergo enhanced capabilities. Evolving roles for financial advisors will involve tailor-made investment strategies that will be much more powerful in suiting client needs.Likewise, it could be anything in financial management.

Are you planning to pursue other finance certifications (CWM, CIFM, etc.)?

I’ve been in tech risk management and operational resilience for two years now (an update in my profile). I intend to pursue the Certified Wealth Professional from ISACA, as that would be a more global certification.From the NISM stack, I’d pursue operations and risk management.