Edelweiss Mutual Fund Managing Director and CEO Radhika Gupta on Sunday urged students and campus placement cells to rethink their approach to careers in finance, arguing that too many graduates are chasing a narrow set of high-profile roles while some of the industry's fastest-growing segments struggle to find talent.

In an open letter addressed to placement cells and campuses, Gupta said the overwhelming majority of job applicants to the asset manager seek positions in equity research and investing. "We get thousands of CVs to join us. 85% of them come for one role: equity research/investing," she wrote in a LinkedIn post.

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The Edelweiss CEO questioned whether all of those applicants would ultimately secure such roles or even be suited to them. "And the 15 other things we do as an asset manager? No one cares."

According to her, campuses have long glamorised a handful of finance careers, including equity research, investment banking and private equity, while treating other functions as second-tier options. "I promise you this thinking is now outdated," she said.

Gupta argued that some of the largest opportunities in finance over the next decade are likely to emerge in areas that are less crowded, rapidly evolving and facing acute talent shortages.

She identified risk management, investment products, derivatives trading, and private debt and infrastructure investing as examples. In risk management, she said, growing regulatory requirements, governance standards and complexity have pushed demand for skilled professionals far beyond available supply.

She also highlighted investment products, saying modern offerings increasingly depend on design, positioning and communication in addition to investment management expertise.

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On derivatives trading, the top executive said a "massive new SIF and hedge fund ecosystem is emerging, with very few trained professionals," while private debt and infrastructure investing face a shortage of specialist talent despite India's large capital requirements.

Gupta also pointed to sales as one of the most overlooked careers in finance. "By the way, we never get a resume for sales, perhaps the most misunderstood career in finance campuses," she wrote, adding that sales helps build resilience, networks, business acumen and leadership skills. "It's not a surprise many CEOs are former sales leaders."

Drawing on her experience, Gupta said she has seen professionals in these fields advance rapidly, build successful careers and earn well, while others remained stuck because they refused to look beyond what she described as the "glamour shortlist" celebrated on campuses.

She urged students to evaluate careers through three questions: "What will the world need more of? Where is competitive intensity lower? What am I good at?"

The CEO compared career planning to entrepreneurship, advising students not to chase crowded markets but to seek growing sectors with unmet demand. She also highlighted what she called a contradiction in India's job market. 

"Every campus says there are not enough jobs. Every company says there is not enough talent. Both cannot be true at the same time," she wrote. "The real gap is not only opportunity. It is signalling, guidance and fitment."

Gupta concluded by challenging the idea that there is a universally ideal placement outcome. "And finally, let's shun the notion that there is something called the best 'Day 0' job," she wrote. "There is no universal Day 0 job. Day 0 differs for everyone. A career is not a 6-month placement outcome. It is a 40-year compounding journey."

Published on: May 31, 2026 9:58 AM IST