1. Mert Ülker Page 1 of 3
Mert Ülker, CFA
Nisbetiye Mah. Belediye Sitesi Yolu Sokak,
No: 13F/1 Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey – flexible to relocate
Phone: +90 (533) 302 40 79; E-mail: ulkermert@hotmail.com
Head of Research and Cross-Asset Strategist
Executive Leadership, Equity Research, Cross-Asset Strategy, Investment & Portfolio Management,
Investment Banking, Investment Advisory, Quantitative Analysis, Risk Management, Investor Relations
An accomplished and highly-effective Senior Research Analyst and Cross-Asset Strategist with an
impressive record of achievements and a specific focus on Turkish financial markets
Demonstrating polished communication skills and natural authority, this creative and focussed business
partner builds strong and trusting relationships with stakeholders at all levels, and develops effective teams
using a hands-on leadership style and strong motivational abilities, delivering successful strategies to lead
efficient operations, improve processes, and accelerate business performance
With a sound understanding of financial markets, investments and stakeholder demands, this competitive
and ambitious CFA charterholder uses well-developed top-down and bottom-up analytical skills to ensure
the realisation of objectives, and will quickly be an asset to the Board or senior management team of any
forward-thinking organisation.
Skills
Executive Leadership Visionary leadership and skilled resource allocation to achieve all deliverables
Research and Strategy Equities, fixed income, FX and money markets, commodities, quant analysis
Investment Management Asset allocation, advisory (financial assets, real estate, infrastructure)
Investment Banking Advisory on primary deals (IPOs, private placements, M&A, private equity)
Financial Analysis Adds value through efficient analysis, modelling & accurate forecasting
Strategic Planning Defines and directs the implementation of innovative and successful strategies
Stakeholder Relations Builds strong and trusting relationships at strategic levels with all stakeholders
People Management Strong & decisive leadership of multi-cultural & cross-functional teams of 50+
Training and Mentoring Trained many analysts who later found jobs in bulge-bracket investment banks
Computer Skills MS Office, EViews, Matlab, Stata, Minitab, Bloomberg, T. Reuters Eikon
Languages Turkish (mother tongue), English (fluent), German (advanced)
Financial Markets
Risk Management
Asset Management
Financial Management
Emerging Markets
Business Development
Career History
2014 – 2016 AK Investment
Head of Research and Cross-Asset Strategy
Managing Director of the research department consisting of twelve analysts, including six equity research
analysts, one economist and a team of five analysts responsible from cross-asset and quantitative analyses
 Monitored global and local economic, financial and political developments, and established the
company’s house view and cross-asset strategy (stocks, bonds, credit, FX and commodities) with a
specific focus on Turkish equity research & strategy
 Made strategic and tactical trading calls through fundamental and quantitative analyses
 Maintained customer liaison and attended road shows to actively market investment ideas
Achievements
 Initiated the cross-asset strategy and quantitative research lines
 Generated alpha through the most-preferred stocks portfolio, which beat the benchmark index by 13%
on a compounded annual basis
 Ranked in top 3 among more than 40 international and local brokerage houses covering Turkey in the
best research team category of the Extel survey for the last 3 years, achieving first place in 2015;
selected as “best research team” in 2016 by managements of companies listed at Borsa Istanbul
 Led Akbank Group’s wealth management research content project
 Key contributor to gains in the organisation’s market share

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2013 – 2014 IC Holding
Business Development, Strategic Planning and Risk Management Director
Investment Specialist
Provided investment management and strategic advisory service in the Family Office (asset allocation
advice, market analysis and due diligence on real estate and venture capital schemes)
 Conducted a preliminary IPO strategy study for IC Holding and subsidiaries
 Supervised financial models for M&A, JV and PPP targets, including privatization opportunities
Achievements
 Initiated and supervised the strategic roadmap study of IC Energy
 Devised the risk management and corporate governance framework for IC Energy
 Established the Investor Relations function, and negotiated with potential foreign institutional investors
 Worked as an independent financial market commentator at Finansonline
2005 – 2013 Finansinvest
Executive Vice President & Chief Strategist, Investment Advisory & Online Brokerage 2010 – 2013
