Investments Summer Intern Review

Enjoyable, was given good responsibility within the team. Work was fulfilling and made an impact on team. Particularly enjoyed some of the meetings I was able to attend and the external people I was able to meet - those at the top of their field. Was some down time, but I kept busy.

Quite - was given responsibility and treated as an equal.

A good extent. There was always the chance to ask questions and all team members were helpful. This was also evident when organising meetings with people in other teams, to find out more about what they do. You are encouraged to do this, and explore opportunities outside your team as well as within.

This varied greatly. The good thing here was it's down to how proactive and enterprising you are. As soon as I finished with any piece of work, I sought to ask team members if they needed help with anything. Alongside daily work I was also working on a project to present to the team.

A lot. In particular, with writing meeting summaries and pieces/emails that went to out to other colleagues and even external people. If you proved you could handle responsibility, more was given. My work also improved as I was given more responsibility as it ensured I was working to a higher standard.

N/A at the moment, but I have learned a lot during the internship about the world of investments, the markets and general office etiquette. Also, my technical and writing skills have improved - Excel skills were very useful and will be in the future. So were writing skills as I wrote a number of 500 word+ pieces.

Very flat structure, with the most senior employees sitting next to graduates and interns. This meant the atmosphere was more laid-back, and allowed questions and conversations to be asked and started easily. There was also scope to work more independently, with a number of quiet rooms and meeting rooms you could book.

The work portion was well organised. There were intern events every week organised by HR which were enjoyable and useful (Excel and communication training). Within my team, all members were able to give me meaningful work that would actually benefit. Some of the intern assessment events were a bit more poorly organised, like out end of internship presentation.

We were given Excel training, Insights training, communication training and also talks form senior employees all around the business. This was known as the intern development programme, with something planned for us every week. We were also encouraged to set goals and objectives, and seek feedback from our managers on a weekly basis.

Highly appealing - the graduate programme offers rotations around the Investments stream and gives you a wide exposure and a very strong grounding in investment management. Additionally, graduates are able to study for the CFA. The merger between Aberdeen and Standard Life has meant the firm is growing and expanding - it is undergoing a positive change, making now an ideal time to join.

Yes there was - there were drinks after work with interns and team members quite often. There was also an official intern leaving party in the last week organised by HR. This is highly dependent on your team - some are more social, some are less so. There is always scope however to meet other people and socialise with people outside of your team.

Expensive, but that is expected in central London.

Good nightlife, expensive as highlighted above though.

Yes there were. I was given the chance to play football and cricket for the company in friendly matches against both other internal employees and external employees.