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JMSB grad takes flight with Air Canada

From Syria to Concordia – and billion-dollar fund management
December 9, 2019
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By Ashley Rabinovitch


Tarik Serri, BComm 03 “Stay curious and thirsty to learn. Don’t get too comfortable or you'll stop contributing and doing great things.”

Tarik Serri, BComm 03, is someone who prides himself as a calculated risk-taker. Born in Syria, he left his native country to enrol at the John Molson School of Business. After graduate school at HEC Montréal, where he obtained his MBA, and a stint as an analyst with Concordia’s Financial Services department, Serri joined Air Canada Pension Investments at a tumultuous time for the company.

Today, as director of Air Canada’s Hedge Funds and Alternative Investments, Serri carefully weighs risk as he allocates billions of dollars to what he calls “niche-y” and “opportunistic” investments.

A CFA charterholder, Serri credits Concordia with cultivating his interest in finance and helping him develop the requisite skills to thrive in a challenging industry.

“Concordia was where I was inspired and intrigued by the world of finance,” he says. “I’m grateful to the teaching staff for introducing me to the world of investments, especially professor Abraham Brodt and his portfolio management class. He taught us how things work in practice versus theory.”

While Serri didn’t always relish being called upon in class, he now appreciates it in hindsight.

“One professor made us present for two to five minutes every class. It pushed me out of my comfort zone. But that’s [how you] succeed.”

Serri also values the role group projects played in honing his ability to communicate: “You learn how to work with people when they don’t do a job the way you expect and how to collaborate to find solutions.”

After learning the basis of investment strategy while working at what is now Concordia’s Office of the Treasurer, Serri embarked upon his most daunting challenge: building out the hedge fund and private debt portfolios that helped lift Air Canada’s pension fund out of the red. He now schedules hundreds of meetings every year with investment managers to assess opportunities in niche markets, from film royalties to health-care lending.

“Typically, there is less appetite to take on this type of non-traditional risk,” says Serri. “It’s complex. It has high barriers to entry. You have to peel back the onion to see if an investment makes sense. When you allocate capital, your job is never boring or routine.”

Serri’s communication skills have served him well as he pursues novel investment opportunities in different parts of the world.

“Some investors underweigh emerging markets,” he explains. “For private-market asset classes, there’s no public information available, so it’s all about the network you build locally and overseas.” In countries like China and Brazil, Serri gets to know local stakeholders in person.

Years of hard work and calculated risk-taking have paid off for Serri and Air Canada’s pension plan, now a wholly-owned subsidiary called TransCanada Capital (TCC).

“We managed to double the pension fund’s assets from $10 billion to $20 billion, and now we’re running a surplus of $2.5 billion,” he says. In honour of his accomplishments, CIO Magazine included Serri in its 2019 list of leaders driving innovation in institutional asset management.

“The award is a great recognition for the TCC and Air Canada team and everything we do,” says Serri.

So what advice does the Syrian immigrant, JMSB grad and finance executive have for the next generation of business students?

“Learn to communicate clearly. Read as much as you can to understand capital markets and connect the dots. Stay curious and thirsty to learn. And don’t get too comfortable, or you will stop contributing and doing great things. After all, reward follows risk.”



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