Isaac Nketiah

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BMO Global Asset Management

Client Manager Trainee |

School/College Leaver

Why do you enjoy your job?

I work in the institutional client management team. This job is a client facing role and involves constant interaction with a plethora of clients and investment consultants. I am responsible for answering any client queries or liaising with in-house consultants or fund managers. This is one of my favourite parts of the job as it means I get to interact with different departments and gain a wider understanding of what they do which just furthers my own knowledge. I also work closely with the client service team to prepare acts such as valuations of a client’s portfolio or the performance of a portfolio.

What is the most challenging thing about your job?

The most challenging thing about my job is learning and understanding the financial literature and acronyms. At first it was quite daunting but my team realised that and began reducing their use of acronyms or if they did use it they would always ensure that they explained what it meant afterwards to make sure we are on the same page.

How did you get into your job?

I studied Politics, Law and History at A-level. I already knew during my A-levels that I did not want to go to university, I wanted to give myself the time to explore the working world and see what was available to me before making such a huge commitment. I was informed about Investment20/20 by my careers advisor at college as she was aware that I had a keen interest in finance. It amazed me once I saw the amount of opportunities Investment20/20 provided for school leavers at such prestigious financial institutions. I applied for various firms and in the end had a degree apprenticeship offer from a law firm and an offer from BMO. I chose BMO mainly due to how varied the financial industry was, meaning I would be given the opportunity to develop my skills through differing roles in the firm as opposed to law.

What are your future aspirations?

In the near future I hope to complete my Investment Management Certificate which is the foundation level course for anyone who wishes to work in investment management. I then aim to complete further professional qualifications such as the CAIA (Charted Alternative Investment Analyst) in the lead up to preparing for my CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst). My long term aim would be to become a client relationship manager but nothing is set in stone and I am open to any opportunities that come my way.

How would you sum up your Investment20/20 experience?

Investment 20/20 has helped me in more ways than I could imagine, it has provided me with a foot in the door in such a competitive industry, taught me valuable life skills such as networking, building long lasting relationships and improving my confidence and presentation skills as I now have the chance to go to other schools and inform them of the opportunities Investment20/20 has to offer.