Finance graduate with CFA Level 2 offering Finance, Investment Management, and Basic Statistics lessons up to undergraduate level.

Find out more about Farhan

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  Through life's encounters, I have come to understand that the economy influences nearly everything in this world. The 2007 Subprime Mortgage Crisis in the United States and COVID-19, have both contributed heavily to the start of the global financial crises. Devastating events such as these have highlighted the importance of financial literacy. In recent years, publications are dedicating more articles to providing the public with important financial policy updates, as well as fundamental knowledge in finance. In our time, being frugal and saving regularly is no longer enough to ensure one's financial independence. It has become vital to not only know how to keep your money safe but also know how to manage them well and invest smartly. These realizations have prompted me to pursue studies in finance and economics.
  
  I come from a family with financial adversity. During high school, I was providing private tutoring to the juniors in order to afford my daily expenses. Over time I started to enjoy teaching as it allowed me to help students that are struggling while also helping myself financially.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, and the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  The topics I generally like to discuss with students are importance of financial literacy, personal finance, financial markets, financial crises, and career planning.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  I have a few teachers that inspired me but in the opposite way. I never had a teacher who listened to the students and tried to explain the problems in a practical way instead of simply following the textbook. This is why I strive to be a mentor who always listens to his students and tries to empathize with them in order to tailor the learning experience for every student.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Empathy and Communication are the most important qualities required to be a good tutor. Of course, it is important for a tutor to have adequate knowledge of the topic they are teaching, but that only makes them a tutor, not a good tutor.
  Every student is different as they come from different families, cultures, and educational backgrounds. A good tutor will be able to empathize with their students and deliver the classes in a way best suited for each of them.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  I wanted International Finance as an elective during my undergraduate studies but it was not available for my programme. But as I was extremely passionate about Finance and did not want to waste an elective on other topics, I decided to make an appeal to the faculty through a petition. I went ahead to collect signatures from 90%+ of the students from my batch to pretty much push the school to let us take International Finance.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  I have overcome the difficulties I was facing with my subject during my undergraduate studies. However, recently my interest shifted more towards quantitative finance. As I lack a background in computer science, one of the biggest challenges I am facing with my subject is with algorithmic finance.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  I do have a particular passion but it is completely unrelated to teaching or finance. I am an avid climber, or perhaps, a rock climbing addict. I generally go indoor climbing twice a week at the local climbing gyms and outdoor climbing once or twice a month.

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering this interview questions :-P) ?

  My students!