Actuarial and Investment Consultant Intern Review

The internship consists of a rotation between both the actuarial and investment teams. Work typically consists of producing investment monitoring reports, reviewing investment managers, conducting actuarial valuations and producing cash equivalent transfer values for scheme members.

The work primarily involves using Excel and BW's systems, such as V8. IT skills are picked up quickly on the internship. Communication is also key, with significant work being done in conjunction with other team members.

BW provide you with initial training before throwing you into the deep-end. You are immediately given significant responsibility, completing your own projects, messaging senior staff members and contacting external clients. You truly feel like you are contributing to the success of the firm, rather than being given meaningless tasks.

BW has an extremely supportive culture. You are assigned a mentor (a graduate) who is there to help provide centralised training videos and materials. Your mentor also is there to help with any questions that you have when completing work. Senior team members frequently check up on you, and you can go to anyone within the team for support, without feeling like an inconvenience. People are truly happy to help you learn.

The company culture is extremely friendly and open. Despite formal job titles, there does not seem to be a social hierarchy. There are numerous social events happening outside of the office, from meals out at lunch to drinks after work. There is also a netball and football tournament with all of the offices meeting to compete, followed by a night out after-this is great fun and well attended.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the internship, it has provided a deep insight into a career in the actuarial/investment industry. The internship has surpassed my expectations and I would love to return if offered a graduate job.

Yes

Make sure to thoroughly research the pensions industry, as few people know much about this before gaining the exposure through an internship. The assessment centre seems daunting but they mainly want to assess your social skills and ability to work as a team, given that a large proportion of work as you progress is in consulting.