Mario Mercado
Finance Professional | AI-Powered Analysis
I pair strategic risk oversight with AI-driven tooling to drive business development, investment analyses, and portfolio solutions.
About
I am a finance professional leveraging AI to bridge the gap between quantitative analysis and strategic decision-making. My career spans diverse roles in credit risk, financial consulting, and investment operations.
Currently based in San Francisco, I have worked with institutions ranging from Natixis Investment Managers to First Republic Bank. My expertise lies in managing complex financial workflows and building client relationships, from directing tax-loss harvesting cycles for thousands of accounts to evaluating credit risk profiles that influence strategic lending decisions.
I thrive at the intersection of finance and technology, leveraging AI-augmented workflows and financial modeling to mitigate risk and solve complex institutional problems. I use AI to accelerate business development, portfolio analyses, investment models, and financial solutions, turning weeks of manual work into days of rigorous, data-driven output.
I approach high-stakes environments with a tenacious mindset, proven by my ability to navigate peak volumes during critical project phases, master new systems on the fly, and adapt to evolving market demands.
Outside of analyzing markets and conducting financial valuations, you can find me playing soccer or exploring the Bay Area's vibrant food scene.
Experience
Jan 2025 – April 2026 Trade Analyst·Natixis Investment ManagersSan Francisco, CA- Reconciled hundreds of SMA/UMA equity and fixed income models for portfolio managers, using SQL to identify variances and mitigate portfolio risk.
- Drove process improvements across a ~2,400-request tax-loss harvesting cycle, resolving trade discrepancies and maintaining data accuracy during peak volumes.
- Conducted daily financial controls and drift analysis to enable tax-efficient transitions, using Bloomberg and Vestmark to align rebalancing frameworks across multi-strategy portfolios.
- SQL
- Bloomberg
- Vestmark
- Tax-Loss Harvesting
Dec 2023 – Dec 2024 Consultant·Inspection Engineers, Inc.Miami, FL- Built a ~20-prospect, $50M+ investor pipeline by leveraging existing client relationships, advancing qualified leads in BQE Core CRM from initial outreach to proposal stage for principal-led close.
- Spearheaded underwriting and leasing income analysis to evaluate land acquisitions and multi-sector investments.
- Developed disposition strategies that projected ROI and surfaced data-driven market-viability insights for investors.
- Financial Underwriting
- Market Analysis
- ROI Modeling
- BQE Core CRM
Aug 2021 – Jul 2023 Loan Analyst·First Republic BankSan Francisco, CA- Underwrote ~50 residential and commercial deals per quarter ($1M–$10M each) for 3 Relationship Managers, leading weekly pipeline reviews and tracking deal status in Salesforce Financial Services Cloud.
- Flagged cross-sell opportunities across Lending and Wealth Management portfolios, joining client meetings to deepen relationships and expand wallet share.
- Presented credit memos to the Executive Loan Committee, informing $100M+ in quarterly capital allocations.
- Credit Risk
- Pipeline Management
- Executive Communication
- Data Analysis
Mar 2020 – Aug 2021 Compliance Analyst·Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC)Washington, D.C.- Conducted FCC compliance audits and PQA assessments across $2.1B+ in rural healthcare and educational programs, using Tableau to escalate rate deviations and fund disbursement irregularities to FCC stakeholders.
- Compliance Audit
- Tableau
- FCC Regulations
- Data Analysis
May 2019 – Mar 2020 Accounting Assistant·MC, Inc.Ashton, MD- Managed financial records and invoicing for the $1B+ Silver Line Metro infrastructure project, ensuring GAAP/FASB compliance and utility coordination during critical project phases.
- GAAP/FASB
- Infrastructure Finance
- Financial Operations
Skills
AI & Development Tools
- Claude Code
- Gemini
- ChatGPT
- VS Code
- CLI
- Git
Data & Analytics
- Python
- SQL
- Tableau
- Large-Scale Data Analysis
- Data Visualization
- Market Research & Analysis
- Trend Analysis
Financial Strategy
- Credit Risk & Underwriting
- Model Reconciliation
- Equity Trading
- Financial Modeling (DCF, P&L, Lease-vs-Buy, Amortization)
- Tax-Efficient Harvesting
- GAAP
- FASB
Operations & Systems
- Salesforce
- BQE Core CRM
- Pipeline Management
- Lending Compliance
- Internal Audit
- Bloomberg
- Vestmark
- FactSet
- FNMA Certified
- NetOxygen
- QuickBooks
- BillQuick
- Excel
- PowerPoint
Certifications
Advanced Valuation and Strategy
M&A, Private Equity, and Venture Capital
Finance & Quantitative Modeling for Analysts
Financial Analysis Specialization
Languages: Fluent in Spanish, Native in English
Projects
Anthropic × Goldman Sachs
A 14-slide enterprise sales pitch for Claude at Goldman Sachs. Covers buying committee, competitive landscape, deal sizing, and 90-day territory strategy, all built from public research.
Client Book: UHNW Prospecting
How to convert UHNW prospects beyond product-led positioning. Four mock profiles demonstrate a schema-driven approach to first meetings: qualification to advancement, structured sourcing throughout.
Adaptive Valuation Engine
One DCF framework that adapts from profitable mega-caps to pre-profit turnarounds. Three case studies (AAPL, FSLY, CVNA) demonstrate how configuration, not structural changes, produces credible output across company profiles.
UHNW Portfolio Transition Analysis
A comprehensive portfolio optimization study for an ultra-high-net-worth technology founder with $25M in investable assets. Transitions a 90% concentrated equity position into a 7-asset-class institutional model with AI-accelerated scenario modeling and risk analysis.
Cartier Santos Investment Analysis
An evaluation whether the Cartier Santos de Cartier is a viable investment or purely a leisure purchase. Grounded in six years of secondary market data, gold spot price history, and a 10-year forward projection benchmarked against gold bullion, the S&P 500, and inflation.
AML Risk Detection & Visualization
An end-to-end AML surveillance solution combining SQL-based detection queries with an interactive Tableau dashboard. Analyzes 5M+ synthetic transactions to identify $187B in high-risk exposure through temporal patterns, institutional corridor analysis, and transaction channel monitoring.
Writing
Contact
I'm actively exploring new opportunities in finance and analytics. Whether you're looking for someone to join your team, want to discuss a potential collaboration, or just want to connect—I'd love to hear from you.
Get In Touch