It's no secret: Working in the financial services sector can be lucrative, if not serve as the road to early retirement. As for landing a job in the industry, or climbing the corporate ladder once you do, two considerations continue to dominate the minds of hiring managers and job candidates - education and experience.
Clearly, the same can be said of many a profession. But with the rewards of success being as high as they are in finance - particularly so in Hong Kong - the majority of education programmes remain geared towards the city's many budding bankers and future fund managers.
But how much do such programmes really contribute to an individual's skill set and career prospects? A fair bit actually, according to Simon Davies, executive chairman at investment management firm Threadneedle Investments.
As far as analysing past data is concerned, a solid education is critical, especially when it comes to creating financial models, Davies says.
'In some ways, investment management is just a giant research project,' he explains. 'And if you've done this sort of thing at university and have been trained to do so, you're probably going to be better at it than others. This is where education favours you.'
Nevertheless, the seasoned financial executive expresses grave concerns about overly relying on book smarts.