Equity Research Intern Review

The internship has been enjoyable- the work is interesting and everybody at Fidelity has been hugely welcoming and supportive. I have been in a group of 8 interns all doing the same programme which has been really great- it has meant we can discuss ideas together and it has been a very supportive environment.

I have mostly been working in an environment just with other interns, as opposed to being integrated with Fidelity employees in a team for example. For the Fidelity employees who we did have regular contact with (in supervisor-like roles), I felt like they very much cared about my progression.

The first week (of eight weeks total) was spent on training to ensure everyone was comfortable with important concepts etc. For the rest of the internship, we were given a stock every 2 weeks to research and present on- during this period I felt entirely comfortable approaching management/supervisors either by email or just knocking on their door in person. When our supervisor thought we were perhaps struggling with a concept, they organised presentations for us to attend as a group and we had the opportunity to ask questions etc. After pitching each stock, any managers/supervisors that were present in the pitch were happy for you to approach them for feedback and usually gave detailed guidance on how to improve.

I was busy all day because I always had a project to be working on. For the two weeks leading up to each stock pitch, my time was spent researching each company- there's not really a limit on how much research you could do so there was never a moment where I felt I didn't have something to be getting on with. Other than researching at my desk, there was also regular "Lunch & Learn" sessions, Q&A sessions with fund managers, sessions to speak to recent graduates etc.

I was given responsibility in that I determined what direction my research took for each stock pitch etc. but less so in the sense of actually feeling like you were doing something that added value. I don't think this is a concern, though- the point of the internship is more to introduce you to role and for your supervisors to see how you think etc. and less so for you to actually be given responsibility and add value over the 8 weeks. The internship has more been about constant learning than about being given responsibility straight away.

The formal training we had included internal training about the finance industry in general, external Excel training and some external training in accounting etc. In terms of skill development, I have developed research skills (from the day-to-day job), presentational skills (from 4 different pitches over the internship), as well as becoming more comfortable with using Excel (which I have used on a daily basis for financial modelling) and Bloomberg (also used on a daily basis).

The atmosphere has been good- because I've been working with other interns all doing the same programme, we've all been sat together so we can chat through our ideas together as well as go out for lunch together etc which has given a really communal feel to the office. The general atmosphere at Fidelity is great- everyone we have met has been friendly and always invites us to stop by their office if we have any questions.

Couldn't fault the organisation of the programme. We were given first-week timetables in advance and once we'd started we were given a full timetable for all 8 weeks. All presentations/conferences/meetings/feedback sessions were scheduled well in advance and we received calendar invites for every event so it was very easy to keep on top of. Organisation of the programme itself was very good- I knew exactly who to go to with any questions or problems, felt well supported by both HR and supervisors and the programme was structured really well.

Definitely invested heavily- we had 2 days of external training (in macroeconomics, Excel and accounting), a lot of internal training (on the finance industry in general, on valuing stocks) as well as supervisors spending a significant amount of time answering any questions we had.

Yes- I don't live in London so Fidelity provided accommodation for me along with 10 or so other interns so that side of things was very social. Working in a group of interns also meant we often had lunch/dinner together and sometimes did things together at weekends.

Central London so food, drinks etc. were expensive as expected. Fidelity provided accommodation for me since I do not live in London- the accommodation was paid for entirely and was only a 25 minute walk from the office in the City so that cost was spared!

London nightlife- expensive but good.

I was only in London for the 8 weeks and didn't have a huge amount of spare time during the week for non-work activities. Weekends were mostly free, however, so I spent a lot of time doing the usual London tourist-y stuff.