Rosie Oldfield
Client Service Manager
Business & Accountancy B.Com, Edinburgh University
"As a client service manager your role therefore includes maintaining contact with clients, monitoring their portfolios, presenting at regular meetings and also pitching for new mandates."
I joined Baillie Gifford in 2000 after studying Business and Accountancy at Edinburgh University. I was attracted to the company because it had an excellent reputation and because I liked and was impressed by the people I met at interview. The fact that joining the company meant that I could continue to live in Edinburgh was also a major plus.
I spent my first year as an analyst on the Japanese desk. At Baillie Gifford you are trusted and given responsibility very early on. I was immediately therefore given my own sectors to follow and was expected to undertake research into companies and to report back and make recommendations to the rest of my team. Within a month of joining I was meeting company management and within six months I was on a trip to Japan. My first year therefore not only involved learning the basics of analysis and investment, but also allowed me to gain an insight into a country that I previously had known little about.
It is policy at Baillie Gifford for analysts to gain experience of at least two and often three different markets within their first three years. I spent my second and third years in the UK department, which was indeed a completely different experience to my first year. Company visits were frequent and sometimes involved meeting the founders of companies, which was fascinating. Unlike on the Japanese desk, the market is also open whilst you are working, which means that you can follow the immediate share price reaction to news and events. You are given more responsibility in your second and third years and usually more companies to follow. The emphasis is still very much on learning though and asking questions is very much encouraged.
Most analysts move on to become fund managers at some point after their third year. There is also the option to move to the Institutional Clients Department, which is what I have chosen to do. The majority of our institutional clients are pension funds and this department is dedicated to dealing with all their needs and requests. As a client service manager your role therefore includes maintaining contact with clients, monitoring their portfolios, presenting at regular meetings and also pitching for new mandates. Although this is a completely different role from that of an analyst, the knowledge that I learnt in the investment teams will be essential.
Work aside, I have found Baillie Gifford to be a genuinely friendly place with plenty of social occasions, including organised events and regular drinks after work. Staying late in the office is not encouraged and so you have plenty of time to experience all that Edinburgh has on offer. Living is such a beautiful city and working in a forward-thinking organisation with people you like and respect certainly makes for an excellent quality of life.
