We caught up with Charlotte Smith to find out what she does day-to-day as a Summer Intern at Schroders – read her insights below!
I’ve just finished my second year at university studying Mathematics and now I’m a summer intern at Schroders working with the US Multi Sector Fixed Income team for 6 weeks.
8:30am
After the long commute from my bed to my desk, I log on to the Schroders network through their virtual desktop environment. I always check my emails first as I am working with a team in the US and I often get sent items in the evening after I’ve logged off. I check my calendar to see what meetings I have scheduled for that day and then I open up any ongoing work I have to get on with.
9:30am
As a part of our internship program we have virtual training sessions on themes such as upskilling, commercial awareness, business acumen and networking. The adaptability mind-set talk I have this morning is an interactive webinar hosted by an external provider about learning how to adapt and to adopt positive mind-sets. We learn about different methods of handling uncertainty and trial habits to promote adaptive behaviour in the context of uncertainty and stress. These techniques are essential at the moment in order to thrive and sustain performance during the uncertain times we find ourselves in. These sessions are also a good opportunity to get to know the other interns in my cohort since we are often split into breakout rooms to do activities in smaller groups.
11am
Another part of our training program is to complete a group research project on one of Schroders’ key strategy objectives. We have been tasked to connect and collaborate with the members in our group to research our topic, create a presentation and present our ideas and findings back to a panel. This morning my group are having a Zoom meeting to feedback on our research progress so far to make sure we’re on track to complete our presentation by the deadline in just under two weeks. We share any useful resources we have found with each other and decide what we want everyone to get done by our next meeting.
12pm
Around midday, my line manager will reach out to check in and see what I’ve been up to in the morning. He answers any questions I may have following the meetings I listened in to yesterday and then we talk about what the next steps should be on the project I’m working on. My current project is coming to the end, so today we discuss potential new work with other members of the team.
1:30pm
Every day I listen in to the US credit market update. Different members of the credit team present a brief overview on any overnight market activity. Listening in to these calls is a great way to learn about the markets Schroders operates in and the impact current affairs can have on them. Overnight the east coast of America was hit by hurricane Isaias, so this morning’s update focuses on the impact this could have on insurance companies.
2:15pm
The team call is a chance to catch up on what everyone on the team has been working on and discuss any proposed changes to the portfolios the team manages. This afternoon, I have been asked to present the risk analysing tool I have been working on with my line manager. Trading decision debates are often limited by concerns over high transaction costs so this tool will enable fund managers to visualise the uncertainty of trading decisions by calculating expected outcomes of potential trades. By sharing my screen, I can explain to the fund managers on my team how they could use this tool as part of their risk analysis of potential trades and answer any questions they have about it.
4:30pm
After hearing the team discuss who would be on this afternoon’s client call, I ask the head of the team if I can listen in to the call. Client calls are great for learning more about each funds strategy and understanding what clients are looking for from their fund managers. I take note of anything I don’t understand or any questions I might have so I can follow up with my line manager after the call. After this I save any ongoing work I have and check it is at a stage that is easy to pick up tomorrow. Finally, before I log off, I check my emails to make sure I haven’t missed anything important and consult my calendar to see what I have going on tomorrow.
Interested in finding out more about Schroders and their live opportunities? Visit their profile here.