Math, Science, and Investing

These days it's not only business majors who get jobs on Wall Street. A lot of people from math and science backgrounds are also hired.

They are used on both the trading side (to come up with systems that can make money), as well as investment banking.

For example, a firm called the Valence Group is involved in chemical investment banking.

They leave investment banking for other businesses to other Wall Street players.

Instead, they hired and developed expertise in chemistry and chemical engineering. These fields are valuable in chemical m&a advisory and chemical mergers and acquisitions deals, because their people would know, for example, if certain types of chemical factories can be combined to achieve cost savings.

Certain transactions may look good on paper but fail due to technology. Only someone with the proper math and science background would be able to pick it up.

On the other extreme, someone with the proper background may see opportunities for economy of scale and reducing costs that other groups don't see. This would give Valence Group's clients a competitive advantage that would let them bid higher.