How long was your internship programme? 10 weeks

What did you do during the internship/ what did the internship entail? I produced summary reports from weekly company meetings with management and experts in the field. Additionally, my role consisted of working on two stock notes. One, a thorough report on a renewable solar module company in China the other, a retail centre company in Israel. I also worked on a Sustainable Development note on a data centre company aligned to a specific UN sustainability goal. As well as this, I was responsible for taking the minutes for various meetings e.g., Global Emerging Markets Weekly Meeting.

Do you feel like your work had an impact on the company’s goals/aims? I felt strongly that my work had an impact on the company’s business and structure, and the support from my colleagues during my internship ensured I could ask all the questions I needed in order to understand the rigorous research involved in the work and the level of detail in the reports.

How has your internship impacted your personal and professional development? My internship has enriched my knowledge of investment management specifically in the specialised industries I either conducted stock note research on or produced meeting summaries on. The vocabulary used and the amount of conversation around technical analysis has also improved my understanding of how to discuss equities and how to question or forecast their performance. I was also privy to a high-level view of how the overall business model works in the investments stream for example, how departments meet their goals, how they monitor their objectives and how they collaborate with different teams. It has impacted my personal development as it has challenged me to go out of my comfort zone and to ask for help more often from my superiors and work on my weaker points, such as paying close attention to detail in drafts and proofreading my drafts multiple times as a common practice.

Was your internship affected by Covid? (i.e., did you have to do it online? Was it shortened? Did you do different work?) My internship was impacted by Covid-19 in the sense that it was moved to an online format, however I did not see it as a major obstacle as my team held twice-weekly meetings via Teams or Zoom and were very welcoming. I had the opportunity to visit the London office during my final week of the internship for a few days and meet the team.

How has the experience affected your career goals? My experience has positively affected my career goals. I now have a greater understanding of the business I aspire to be in and can see the potential next steps in my professional development. From speaking to superiors and my manager about their experience and views of the nature of the work, I understand that this is a business I would like to stay in.

How/when did you become aware of investment management as a career? Over two years ago, I originally started to conduct research into investment banking as a career, but through researching the roles available and speaking to people I started to lean more toward the buy-side. The turning point for me in ultimately choosing to pursue a career in investment management, was interning in investment management at my local bank; a year after completing at the same bank but in the investment banking department. Personally, I found investment/asset management more fulfilling and more interesting as I could incorporate a personal view on the impact of events (for example, Tesla being left out of the S&P 500 in Aug 2020) on the holdings of equities.

Was there an experience or opportunity or day that stood out in your internship programme? The couple of days I got to spend in the office in my last week of the internship stood out, as I got to meet the team (including my manager) in person, who helped and supported me throughout my time there. The feedback at the very end of my internship from the head of the department and my manager was also a memorable experience, as it was sincere and kind but also very constructive.

What advice would you give anyone applying for a GAIN 2022 internship? The advice I would give to anyone applying for a GAIN 2022 internship is during the assessment process, be yourself but also show a willingness and desire to challenge yourself and put yourself out there (with demonstrable evidence). I believe being true to myself helped me during the application process and during my time at Abrdn. I also recommend that you view the application process and internship experience as a way to identify your weaknesses (as well as harnessing your strengths of course) and really work on being the best that you can be professionally and personally.