Global Research Summer Analyst Review

I really enjoyed the summer I spent with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The work was engaging, all of the team were very accommodating, made me feel as though I was welcome and I was given a lot of responsibility very early on. The internship confirmed my desire to work in the industry.

I was included in many team discussions, given the responsibility to work on a number of tasks with a tangible impact to the team and its products and I felt that my ideas had some genuine impact. I accompanied the team to a number of meetings and investor days and sat on a number of calls.

My manager was incredibly supportive, gave me lots of help and advice but also gave me the scope to learn independently where necessary. We sat down most days to discuss the progress of my project, helped me develop my skills with a number of day-to-day tasks and encouraged me to speak to others to learn.

During the earnings season I was very busy during the day, sitting on calls and making notes, helping to publish earnings report notes and have an opinion on comments made by company management during investor relations presentations. The long term project kept me occupied for the duration of the internship at other points, and there was also a large amount of time spent independently reading and independently researching some of the things I was not so sure on. The internship was not full of ad-hoc tasks which would have helped to break up the day, but the nature of the internship makes this understandably difficult to facilitate.

I was given a great deal of responsibility. sitting on calls and making notes, helping to publish earnings report notes and have an opinion on comments made by company management during investor relations presentations. In some cases, what I wrote was copied and pasted and sent directly to clients following a quick check over by my manager.

The skills I developed over the course of the internship will be extremely beneficial in the long term. The skills I developed were technical, social, and professional, and ones that I would not have been able to acquire without having the opportunity to spend time at the firm. In this respect I could not have asked for more.

The very nature of the research floor means that the atmosphere can be quite dynamic. During earnings season it is often louder as people franticly try to publish notes commenting on earnings reports, while other times people are sat down focusing on writing and publishing the research notes they have been thinking specifically about.

The quality of the organisation was poor in some cases. The initial training week was not particularly useful, especially the two day learning session with an external contractor who was clearly making things up as he was going along. There was also lack of clarity towards the end of the internship over the certain date and time of events and project deadlines. On the whole there were some good events structured into the calendar that were very enjoyable.

The personal training and development came mostly from the contact time spent with my line manager and the rest of the team, but this was more valuable than what I could have learned from structured sessions. The nature of the role is such that most of the skills are learnt on the job.

Very keen to work for the firm, unclear how likely this Is going to be given the regulatory pressures being placed on the business next year. Work is flexible, typically from 7am-7pm but there is scope to work outside of these ours providing the same level of service to clients can be achieved and the same amount of content can be published.

Social scene in my department was limited, not many of us. Did much more socialising during my global markets summer internship last year where there were far more interns and more structured activities.

Cost of living quite a shock to the system: Paid £720 per month in rent at a subletted flat in Borough, commute was on average £5 per day, didn't have to pay bills. Socialising typical central London prices but some great places to visit locally. Suggest living in zone 1 or 2 to prevent a long commute and some tired mornings.

Fairly standard

Not really