Nicholas Thomas
Investment Manager
Classics BA, Cambridge
"Opportunities for advancement come quickly, as you'd expect from a company that puts a lot of trust in its graduate recruits from the very beginning."
Baillie Gifford attracted me because it is successful. The senior people I met at interview came across as open minded rather than bureaucratic, so I hoped I could have a say in important decisions from day one. That has, indeed, been the defining point of my experience after eight years in the job. We are all expected to challenge long-held convictions about stocks, come up with new ideas and argue investment cases to our colleagues, regardless of seniority. As I have become more experienced, mentoring and coaching younger members of the investment teams has become an important part of my job.
The formal training is fairly standard for the industry but the amount of time, effort and tolerance that senior partners and investment managers devote to passing on their knowledge is remarkable. This is the advantage of a relatively small company, where the partners are central to the daily functioning of the investment teams. The atmosphere encourages debate on anything from stock selection to global asset allocation, and we are encouraged to think outside our areas of responsibility all the time. Opportunities for advancement come quickly, as you'd expect from a company that puts a lot of trust in its graduate recruits from the very beginning.
