We recently sat down with four interns from across businesses and departments to hear more about their backgrounds, experiences, and journeys so far at Point72.
Tell me about yourself and your background.
Florian: I’m from Sopron, Hungary, a small city in the countryside. I’m studying finance at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, and I’m part of the finance society there. This summer, I’m interning with the Point72 Academy in London. I originally was introduced to the firm by joining Spring Insight Week, a one-week immersion program hosted by the Academy in London.
Yaxuan: I’m from China and completed my undergraduate studies before coming here for my graduate studies. Now, I am an incoming fifth year getting my PhD in statistics at UC Berkeley. This summer, I’m working as a quantitative research intern with the Cubist Quant Academy.
Adit: I grew up in Kansas and am a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where I am pursuing my master’s in computer science. This summer, I’m working as a Data Science Intern and am focused a lot on AI agents, especially generative AI and LLMs.
Yafan: I’m originally from China and Singapore and am currently an incoming senior at Harvard. I’m getting a double major in economics and computer science, with a secondary in theater, dance, and media. This summer, I’m interning for the Point72 Academy.
How did you become interested in the field you’re working in this summer?
Florian: The first time I ever looked at a stock was in high school when I was assigned a project to pick a business, understand how it works, and break it down into smaller parts. It introduced me to the world of business and how companies operate. Although my analysis was probably not very informed in hindsight, it motivated me to open a brokerage account so I could start trading on my own. This experience ultimately led me to pursue finance at university.
Yaxuan: My PhD work is focused on causal inference, deep interpretable learning, and machine learning. I wanted to see how I could apply my experience working with data to a career in finance.
Adit: I have always had an interest in math and statistics, which are essential for machine learning. With a major in computer science, I naturally gravitated toward the field. After undergrad, I worked for two years on generative AI projects, which exposed me to the field and gave me the experience I needed to be here now.
Yafan: In college I tried a bunch of different things, but I was always interested in studying companies. I joined my school’s investing club to learn more about the public markets. It’s not only about analyzing a company’s business model, but also trying to understand aspects that people might be missing or overlooking.
What have you learned so far in your role this summer?
Florian: I think I’ve realized that you learn something new every day, even years into the job. The markets are constantly changing, so I’m learning how to adapt to that.
Yaxuan: I’m learning a lot about how systematic trading operates, how statistics and modeling are applied to understand the market, and how these insights inform the investment approach.
Adit: Things move fast. There’s a lot of excitement and passion in what people do and Point72 is quick to adopt new technologies. It’s really motivating to collaborate with talented colleagues who are committed to moving forward rapidly.
Yafan: Even though I only started a few weeks ago, I’ve already learned a lot from the Academy coaches and my team. Everyone has a different process and approach to how they think about a stock and research a company. My team has taught me to consider factors that I haven’t paid attention to in the past.
What do you wish to learn or accomplish during your internship?
Florian: The most important thing I want to learn this summer is how investors distinguish between signal and noise and apply that to their investment process. I think there’s no better place than the Academy to learn how analysts and portfolio managers build and adhere to their processes.
Yaxuan: I came into this summer wanting to get a real sense of what doing research in the quantitative finance industry looks like day-to-day. I hope to walk away with the technical knowledge I need. So far, the experience has been encouraging.
Adit: I really want to deepen my understanding of finance, and this summer is a great opportunity to do so despite not having a traditional background in the field. My other goal is to advance my programming skills, particularly in Python, by learning from people that are skilled at it, especially as it relates to AI.
Yafan: I really just want to learn as much as I can about the day-to-day of an investment analyst and what a career path might look like in this industry. I’m excited to ramp on specific stocks, come up with a thesis, and pitch my ideas.
What stands out about Point72’s culture?
Florian: Anyone I’ve approached so far has been extremely open to talking to me and telling me about their career. Point72 not only teaches the process, but encourages you to be humble and learn from mistakes and repetition. It’s similar to basketball — every day you make a bit of progress, and over time, it all adds up to a positive outcome.
Yaxuan: I appreciate the fast-paced, learning- and research-oriented culture. My team has been incredibly supportive — helping me learn the foundations, kick off my project, and quickly adapt my existing knowledge to this entirely new area.
Adit: People here are genuinely friendly. My experience has been very positive and everyone I’ve interacted with has contributed to making this an inviting and inclusive culture.
Yafan: I’m really pleased with how collaborative everyone here is. The team I’m currently on is incredibly generous with their time and sharing how they approach investing in general.
Can you share an interesting fact about yourself?
Florian: When I played basketball, I wore the number 95 because I was a huge fan of Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars.
Yaxuan: A fun fact about me is that I attend ballet classes every other day after work at Broadway Dance Center. It’s one of the perks of living in New York.
Adit: I’ve been baking for the last few years. I bake everything from cakes, pizzas, lava cakes, and more. It’s a tradition in my house to bake a cake for my family members on their birthdays, which I really enjoy doing.
Yafan: I enjoy dancing. I’ve been dancing since I was young and am part of a competitive dance group on campus.