Bonus Episode: The NEFS Conference and The Students Building It - with Haaris Khan and Misgana Berhane

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.