Investment Graduate Review

Investment Graduates do 6-month rotations across 3/4 investment teams, thus getting a good view of the company and its multiple businesses. The role and the day-to-day experience highly depend on the team as activities of different teams may be different. The investment graduate is usually involved in multiple projects on financial models, industry analysis and presentations. The graduate is also involved in the team discussions and follows colleagues in meeting with clients and other stakeholders.

Yes. The graduate scheme provides an in-depth view of the investment management and wider financial industry. As part of the scheme, I am requested to acquire the IMC and CFA Level 1 qualifications with training from a third party provider. The company gives graduates time off to prepare for these qualifications. As a graduate, I also joined a formal training course on corporate credit research and I receive constant on-the-job training from my colleagues. The graduate scheme is extremely useful to learn about multiple asset classes, financial products and strategies from top-notch investment professionals.

I am enjoying the graduate scheme a lot. Rotations are a great way to learn about the financial industry, develop skills and deploy these skills by doing meaningful tasks for the team. The company culture is very supportive for new joiners and everyone is available to support graduates through the programme. The scheme is great to grow from both a personal and professional standpoint.

The graduate scheme has been running for many years and it is very well organised. The programme starts with an induction period in which graduates receive basic financial training. Then graduates join teams for rotations. On specific weeks, graduates join the professional qualifications trainings and can take time off for studying. The mentorship system is very good: each graduate is followed by the rotation managers (senior people within the organisation), 2 buddies (former graduates), a mentor and a Personal Development manager (2 senior people not connected to rotations, who can provide more holistic feedback/support).

The company culture is very supportive and everyone is willing to help. Graduates are provided with a solid support network made up by an experienced HR team, rotation managers and colleagues, 2 buddies, the mentor and the Personal Development manager. Moreover, many investment professionals in the company come from the graduate scheme and are always available to help.

The support is adequate. For the qualifications, I received comprehensive virtual training over a number of days, plus access to the exam material and exam simulations. The tutor was helpful and available to answer questions via email also at the end of the course. I enjoyed the learning experience despite the difficulties of virtual training.

I feel that professional qualifications are in general useful to know more about the financial industry, especially if the graduate does not have a finance background. However, I do not think that IMC/CFA help the investment graduate on a day-to-day basis as most of what you need to perform your role is learnt on the job via the informal training received from your manager and colleagues. Nevertheless, the qualifications are very useful to have an overview of investment theory and regulation.

As I joined in September 2020 and worked from home during lockdowns, the social part was subdued. Despite the pandemic, the company is a very active and social events are very common at team level as well as at the level of the graduate cohort. The company offers multiple volunteering initiatives and local community activities one can get involved into.

Yes

The company offers a good working environment where people are very friendly and supportive: everyone is very interested in the professional development of a graduate. Overall culture is great. Moreover, the company is home of some of the best investment professionals in the industry and a new-joiner has the great chance to learn from them.

The application and selection process is more or less in line with that of other companies in the financial industry. There is not much focus on technical skills but much more on attitude, problem solving, passion for the industry, etc. I would recommend reading about the company culture, history, products and investment approach.