Analyst Review

I really enjoyed my time at M&G. The work I was given was more interesting than other work experiences I've had, and the company worked hard to make sure I was learning from and enjoying my time at M&G as well as making a valuable contribution to the teams I was working with. The work was very varied, both in the variety in the companies we looked at and in the way we researched them - quantitative and qualitative analysis, team meetings, meetings and calls with analysts, meetings with the company management, etc.

My colleagues made a big effort to make sure I felt included in the team, inviting me to meetings from day one, helping look over and improve my work, and answering any questions I had. I felt I was respected and my work was valued, and I found this to be true throughout the department, with even the more senior people on the floor being more than happy to make time to sit down with me to discuss their careers and other elements of the industry.

I worked with three different managers during my time with the company. I found lots of support was offered to me, and this was particularly valuable in my first few weeks of the internship when the whole industry was new to me and I had a lot of basic questions. All my managers made the time to sit down to go through my work with me, explain various concepts and discuss different companies and industries.

Apart from a couple of quiet weeks I was generally very happy with the level of work at M&G. On the whole in the teams I worked in I found there was always work to be done, but not many deadlines. This was great as I felt busy but not overwhelmed, and was a working atmosphere that lends itself well to learning on the job. My work was not rushed so I was able to take my time and complete it to a high standard.

The amount of responsibility given to interns is an area where I feel M&G particularly excels. I wasn't given easy number-crunching work that no senior employee wanted to do; from day one with no knowledge of the industry I was given interesting work that actually contributed to what the team was doing, and was given the support necessary to complete the work. From around five months in, I was also given the responsibility to run some meetings with the senior management teams of companies. I felt like this level of responsibility meant I gained a realistic insight into what it is actually like to work as an analyst for M&G.

I arrived at M&G knowing very little about the world of finance (not having studied anything finance-related) and I feel I've learnt a huge amount in my time here that not only pertains to investment management, but knowledge that would extend to other careers in finance or business. I have also gained valuable experience in areas such as research, analysis, and running meetings.

The atmosphere varies from team to team. In the teams I spent time in the atmosphere was hard-working and relaxed and everyone got on very well, but didn't often spend time together getting drinks after work. In the departments I worked in everyone was very approachable and helpful, and there was a relaxed yet professional atmosphere. There are also both summer and Christmas parties, and events such as a pub quiz which are a chance to meet the other interns and the graduates.

It was reasonably well organised - I think the placement at M&G is less well organised than the graduate or summer intern scheme as they do not take many placement students. HR made an effort to invite me to lots of events set up for the graduates which was really helpful for gaining more of an insight into the company as well as getting a chance to meet the graduates. I was set up with a buddy who had rotated off the graduate scheme relatively recently, which was useful at the beginning as he was very helpful in explaining concepts to me and looking over my work, but after I moved out of his team there wasn't really any structure in place to maintain that connection. Decisions on what team I would be working in and when were changed a couple of times, and once at the last minute with little explanation.

M&G made a large effort to invest in my training and development. All my managers made time to explain things to me, invited me to company meetings and even encouraged me to attend conferences that were of interest to me. They made my learning and my interest a priority, as well as my contribution to the team, making sure I was finding the experiences I was having on the placement both useful and interesting. I had frequent meetings with HR to discuss my development and receive feedback from my managers.

I would be very happy to work at M&G again. The work is interesting, the employees are wonderful people to work with and the work life balance is great. Having been a placement student at the company, I will be fast tracked to the assessment centre stage of the interviews for the graduate scheme, and feedback from various people I have worked for and with will be taken into consideration as well as my performance at the assessment centre.

The two other placement students worked in different roles in different parts of the building so I never met them, however I met most of the graduates and spent a fair amount of time with them, often eating with them at lunch and sometimes going for drinks after work with them. I also went for drinks with other teams on the floor I worked on a few times - it's the kind of atmosphere where you can be as sociable as you want.

The head office is in the City of London, so food and drinks in the local area are not cheap, but also are not extortionate prices for central London. In terms of living costs, as it is London it completely depends on what area you are living in and how close to the centre you are, but renting in London is expensive. Transport is also expensive.

I went to a few different bars in the area I worked in - the City of London. The bars I went to were good for a couple of drinks - I never stayed out and went clubbing but I have heard from other people working in the area that there are some decent clubs in the area. There are lots of different bars and pubs, and all of them are busy on Thursday and Friday evenings.

I took part in a Comic Relief fundraiser at work, and a choir event, both of which were really fun. There are lots of social events organised by M&G that people can take part in - sports, films, charity fundraising events and so on. There are also multiple departmental parties throughout the year, and specific events organised for graduates and interns.