Fanda Ho

Name: Fanda Ho
Employer: M&G Investments
Area of work: Investment management
Qualifications: BSc actuarial science, London School of Economics (2006), MPhil finance, Cambridge University (2007)

My interest in investment management started when I completed an internship with a leading insurance company as part of my degree: I learned about fund products and developed an understanding of their characteristics. I thought it would be fascinating to construct investment strategies. During my previous internship with an independent financial adviser, I also learned to understand what drives customers to invest in a fund.

My job

I am currently on a rotation scheme, spending between six and eight weeks in different departments. I’m specialising in fixed income and have worked with teams across the business. Since I started, I’ve experienced working within credit research, portfolio management, project infrastructure and equities and I’m currently working in institutional fund management. I could potentially stay in a team if an opportunity comes up – but at the moment I’m enjoying the rotations. It’s a good way to learn about how the business works, what different teams do and how they cooperate with other parts of the business. I’ve really developed my network of contacts from meeting so many people and am getting a broad background of experience.

Varied work

A typical day would start with a morning meeting where the research department updates us on their analysis, followed by a discussion of what’s been happening in the markets. My tasks really depend on the rotation I’m on, but generally speaking I conduct research and analysis on companies in my focus areas, as well as building financial models that will help fund managers to decide asset allocation or explore investment opportunities. I use my quantitative skills a lot, but it’s also important to communicate in a clear and direct way and pay attention to detail, making sure that my work is as polished as possible.