Profile: Karl Roldolfo

Karl Rodolfo did his undergraduate degree in Science, and after taking financial mathematics in third year, he found himself doing honours, and finally a PhD in Applied Mathematics. His project focuses on pricing financial derivatives, which are tradeable securities whose value is derived from an underlying asset, like a share, a bond, or a commodity. In the real world, the pricing is dependent on factors like interest rates, the asset itself and its maturity.

Karl enjoys his research because he finds that it is a very dynamic area. "It's a very fast-paced environment," he says, "and there's so much work still to be done, even though this area of research has been around for at least 30 years".

Karl believes that he has found his niche. By attending seminars, he has had the opportunity to meet a lot of people who have a high level of mathematics in the financial field, and to network with banks and financial institutions. It was such experiences that convinced Karl that this was what he really wanted to do.

Karl is currently completing his PhD part time, and working as a trader in equity options at the same time. "I think it will be tremendous, in terms of my research, to get this kind of practical experience in pricing options," he enthuses, "The two or three years experience that I will get while finishing my PhD will be really valuable."