Member of the Executive Committee and the Investment Committee with responsibility for establishing the
cross-asset house view and directing finansonline.com, the online brokerage arm of Finansinvest with
33,000 clients
 Prepared Finansinvest’s daily and weekly investment strategy bulletins, reaching an audience of over
25,000, including Finansbank’s Wealth Management network
 Published strategic and tactical market calls (stocks, bonds, credit, FX and commodities)
 Recommended diverse asset allocation advice to clients of different risk profiles
 Conducted investment meetings with key clients and personnel of Finansinvest & Finansbank
 Directed business development, strategic planning, capital budgeting and CRM activities of Finansonline
Achievements
 Initiated the cross-asset research and strategy product line
 Developed the new generation (web-based and mobile) brokerage portals for finansonline.com
 Launched the Finansonline FX and Finansonline International trading platforms
 Led a complete overhaul of content management and development, building a community of 15,000
followers on Twitter in two years as potential leads for sales and marketing efforts
 Managed CRM activity of finansonline.com and built a new generation IVR for stock order automation
at Finansinvest’s call centre
 Increased Finansonline's share in Finansinvest's brokerage income from 15% to over 35% and its
market share in Borsa Istanbul from 0.6% to 1.0% in one year
Head of Research & Strategy 2005 – 2010
Managed and directed the equity research department of ten analysts, and monitored global and local
economic, financial and political developments to establish FinansInvest’s house view and equity strategy
 Analysed and screened companies and industries through fundamental and quantitative research;
identified top stock picks and trade ideas
 Led the weekly executive investment committee meetings and daily sales calls with the London office
 Maintained customer liaison and attended road shows to actively market investment ideas
 Covered non-financial stocks (TMT, conglomerates, consumer durables, autos, beverages, real estate,
defence and pharmaceuticals & healthcare industries) in earlier years
Achievements
 Consistently beat benchmark equity indices with the top stock picks
 Ranked in the Extel analyst and research team surveys
 Advised and worked in a number of investment banking activities on primary deals
2003 – 2005 BNP Paribas TEB Investment
Vice President - Equity Research
Covered the consumer durables, autos, TMT, steel & metals, airlines, defence and real estate industries
with active involvement in sales activities, and attended road shows
Achievements
 Advised in several investment banking activities on primary corporate deals

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Earlier Career
1997 – 2003 Global Securities
Equity Research Associate
Covered the steel & metals, TMT, real estate, airlines, defence, insurance, pharmaceuticals and healthcare
industries
Achievements
 Initiated coverage of the small-cap sector of the ISE
 Designed and maintained a quantitative stock selection model
 Advised and worked in a number of investment banking activities on primary deals
 Published several studies on a wide variety of topics, ranging from macroeconomics to finance, and
from country analysis to global financial developments
 Coordinated the issuance of a monthly bulletin with an audience of close to 20,000
1996 Fidelity Investments (Boston, USA)
Finance Intern
Conducted investment research – in-depth company and industry-level research at the stock and fund
level, and performed sales pipeline analytics to predict future new client revenue results
 Responsible for collecting, reviewing and analysing data to support decision-making, financial analysis
and management-reporting related to different Fidelity Businesses
1994 – 1995 Bose Corporation (Boston, USA)
Consulting Intern
Market linkage activities for new product development; benchmark analysis of a competitor
Education
1994 – 1996 Franklin W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College (Boston, USA)
Master of Business Administration – Concentration on Finance and Entrepreneurship
1989 – 1993 Istanbul Technical University
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
Training
Certificates in coaching & mentoring, advanced company analysis, valuation & financial modelling, real
estate finance and valuation, advanced technical analysis, among others
Memberships
CFA charterholder
CFAI member
CMB (Capital Markets Board of Turkey) Advanced Level License holder
Personal Achievements
 Babson College Alumni Leader in Turkey
 Top 0.05% out of a million candidates in the Central University Examination in Turkey
 Ranked 8th
among nearly a million students in the National High School Entry Examination in Turkey
Hobbies and Interests
Research, reading, music, sports, traveling, experienced DJ and basketball coach