OXFORD

BANKING + INVESTMENT
Ross van der Watt
Associate, Total Returns
Group, Public Equities, GIC
St Peter’s College, BA
Economics & Management,
2015
WHAT: My job involves researching
and modelling companies in a sector,
and leveraging this knowledge through
unrivalled access to top management and
investment bank analysts to help inform
team investment decisions.
WHY: GIC offers a unique opportunity to
start one’s career on the buy-side, with
one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth
funds. The training is unmatched; with
global travel, meetings with the CEOs
of the world’s largest companies and
learning from colleagues with best-inclass
experience. Moreover, GIC’s culture is
intimate and supportive, and responsibility
levels are extremely high as an Associate
leading investment proposals (under
supervision), rather than just preparing
models or slide-decks.
EARLY CAREER: I joined GIC’s Global
Professionals Programme straight
from university. Following training in
Singapore I did three 3-month rotations
in Fixed Income, Equities & Real Estate in
Singapore and London, before becoming
an Equities Analyst in London after a year.
ADVICE: When travelling the world to work
on headline-making deals it is important
to be flexible, to be able to develop
relationships, and learn quickly in
difficult environments. To get the
most from the experience, alongside
determination and hard work, it’s
important to be open-minded and
remain enthusiastic.
GETTING IN: To even apply to finance
jobs these days candidates need to
be aware of the implicit pressure to
get out and get some form of work
experience. Outside a standard
banking internship, I recommend
looking at atypical options (eg,
start-ups), or broadening experiences
(eg, working in a different country):
these will differentiate you from an
increasingly homogenous crowd,
and help differentiate your thinking
in work.
TOP TIPS: These types of jobs are
not only for those who have studied
Economics or Maths; most of what I
do on a day-to-day basis is dealing
with people and thinking critically
about the ‘story’ being told about
a company and whether I agree or
disagree.
BANKING + INVESTMENT
Caroline Taylor
Analyst Infrastructure Team,
Macquarie Capital
St John’s College,
BA History and Economics,
2014
WHAT: My team works with institutional
investors, banks and corporates to
advise on buying and selling companies,
investing in companies and raising
capital from both debt and equity
markets. In just over a year I’ve learnt
about a wide range of infrastructure
sectors, from transport (eg, toll roads,
ports, airports), to utilities (eg, distribution
and transmission networks) and
renewables (eg, wind farms, solar).
WHY: Investment banking is helping me
to build my skills and knowledge and
allows me to work within a great team,
who love their jobs and are driven to
achieve. Also, it is exciting to engage
directly with markets and get involved in
major deals.
FINDING A PATH: I didn’t know that
investment banking was for me as I
went through university - but following
experiences across different sectors
and industries, and trying out different
societies at university, I did figure out
what was important to me for my career.
For me, the key was finding a job where
I would learn, where I could engage
and drive my own career and,
most importantly, where I would be
challenged. I found all of this whilst
interning with Macquarie over the
summer in my second-year.
ADVICE: With any career you
consider, be curious, open and
proactive. I was told from day one
always to ask questions - no one
expects you to go from 0 to 60 in six
seconds flat - so it’s okay to ask what
you’re doing and, more importantly,
why you’re doing it. You’ll usually find
people are more than happy to take
the time to explain if you take the
time to ask!
Beyond that, it’s also important to
form your own opinion on your
options when trying to decide what
to do and where to go. You’ll have
heard this before - but only because
it's true – talking to people about
their careers and getting work
experience will usually be the best
way to figure this out.
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