Is trading really what everyone thinks it is? 📈

Welcome to the THIRTY-FIRST episode of The Smart Money Show; today, we are joined by Chloe Shepherd, a Credit Repo Trader whose path in the market is anything but conventional.

Growing up in Lancashire, Chloe became the first in her family to attend university, studying History and Maths at Glasgow, before breaking into top institutions like Citi and RBC Capital Markets. Alongside her career on the trading floor, she serves as a Development Board Member for upReach.

Across this conversation, we explore Chloe’s journey into trading, starting with the early moments that made certain paths feel out of reach. Chloe opens up about the realities of working on a markets desk, the pressure that sometimes follows you home, and the parts of the job that rarely get spoken about. We also explore what it means to navigate moments of self-doubt, the role of a strong support system, and the ongoing work of managing imposter syndrome.

This episode is an honest, grounded, and inspiring look at resilience, identity and what it means to carve out space in an industry that wasn’t built for everyone in mind.

Contact:

Chloe Shepherd - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloe-shepherd-7bb45410b/

🎥 Recorded: 14th January 2026

Chapters:

0:00 – Intro 🎙️

2:59 – Growing Up in Morecambe & Education as a Way Out 🌊

6:37 – A-Levels, Rejections & Choosing Glasgow Over London 📨

9:41 – Switching Degrees & Landing a Trading Internship 🔁

11:48 – Grades, Apprenticeships & Rethinking Talent 🎓

18:37 – Validation, Money & The Emotional Reality of Success 💭

20:31 – Breaking Into Markets Without a Traditional Background 🚪

27:15 – RBC and Citi: Culture, Teams & Learning on the Desk 🏦

39:08 – Repo Trading Explained & Life on a Trading Floor 📈

46:13 – Soft Skills, Pressure & Taking Work Home 🧠

55:53 – Identity, Class & Belonging in Finance 🧬

1:02:30 – Social Mobility, UpReach & What Firms Still Get Wrong 🤍

1:20:00 – Outro 👋🏼

As always, stay tuned to us regularly as we bring you unheard insights, professional guests and a few laughs! 💚

Check out our work and connect with us here: https://www.thesmartmoneyshow.co.uk/

Please be advised, none of our episodes constitute as financial advice and we will never attempt to do so.

A massive finance conference OUTSIDE London FOR students!? 🤔

In the season of giving - here’s a BONUS episode of The Smart Money Show, about the University of Nottingham’s Economics and Finance Society 2026 Annual Conference.

Firstly, we're really excited to announce our partnership with the NEFS Conference. As part of this collaboration, we’ve got exclusive access to a range of professional speakers from elite financial institutions, and on the day of the conference we’ll be setting up a studio to record interviews with speakers and senior professionals in attendance!

So to kick off our collaboration, we are joined by their two co-presidents Haaris Khan and Misgana Berhane. After experiences across financial services and healthcare, Haaris is an incoming Industrial Placement Analyst at Lazard. Misgana completed spring weeks at Jefferies, Citi, and Scotiabank, alongside internships at Octopus Energy and Grosvenor, and is gearing up for a return internship at Jefferies this summer.

In this bonus episode, we unpick their career journeys so far, their time with NEFS and why you should attend their flagship conference in the new year!

Plus a Happy New Year from the team at The Smart Money Show! 🙌

Contacts and Details:

Get your tickets here! - https://www.instagram.com/uonnefs?igsh=cWc3OWlwbTI1emNn

Haaris Khan - https://www.linkedin.com/in/haariskhanlinkedin/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_detail_base%3BhS%2BbHsVcRh6soIKalYihbg%3D%3D

Misgana Berhane - https://www.linkedin.com/in/misganaberhane/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_detail_base%3BhS%2BbHsVcRh6soIKalYihbg%3D%3D

NEFS TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@nefsconference?_r=1&_t=ZN-92dI7LvKENy

NEFS Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/uonnefs?igsh=cWc3OWlwbTI1emNn

🎥 Recorded: 23rd December 2025

Chapters:

0:00 – Intro 🎙️

1:07 – NEFS Conference Partnership Announcement 🤝

1:40 – Guest Introductions: Haaris Khan & Misgana Berhane 👋

2:44 – Why Finance? Early Motivations 💡

5:57 – Early Perceptions of Finance & Misconceptions 🧠

7:52 – Degrees, Backgrounds & Transferable Skills 🎓

9:42 – Breaking the “Non-Finance” Barrier 🚪

11:20 – The Moment Finance Became Real 🎯

16:22 – Testing Career Paths & Gaining Exposure 🔍

20:59 – Rejection, Resilience & Bouncing Back 💪

24:28 – Converting a Spring Week into a Summer Offer 🔁

26:36 – Why Societies Matter for Careers & Confidence 🏛️

29:10 – Inside NEFS & Its Growing Influence 📈

31:36 – Stepping Into Leadership Roles 🧠

34:37 – Balancing Academics, Societies & Applications ⚖️

40:51 – Building the NEFS Conference Vision 🎤

45:27 – Why the Conference Matters for Students 🎓

46:23 – Who Should Attend & What You’ll Gain 🎟️

48:02 – Getting Involved & Making the Most of It 🚀

49:16 – Final Reflections & Key Lessons 🌱

55:30 – Outro 👋

As always, stay tuned to us weekly as we bring you unheard insights, professional guests and a few laughs! 💚

Check out our work and connect with us here: https://www.thesmartmoneyshow.co.uk/

Please be advised, none of our episodes constitute as financial advice and we will never attempt to do so.

Risk, ratings, and a rise in reputation... ⚠️

In our THIRTIETH episode, join Ali and Noman as they meet Olivier Beroud, the Executive Chair of ARC Risk Group, to discuss credit ratings and the future of risk management.

With an illustrious career spanning continents and household names, Olivier has held senior positions in risk management at GCR Ratings, Moody’s Investors’ Service, Barclays and Standard & Poor’s. Passionate about risk appetite but also education and mentorship, Olivier's consulting firm allows him to coach executives, lecture around the world and mentor students with financial fanaticism.

Elaborating on his various roles and hot-takes on the function of credit ratings as a foundation of the global financial ecosystem, both his theoretical insights and practical advice turn this episode into a must-watch for anyone who envisions themselves with a future in finance!

Olivier Beroud - https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivier-beroud-3854423/

🎥 Recorded: 9th October

Chapters:

0:00 - Intro 🎙️

3:11 - Olivier’s Career Snapshot 🧭

5:03 - What Drew Him to Risk & Credit 📚

6:17 - Mentors, Networks & Early Lessons 🤝

9:57 - Why Accounting Still Matters 🧾

12:21 - Inside S&P: Learning Credit 🏭

15:06 - How Rating Agencies Really Work 📊

19:54 - Handling High-Stakes Meetings as a Young Analyst 🧑‍⚖️

23:40 - Big Agencies vs Niche Players 🚢

27:25 - How Banks Rate Risk Internally 🏦

30:54 - The ThyssenKrupp Downgrade Case ⚖️

35:03 - Independence, Conflicts & the 2008 Impact 🧩

42:13 - Tech, AI & The Future of Ratings ⏱️

46:57 - ESG in Practice: Real-World Challenges 🌍

55:02 - Building ARC into a Global Player 📈

1:03:40 - Key Lessons & Advice for Students ✨

1:09:10 - Outro 👋

As always, stay tuned to us weekly as we bring you unheard insights, professional guests and a few laughs! 💚

Check out our work and connect with us here: https://www.thesmartmoneyshow.co.uk/

Please be advised, none of our episodes constitute as financial advice and we will never attempt to do so.