Global Markets Intern

How did you join the Investment Banking Graduate Programme?

I first came to Nomura via the off-cycle internship interview process for the Italian Geographical Coverage Team that was searching for a junior to support across Assets, Credit, Rates and FX. I interviewed in spring 2019 and joined the Global Markets Graduate Training in August 2019.

What happened during the Graduate Programme?

We first completed a month of training then joined the Graduate Programme in office in September. During the month of August, the Graduate Training brought together the Global Analyst class from across Hong Kong, New York, Singapore and Tokyo to train in London.

During the month of training, we had daily classes covering the basics of financial products and economic theory. I found these extremely useful as I did not come from an academic financial background so it helped bring me up to speed. At the end of each week, we were set mini-assessments to check our knowledge and also challenges in teams of seven or eight individuals from across the globe. Examples of these included a Trading Simulation in a Beta environment and Client Pitching exercise in which we came up with a trading idea, which we presented before seniors, colleagues and peers. This was empowering and gave a soft start from the zero to one hundred you experience when coming into GM.

Further, two or three times a week, we went to workshops hosted by Nomura employees who gave insights in to their specific business areas and daily activities. This was really interesting as firstly we had immediate access to senior people who would then know who you are from the start of your time on the floor but also enabled us to learn about the business.

In the first few months following training, we attended development programme sessions during which external companies gave lectures and soft skills training on topics including: how to work alongside people with contrasting personalities; how to build your personal brand; and how to network effectively. Trainings re-created realistic scenarios and reflected on ‘what was right/wrong about the situation’ and gave actionable points on the best ways to ask for information from seniors and highlighted constructive approaches to difficult situations.

As you come from a non-financial academic background, how did you develop your financial knowledge outside of the Nomura training programme?

There were two avenues through which I developed the knowledge: firstly through studies for the FCA exams and secondly due to having prior experience in financial institutions.

In my role, I must be FCA certified in order to speak with and advise clients. This required me to take three very intense, finance-specific exams that caught me up on a year or two of financial knowledge that you would otherwise learn at university within two months of study. As I could not fulfil my function without the accreditation, my manager allowed me to study during work hours. Everyone around the office was incredibly helpful in responding to any questions and providing additional resources (through learning portals and colleagues’ own materials).

Nomura’s graduate scheme was not my first as previously I had undertaken a graduate scheme at an alternative financial institution. While not at a bank, the role provided opportunities to speak with clients within investment banking and wealth management that formed a base level of knowledge and sparked my personal interest.

Overall, I am still learning as the job requires continual development, however the first four months of the graduate programme got me up to speed with someone with a financial degree.

As an Associate, what are your current responsibilities and/or highlights you can discuss?

I received my first (small) client batch during my first year at Nomura. I was really grateful for the amount of trust and support that my manager put in me. He helped me when doing my first cold calls and guided on the best way to present myself effectively in front of other traders when I had to call them to ask for prices. Following on from this, I developed, gained more clients and started to specialise into different areas. Currently, I have a roster of around 25 clients who I cover for both rates and credit. Over the past year and a half, my specialty area has really taken shape by becoming the subject expert within my team and further for Asia Credit.

One of the most significant challenges faced was the fall-out of BREXIT as this forced many people who covered geographically-specific teams to move to different countries and cover alternative clients. While it was a challenge, it also provided an opportunity to inherit clients in the Italian credit space and enabled me to grow into this area and take ownership of sales for the Italian market at the firm. I have developed great relationships with traders in Hong Kong which has made me the go to person for information about the market on products like China Credit. This is definitely one of my biggest achievements at Nomura to date.

What do you feel sets Nomura apart from its competitors?

The work environment and the culture are different to other banks. I cannot identify whether the culture is influenced from top down or vice versa but the environment and relationships that I have experienced with people even at very senior levels are amazing. We joke, we laugh and if I need help in any aspect of my life I would be really comfortable to ask my manager or colleagues for advice.

For example, I was talking in office about how I had bought a new ceiling fan and did not know how to put it up. One of the Executive Directors from FX (we don’t even work together) who sits in front of me asked me to show him a picture and he could come by and help you fix it as he has a knack for it! I would have never imagined a trading floor with that kind of environment, where people cultivate actual friendships and enjoy going for a drink together or where someone comes back from lunch with ice creams for the floor. I think that kind of environment is pretty unique to Nomura.