Saransh Malaiya

01About

I'm Saransh, a Toronto-based finance professional with a genuine fascination for investing, risk management, and the slightly irrational psychology behind how we all make decisions.

My career has carried me from customer service at Amazon to banking and capital markets roles across Tangerine, CIBC, and now Scotiabank, giving me a rare, end-to-end view of how money actually moves through markets, clients, and risk.

I'm FRM-certified, a credential independently benchmarked at master's level. I'm currently writing the CFA Level III exam, with a deep interest in long-term investing, market behavior, and the judgment that separates a sound decision from a lucky one. I take the work seriously, just not myself.

02Philosophy

I think about risk before I think about return.

Most failures in finance don't come from bad math. They come from overconfidence, impatience, and ignoring what we can't see. So I try to do the opposite: move patiently, respect the limits of what I know, and watch how people actually behave with money, not how they claim they will. To me, a good decision isn't one that predicts the future. It's one that survives being wrong.

03Journey

A path built across the whole stack of finance.

Risk & Capital Markets

Scotiabank · Present

Working across markets and risk in a regulated capital-markets environment.

Trading Desk & Client Advisory

CIBC & CIBC Investor's Edge

Executed equities and options trades, processed corporate actions, and advised clients on portfolios, learning the mechanics of markets from the inside.

Retail Banking & Risk Controls

Tangerine

Handled client accounts and fraud and risk controls, where I first learned how much banking runs on trust.

Customer Service

Amazon

Where it started: solving problems under pressure and learning to listen before answering.

FRM Certified CFA Level III Candidate Options Licensed (DFOL) Excel · Python · SQL

Education

Post-Graduate Diplomas in Financial Planning & Marketing ResearchCentennial College, Toronto

Bachelor of Business AdministrationUniversity of Pune (Canadian equivalency, WES)

International Summer ProgramsGhent University, Belgium & Turku University of Applied Sciences, Finland

04Principles

How I try to think.

Margin of Safety

I'd rather leave room to be wrong than count on everything going right.

Circle of Competence

I work within what I genuinely understand, and stay honest about where that ends.

Skin in the Game

Opinions should carry accountability. If I'm wrong, I'd rather own it than explain it away.

Survive First

Protecting against the worst case matters more than optimizing for the best.

Temperament Over Forecasts

A clear, calm head usually beats trying to predict what comes next.

Fiduciary by Default

I treat other people's trust as something to protect, not just to earn.

05Off the Clock

Life away from the markets.

When I'm not thinking about finance, I'm usually moving: on a bike, across a badminton court, or out in a kayak. One ride I'm proud of took me from Manali to Khardung La, one of the highest motorable passes in the world. The things I value at work show up out here too: patience, discipline, and the occasional reminder to stay humble.

Cycling through the high Himalaya — On the road, somewhere in the high Himalaya.

At the Khardung La pass with my bike — Khardung La: the top of the world, reached by bike.

What shaped my thinking

The Intelligent InvestorBenjamin Graham

Security AnalysisGraham & Dodd

Poor Charlie's AlmanackCharlie Munger

The Black SwanNassim Nicholas Taleb

Thinking, Fast and SlowDaniel Kahneman

David and GoliathMalcolm Gladwell

SapiensYuval Noah Harari

06Connect

Don't be a stranger.

If any of this sounds like your kind of conversation, whether you're building at the intersection of finance and tech, fascinated by the psychology behind investing, or just want to debate whether markets are really efficient, I'd love to hear from you. Reach out, say hello, and let's swap ideas.

Email me LinkedIn