Prime Brokerage Review

I enjoyed my placement year internship at Morgan Stanley a great deal. Gaining such a full years experience is something incredibly valuable in today's competitive graduate job market and I can't think of a better place to have gained this experience that at Morgan Stanley.

The people at Morgan Stanley really are one of their greatest assets. Everybody I met at the firm was incredibly accommodating and happy to help with any issues I might have had and answer any of my questions.

My team were very supportive of my during my internship. They helped me learn the scope of my role quickly during my first few weeks, before gradually increasing the responsibility and independence I was allowed until I was managing my own book of clients.

During my internship I had a good balance between working closely with clients and working on other, internal projects. As with any job, there were times where the work load would build up and you might have to stay late to get a presentation ready for a client.

The level of responsibility I was given grew and grew throughout my internship. As my knowledge of the business continued to improve and I became more comfortable with the demands of clients, I was allowed to work with more independence. Towards the second half of my placement year I was taking the lead on client accounts, with decreasing dependence on my team.

The skills i developed on my internship will be beneficial to me for the rest of my career. Due to the client orientated nature of my role, my communication and interpersonal skills came on leaps and bounds during my time at Morgan Stanley, along with my analytical, leadership and team building skills

The general atmosphere at Morgan Stanley was a very competitive, yet collegiate. Everybody wants to work to the best of their ability, in order to deliver the best possible results to clients, but at the same time will be more than happy to add value in other areas, beyond their usual remit.

The industrial placement scheme at Morgan Stanley is very well organised. Each intern will be assigned to a team within the department and will become a part of that team, adding value and getting involved in all the responsibilities existing members of the team are exposed to.

During the first month of my internship there was extensive training to ensure that all the interns understood the business and what the role of each team within the department was. In addition, later in my internship, I was given the opportunity to partake in additional training for public speaking and client relationship building.

I have actually been offered a graduate roll on the back of my placement year with Morgan Stanley, which I have accepted and will be starting in July 2014. The industrial placement program is one of the main sources of graduate recruitment for the department.

I became very good friends with several of the other placement students and we would regularly meet up outside of work for social events. Being part of a class of interns naturally gives you a group of people you have something in common with, making it easier to get along with them.

Obviously, living in London isn't the cheapest city in the country. However, the transport links to Canary Wharf, where the office is, are so good that it is not necessary to live right next to work, which gives you more flexibility on price when looking for somewhere to live.

Morgan Stanley's office is located in Canary Wharf, where there are several bars and restaurants within walking distance. It is also very easy to get to central London from Canary Wharf, giving countless opportunities for things to do outside work.

The main activity outside of work I took part in was a weekly game of five-a-side that was organised by some of the men in the department, which gave me a great opportunity to get to know people outside of my team in a more relaxed environment.