Leveraged Loans Analyst Review

My role involves all post-execution activities and life cycle monitoring of investments, on behalf of external companies/issuers. Day-to-day tasks include loan processing, settlement, reconciliations and the ongoing management of loans across a number of different funds. This involves communicating with people internally (e.g. Fixed Income desks), as well as external counter parties, which is a good way to expand your network.

I have developed my communication skills through being able to liaise with a wide variety of internal and external people, as well as delivering presentations to school students thinking of doing an apprenticeship scheme once they finish school. I have also learnt how to prioritise my time effectively depending on the urgency of the different tasks which I am set.

I thoroughly enjoy the apprenticeship programme, as it enables me to build up valuable skills which will be useful in any career, as well as expand my network of contacts within the industry. I also enjoy learning on the job and being able to deal with real-life scenarios to help with my understanding.

I think the programme is very well structured. The qualification itself is taught and run by an external training & consultancy company, which allows for a more in-depth focus for learning. There are good communications between the training company and M&G, which means that meetings are well-organised, which is important.

I receive a lot of support from my employer, through both my manager and HR team. I have regular 1 to 1 meetings with my manager where we discuss my progress and set tasks and objectives, and I also have monthly meetings with HR, where there is an opportunity to raise any queries or concerns we may have, which means there is always more than one person we can turn to for support.

I receive lots of support from my training provider. We communicate regularly via email to ensure that I fully understand the tasks which are being set, and we also have monthly meetings with the tutor from the training provider, and my manager, to discuss progress and objectives for the future. The training provider also runs a revision session before each exam, to consolidate our revision.

I feel that the qualification helps significantly with my performance in my role, as it helps to give me a better understanding of the financial services industry in general, which I can then link with my day-to-day tasks. I am doing the Investment Operations Certificate, which links perfectly with my analytical role within Operations.

There are always social activities being organised throughout the business. For apprentices, there are regular professional networking events, where we can meet other apprentices and managers from different companies similar to M&G across the City. There are also lots of sports activities which apprentices can get involved in, for example 5-a-side football tournaments and ski trips.

Yes

I would highly recommend M&G Investments to anyone looking for an alternative route to university, as you can still gain qualifications which will help benefit you in the future, but whilst learning on-the-job doing paid work. The M&G apprenticeship scheme at M&G is tailored to a specific role, but with opportunities to gain experience in other areas too.

I would advise that you apply as early as you can during your final year at school/college, to ensure that you don't miss out on any application deadlines. This will give you time to read about M&G and what we do, and ensure that you are well prepared for any interviews that you may be asked to do.