Ami Yoshida

Equity Research Associate

Finance is in Ami Yoshida's blood. She grew up with it at the dinner table—her father was a financial consultant, and she took an early interest in all things economic. And when she was in high school, her family moved from Tokyo to Singapore, landing her right in the hub of Asian finance.

When the 2008 financial crisis hit and became a hot topic for everyone, Yoshida knew what her future was going to be.

She returned to Tokyo to attend Hitotsubashi University, where she studied finance and economics. While she was still a student, she took an internship at Reuters news agency, where she focused on writing articles about companies for investment banks. Researching companies was exciting for her, and when she graduated, she started working at one of the top financial institutions in the world—J.P. Morgan.

What does success look like to you?

Success in my life is to build up my career in a field where I have passion and curiosity, and retire when I've done my best. On the other hand, I'd like to have my own happy family and return what my family has done for me. I think they have a good balance of work and life, and I admire them for that.

Who has been the biggest influence in your life?

My father has been my biggest influence. He got me interested in the financial industry, but also in the wider world. He is interested and passionate about everything, not just business and the economy. He's always reading books about physics, history, pharma and many other fields. He even tried to compose music on his own as a business. His current hobby is writing Suiboku-ga (Japanese ink painting).

I don't have as broad a scope as him yet, but I am quite curious about everything and tend to try new things. His curiosity and quest for knowledge has inspired my own.

What do you consider the most valuable piece of advice you've ever received, and where did it come from?

The most valuable advice I received is from a professor at my university: Do your best at what is in front of you, and you will get more opportunities to do so. If you do your best, you will also earn more challenges, and the opportunity to step up to them yourself.

What is the biggest obstacle you've overcome in life?

I haven't really encountered an obstacle so far, but I have had some challenges. When I moved to high school in Singapore, I had to take a drama class, and it was all in English. In Japan we studied English, of course, but with an emphasis on reading and writing. I couldn't really speak or answer anyone. And we were supposed to do improvisation every day! Obviously I couldn't, but I persevered, and I improved. It taught me to stay the course and push through difficult or unpleasant challenges—you will come out stronger!

Work-from-home, go to the office or a mix of both?

Although we started rotation, we are still under quarantine so for now I continue to work from home. I eat food which is more protein oriented every day for lunch to stay fit (although I love carbs!), stretch on the yoga mat before bed, and every Wednesday I have a Zoom meeting with the other junior analysts on my team. It's for work, but it's also social. I live alone, so I look forward to it! I do have four cats…but they live with my parents for now, so I can't go see them at the moment.