Internship Programme - People Profiles

We have been running our successful Internship Programme for over nine years and, as a result, have recruited several interns to join us as graduates.  The following testimonials highlight the benefits of this programme.
 

Gary Robinson

Molecular and Cellular Biology, Oxford
The internship at Baillie Gifford has been a great learning experience.  The programme is superbly structured and allows interns to gain a real broad overview of the firm, but at the same time, the main investment placement is long enough to carry out a meaningful project.  I spent time in the UK small-cap team and studied Matalan and New Look as potential investments.  People on my team were always willing to help with any questions I had.  Over the next three weeks I had a range of placements, from Fixed Income to the Institutional Clients Department, each offering a unique insight into the workings of an asset management firm.  I think my eight weeks at Baillie Gifford have been well spent, and would be an invaluable experience for anyone considering a career in fund management.

Kate Fox

Economics and Maths, Edinburgh
I did the Baillie Gifford internship in the summer of 2000, just before starting my final year at university.  I was delighted to find that Baillie Gifford offered the opportunity to find out about the world of investment management.  Most of my peers had headed to London, but I was eager to spend the summer working in Edinburgh, with the ability to soak up the atmosphere of the Festival.

I spent six weeks on the European department, where I was immediately made to feel like part of the team.  I attended the daily departmental meetings, worked on a project about the German savings market, and analysed a German financial services company.  I then spent a week in the Emerging Markets Department where I did a case study on Fosters Group, a company that manufactures and markets alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.  The team members were all very willing to spend time with me discussing my various projects and were always happy to answer the many queries I had.

Throughout the internship, people from a wide range of departments came to speak to us and tell us about the industry, the company, and their jobs.  For example, the Chief Investment Officer came to tell us about the history of Baillie Gifford, fund managers told us about investment management and how to analyse companies, and the head of Dealing and members of the Institutional Clients Department came to speak to us about what their roles entailed.  By the end of the summer I had a much clearer understanding of the world of investment management, and decided that I wanted to pursue a career in it.

The Baillie Gifford partnership was very welcoming, and we were immediately made to feel a part of the company.  The company had a very friendly atmosphere, and I left in August hoping that I would have the opportunity to work for the firm.

Anna Gallagher

English Literature, Oxford
Eager to avoid the long working and commuting hours of London, I was delighted to be accepted onto the internship at Baillie Gifford in 2005.  At Baillie Gifford, I was able to gain a real feel for what a job in investment management entailed, whilst maintaining a sensible work-life balance.

My eight week placement was divided between a four week stint on the UK large-cap desk, followed by two weeks working with the Japanese team.  For the UK team, I researched and presented a report on the media company, Emap, as a potential investment, as well as learning about tobacco, utilities and retail stocks by regularly attending meetings with sell side analysts.  On the Japanese desk, I produced a report on Diamond City, a Japanese mall operator and developer.  I also spent time in the firm’s marketing area, the Institutional Clients Department, where I worked with another intern to put together and carry out a mock sales pitch.  Alongside these roles, we were given weekly lunchtime talks from fund managers about different aspects of investment, including discussions on oil stocks, bonds, and the UK, Japanese, and Emerging Market economies. 

As an English Literature student, the internship proved a steep learning curve for me. However, in each placement I was assigned a mentor who was always available to explain in detail what I didn’t understand, and to answer any general queries I had.  This was an invaluable aspect of the internship programme, enabling me to become comfortable and confident with financial concepts that were completely alien to me before the summer.

Throughout my time at in Edinburgh, I was made to feel like part of the community at Baillie Gifford.  Both members of the teams I worked on, and employees across the firm offered support and assistance whenever I needed it.  I even got involved with the firm’s hockey team!  Moreover, Edinburgh was a great city to live in, especially with the festival being held there in the summer; I was glad to realize how rewarding a career in finance could be outside of London. 

Overall, the internship at Baillie Gifford provided a comprehensive insight into investment management, allowing me to gain practical, hands-on experience, and exposure to professional expertise in an exciting and lively location.  I would highly recommend the Baillie Gifford experience to anyone considering a career in fund management.

Rosie Quinn

History, Oxford
When I applied for the internship at Baillie Gifford for summer 2005, I had an interest in the world of finance generally, but had little understanding of the place of investment managers in the broader financial spectrum.  The internship with Baillie Gifford offered the ideal opportunity to get an insight into life as an investment analyst, and to experience Edinburgh as a financial centre.  What initially attracted me to Baillie Gifford was its strong reputation as a successful Scottish firm and the impressive internship programme that it seemed to offer.

In the course of my eight weeks with Baillie Gifford, I was impressed with the structure of the internship programme.  I thoroughly enjoyed my two investment placements.  I was stationed at the North American and the UK Small Cap desks.  Five of my eight weeks were spent at the North American desk. I was given two companies to research as potential investments: Intel Corp and Home Depot (an American hardware store).  My second placement at the UK Small Cap desk was spent researching Virgin Mobile.  I felt that I had enough time to do some meaningful research and it was very satisfying when the other members of the team agreed with the conclusions I had reached.  These reports enabled me to gain some understanding of quite different companies, sectors and financial markets.  Everyone was more than happy to help me with any difficulties I had, and to answer my many questions.  I was welcomed into the daily departmental meetings, and into the twice weekly company-wide meetings which helped me to develop an appreciation for the ethos of Baillie Gifford.

Our time spent at the investment desks was divided by a week spent in the Institutional Clients Department during which time we gained an impression of the client servicing side of Baillie Gifford.  This week consolidated my impression of the workings, culture and values of the firm.  Throughout the internship we were given talks by a wide range of employees from various departments throughout the firm.  They spoke to us about their individual jobs; about Baillie Gifford generally and they highlighted and explained some of the main issues facing the finance world.

The internship was an invaluable learning experience, during which the strong culture of Baillie Gifford became obvious.  To be learning so much in such a welcoming and intellectually challenging environment was complimented by the festival atmosphere in Edinburgh, which we were encouraged to experience.  To work in a company whose culture encourages a good work life balance in a city as dynamic and attractive as Edinburgh was a great opportunity.  All of the interns took advantage of the company’s various sporting teams, and I thoroughly enjoyed the hockey matches I played for team BG!

The work that I did during my eight week, and the people that I worked with made me realise that fund management is a field I would like to work in, and that Baillie Gifford is the kind of firm that I would very much like to work for.